Bad Indicator Of Things To Come

 I sat and watched a video piece this AM.....of the forward Russian unit preparing to receive their first 'batch' of Russian reservists. 

This unit had enough bunk beds to handle the flow (I would assume 300 beds from what I saw).  The problem is.....no tents or depot buildings to put these under.

So what you had was 300 bunks set up in the woods.....no cover or enclosure.  Night-time temperatures?  For late September, it's probably down to about 7 C (44 F).  With a decent sleeping bag and no rainfall.....you can survive the night without much worry.

Would they be issued a decent sleeping bag?  I'm betting NO.  They probably get one to two wool blankets.  For the next month, this is survivable but miserable conditions.  

How things progress in late October to mid-November?  Evening temperatures would get down into 0-C (freezing range), with light rainfall/snow flurries as a minimum in the daytime.  

You probably will have two percent of the incoming crowd (figure 100,000 reservists arriving by mid-October) who will have some form of hypothermal or possibly pneumonia. 

Getting better conditions by moving to the 'front' and being in the middle of the war?  No.  I'd even suggest fewer than a quarter of the incoming crowd get decent sleeping bags for the conditions there.  Most will end up with the 9.99 cheapo sleeping bag made in China and worthless after thirty days of use.