Well, it was also because people would sometimes wander off or wait behind the unit to scavenge and get lost. The point was to make sure you knew where everyone was, and more importantly, make sure they knew where they were and were supposed to go. Soldiers are not, particularly in this era, omniscient, and there are many examples, from both WWI and WWII, where American troops would get surrounded and halved because they would lose communication, push out too far and get surrounded. If they had had blocking units they were in constant contact with to fall back towards and protecting their rear, this wouldn't happen and they would be able to save on manpower. Soviet losses were rarely because of these kinds of tactical missteps (although they did happen), and more due to the sheer level of firepower that they were facing and the gains they were attempting to achieve.
That role is so important. During Shiloh Grant had the huge number of attempted deserters, stragglers, and people separating during retreats rapidly reformed into new units regardless of their existing ones. Rather than find who they belonged to or send deserters back to their correct unit, he made new ones and reinforced. This helped turn a rout into a victory. And just like the Soviets, he was called a "Butcher". Grant was correct as was Stalin.
The Grant documentary from a few years ago dramatizes this well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6hehVbFYG8
Well, it was also because people would sometimes wander off or wait behind the unit to scavenge and get lost. The point was to make sure you knew where everyone was, and more importantly, make sure they knew where they were and were supposed to go. Soldiers are not, particularly in this era, omniscient, and there are many examples, from both WWI and WWII, where American troops would get surrounded and halved because they would lose communication, push out too far and get surrounded. If they had had blocking units they were in constant contact with to fall back towards and protecting their rear, this wouldn't happen and they would be able to save on manpower. Soviet losses were rarely because of these kinds of tactical missteps (although they did happen), and more due to the sheer level of firepower that they were facing and the gains they were attempting to achieve.
That role is so important. During Shiloh Grant had the huge number of attempted deserters, stragglers, and people separating during retreats rapidly reformed into new units regardless of their existing ones. Rather than find who they belonged to or send deserters back to their correct unit, he made new ones and reinforced. This helped turn a rout into a victory. And just like the Soviets, he was called a "Butcher". Grant was correct as was Stalin.
The Grant documentary from a few years ago dramatizes this well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6hehVbFYG8