Desertor

He's not leaving, Steve don't ban him. And I am feed up with so much nonsense. 
I'll try for first time the ignore button. Bye SFhand, have a perfect day 🙄

Agree, and the only serious reading I did on it was:
https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Civil-War-Hugh-Thomas/dp/B002ADRJB8
It is a heavy read.
The one thing that stuck with me was the Luftwaffe's affirmation/refinement of their fighter tactics, finger four flight, two plane elements, lead and wingman, loose formation, shooter and defender, which hurt the Allies when they were still flying in close formation three plane 'Vics' with the wingmen out of necessity focused on not running into the lead.
Of course I also read 'For whom the Bell Tolls' but did not take away a lot of tactical insights from that one

I want to know what they said/did to convince the guys in this tape that things would end any differently from how it ended for the multiple platoons of dead AFVs they were driving right past? I fully expect in a week or so we will get more tape of more suicidal mobiks dying in the middle of what will then be a full company of wrecked AFVs. The Russian systems only strength is its ability to convince large quantities of people to commit suicide. That is the lock we have to pick.
Edit: There some strong parallels with Imperial Japan at some level.
It isn't wish talk, it is a rational strategic response to the stated intentions of our primary adversary. Taiwan is the linchpin of the the economic miracle in East Asia. The CCCP understands this, that is why they are frothing at the mouth to control it. For 70 plus years we have been able to deter them remotely, that time is passing very, very quickly. In addition to being a truly unmistakeable signal of U.S. commitment, the Marines could be used to drag the entire Taiwanese military up to speed. If we have to get that division there after the war starts, under a hail of Chinese anti shipping missiles starting AT LEAST  five hundred miles from the Chinese coast it will be beyond expensive in terms of casualties. China is actually getting ready for this fight, if we don't we will be very, very sorry.

You forgot the part where no one in the neighborhood ever invites you to the monthly BBQ.  You get awkward dinners with the Chinese couple next door, but it is just so...not normal.  And that weird sweaty NK guy who lives all alone in the house where the lights are never on wants to be your best friend.  

Think unsexy thoughts.  Think unsexy thoughts. 
This is exactly what I was looking for…so it is probably just a raid.  Oh, my but if they can achieve operational level breakthrough…

Me neither. I looked for the word "mensa" in the RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) Dictionary. It seems it is a word used in Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, México and Nicaragua
menso, sa 1. adj. coloq. Ec., El Salv., Hond., Méx. y Nic. tonto (‖ falto de entendimiento o de razón).

Are you sure? Because I’m Spanish but I don’t know this word 

I make scrambled eggs with butter right from the fridge. It soon gets soft.
 

I'm sixty years old and practically all my life I have been struggling with the phrase "WARCRIMES".
As I see it, war is by definition a crime and we humans ALWAYS commit horrible crimes during war, civil wars, uprisings, revolutions, conquests and even in peacetime.
Romans, Persians, Dutch, French, Spanish, Aztecs, Vikings, native -Americans, "Arabs", African tribesmen, Chinese, Russians, Japanese, German, and yes even Americans and Canadians and the British (and every other large group of humans), exploited, killed, maimed, tortured and executed their opponents. Be it real or suspected opponents, that is.
Most people, certainly in the West, have the illusion that war can be fought in a "rather clean way".
In my opinion the whole morality-stance on the "yes or no" execution of these Russian prisoners is a waste of time. It is a part of war and as long as we humans go to war, these combat-crimes will happen. I fact, it is a miracle that there are so much frontline-soldiers that DO NOT commit "warcrimes".
I do think there is a big difference between combat-crimes and noncombat-crimes, but if you really want to stop warcrimes, stop war.
 
 

Apart from everything else I may think about that topic: While this may give you some sense of justice, in the end just comes back to bite Ukraine. Apart from being bad PR, it leads to Russian soldiers thinking they have nothing to gain from surrendering (Putin's propaganda will make sure of that). And soldiers who fear they will be killed or tortured or whatever when captured are likely to stay in the fight longer. That in turn inevitably leads to more Ukrainian casualties.

I can see Ukraine choosing to let the RA slip out the back rather than destroying Kherson.  
Post US election Russia isn't going to be getting much, if any relief from western aid to Ukraine, so they needed to bug out before winter.
The UA could have plastered the shores at the ferry crossings to destroy retreating RA units, but that would have stopped the retreat and pinned them in the city.  Then the choice would be for the UA to go in (bloody) or to drag out the siege into winter (brutal for civilians). All those Russians who slipped out can be HIMARSed later in open, or at least less dense areas, where a major city won't be destroyed in the process.  Or not.  How Ukraine did this is also a message to us in the west: "The UA is about retaking Ukraine, not vengeance, and if Russians leave quietly we can let them live."
Now if Ukraine can finish off the Kerch bridge and get at least fire control over the land bridge, Russia might give up on Crimea.

I think most people, given the choice between street fighting in Kherson with the possibility of killing and capturing many Russians, versus liberating the city with fighting within the city, but letting the majority of Russians escape, would choose the option that avoided the city fighting.
The cost in extra military casualties, civilian casualties and damage to the city isn't worth what you'd gain.

AGGGGHHHH!  You didn't warn me! It's a LIBERAL site, man! My eyes! My EEEEYYYESS!!!!! 
 
just teasing

Sorry if posted already but man this is good....

Viva la Español! Yeah, HAWK is ancient, but the Phase 3 version shouldn't be that much worse than early S300 that Ukraine uses, at least against most of the targets. And there should be a metric crapload of these spread across various countries - Wiki quotes that 40 000 missiles for it were manufactured. Comibined with NASAMS/ IRIS-T, and various lesser systems, as well as what remains of S300 Ukraine still retains, I can easily see their AD umbrella becoming thicker, not thinner in the upcoming months, same way as their arty has rather improved.
 

This forum has not invaded my dreams yet. But sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night I almost reflexively grab my iPhone from the nightstand beside me, to see what folks in other time zones have posted here . 😁

The "smart ones"?  Putin doesn't pay his bills.  There aren't any Ladas to give.  And the money will never come.  These women will get nothing except their ex-husbands debts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCcph9srHSw&t=4333s

There is an interesting interview with Polish volunteer sergeant fighting in Ukraine. It is one and a half month old and unfortunatelly no ENG subtitles are available, but there are interesting tactical and organizational details from the ground that are nevertheless relevant and worth to share here. Some are already known, but since he is unusually vocal (within Opsec) plus has a lot of practice it may be worth to bring them on this board:
1.The guy serves as platoon commander (practically down to 12 men + 5 absent) from April. His men are in Separate Special Battalion serving as "Battle Detachment" (re: all kind of missions including SF ones) subordinated to one of the regular brigades, probably mainly at Kharkiv front (undisclosed).

2. Those multinational experienced guys (US, Frenchmen, Poles, Ukrainians and several others) have clearly very different tasks than most common infantry fighting in the trenches- they serve as "fire brigade" in case Russians attacks will brake through. They see periods of very intense fighting, much more than most common soldiers. Interestingly, he claims it is common practice to form such ad hoc local QRF at the brigade and sometimes battalion level. After some time such units are treated as "specialists", taken out of regular order of battle and if having good reputation may be "borrowed" to other brigades for special tasks. Thus they are almost constantly in fight, experiencing problems with fatigue and lack of sleep.

3. Their equipment reflects that- he started with AK 74, but know uses Grot rifle and M14 for sniper tasks, good quality vests and uniforms. He claims many soldiers he served with, including Americans, will prefer those weapons to M4's that are also in use but have reputation of being too fragile in frontline conditions, difficult to keep clean and prone to jamming. He says US M67 granades are also used, but have 5-sec. delay that is way too long in battlefield conditions (mind- probably assaults), so most soldiers in line prefer old F1. It is interesting that he participated in some "water-environment" sabotage missions deep behind enemy lines (planting explosives) armed chiefly with his 9mm pistol.
Entire platoon also have two sets of NVG's for entire unit, which they found very lucky to have- common soldiers rarely have such items.

4. Battlefield effectiveness of AT weapons is also widely different from theoretical. AT-4's serve at max. 150 m but usually closer, NLAW's 6-800 m (platoon get a lot of NLAW's but they had no spare batteries, which shocked soldiers who considered it a sabotage on behalf of "unmentioned" provider state; it almost get them killed). Team's sole Javelin set is effective up to 1500m in practice, but only if line of vision is unobstructed, and similarly they have great problem possessing only pair of batteries- thus they need to allow armour get closer than theoretical range. Infantry is rather vulnarable to RU tanks, since they improved tactics to "shoot and scoot" from 2kms afar, behind practical range of a Javelin: "Unlike at early campaigns, they rarely go into open and creatively use cover and concealment now, preferring their famous carrousel tactics."

5. His and other platoons often do infiltration tactics; it is also visibly different between regular Ukrainians units and Territorial Defence that former prefer aggresive forms of defences- active patrolling, inflitrations, ambushes etc. while latter stick to their trenches, which they nonetheless hold valiantly. His platoon would penetrate several kms deep inside enemy lines on fairly regular basis. They usually move by pickups and technicals- after engagement they instantly mount them and drive at very high speeds, which is dangerous by itself [I also heard from several other accounts that number of common driving accidents due to enforced speed is very high in this war, especially directly behind the front]. Also despite many people demanding Ukrainians getting on the offensive (material was recorded before it) he says this small tactic is exteremely costly for Russians, so we should not expect in this war "massess of armour that will break the front, which will lead to nothing, them being sorrounded and suffering extra casualties". Instead they kill Russians at very high rate every day, devastate their logistics and only later will be able to penetrate the front [Nice practical translation of @TheCaptain theories about "attrition to manouvre" and internal fractures that lead to RU collapse].

6. As a rule they were often outnumbered and almost always outgunned; it stand out that front is often very thinly manned and soldiers dispersed, like a weak team solely holding even large village. Russians also visibly improved their tactic over time- they tried night infiltration, learned how to sneak over the minefields and tried to lure his team in the open. Still, his opinion on them as soldiers is low. There are very detailed desciptions of small unit actions, for example when his platoon defended a village against Russian assault for two sleepless nights, resulting only in 29 eliminated Russians and BMP.

7. Very high regard for Ukrainian determination- especially in June, he says army was basically holding only on its morale and sheer middle finger energy. Even "QRF" elite units in his sector lacked any heavy weapons except several rusty RPG's, they were constantly observed by several drones at once and subjected to constant artillery barrage. Still, they usually defeated muscovite assaults. In one such actions they were aided on flank with 7-man Ukrainian recon team from HQ, armed only with small weapons that successfully stand against armoured assault. Visible recogntition of morale as deciding factor here; for example cases of wounded soldiers leaving hospitals to join collegues at the front are common.

8.Very often they participated in "emergency" missions to plug the whole or counterattack; in one of such they have 17 men to stop expected massive assault of entire BTG and were suddenly joined by colonel, who took rifle and manned the trench with them (attack didn't came in the end). High opinion of Ukrainian officers, who usually share the same burden as common soldiers, in contrast to Russian practices. Also international troops who get this far are only crack volunteers with right psyche determined to stay in the fight- despite witnessing fires no NATO soldier ever ecnountered they get used to this situation and learned how to behave. He notes that other volunteers, not less professional, brave or skilled in direct combat, simply did not have nerves to be in this kind of war and left [another common thrope- even long wartime service in NATO armies did not provide them with adequate experience against heavy fires].

9. This soldier, just as many other volunteers and Ukrainians, is visibly shocked by bestiality of Russian way of war- it is beyond just Bucha and Irpien, but in every village and town atrocities are common, there are also often civilians lying dead in countryside or murdered on roads. He descibes a situation when Russians purposfully shoot passing cars but initially targeting only backseats. Drivers speed up to escape, they take the turn and meet a hidden defence point when they are frontally gunned down in group. This way many cars created a barricade from vehicles and dead civilians that blocked the road in case of Ukrainian advance. Such behaviour of course only stiffened Ukrainian morale.

Ok, sorry for long post. There is another interview with sgt. Krzysztof X that came out several days ago when he give details of offensive in Kharkiv, if you will be interested I may sum up his experiences.

That is a remarkable speech.  Borrell is trying to shock everyone, with blunt statements, into having an adult discussion.  
I hope it works.  Contrast Borrell's speech with last year's, somewhat self-congratulatory and focussed mostly on non-existential issues: Address by President Charles Michel to the annual EU Ambassadors’ conference - Consilium (europa.eu)
I don't know how, but somehow Borrell's positions need to become entrenched.

Nice ferry you have there. Would be a shame if something happened to it.

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eu-ambassadors-annual-conference-2022-opening-speech-high-representative-josep-borrell_en
 
Read it, read the whole thing, then ponder what I said a few posts ago about how it would be good to increase ammo production.

Who knows. It's difficult to read irony online when it could just as well be a copy/paste mistake.
There's already so much info to keep up with that it would be better if people just stated their comments plainly, I think.

Collecting them as part of Russian victory conditions.

When viewed from space Elon musk’s ego causes a minor eclipse of Zelensky’s balls, but only briefly.