MOS:96B2P

On more than a few levels to be honest.  The fact that this young (assuming healthy) man “wants to return to Ukraine” once the war is over is particularly irksome.  Essentially the young man is saying that as soon as “others fight and die for his own nation”, he is eager to return home.  Now this is one individual that Canadian overly-liberal media have glommed onto because “if it cries it leads” these days.  However, this sentiment cannot be entirely isolated given the significant number of fighting aged people who have simply run away from Ukraine while the nation fights for its life.
Meanwhile foreigners, many without any Ukrainian connections, fight and die for that nation.  Nope, does not sit well at all.

Come on, Obama's policy vs Russia was disastrous. It's hard not to see the harebrained "reset", setting various "red lines", e.g. use of gas in Syria which have come and passed ineffectually, the 2014 invasion and finally open warfare by Russian army as steps which inexorably followed from one another because of lack of any meaningful US response at the previous step. Talking hard and then not producing any stick whatsoever, big or otherwise, suggests that either the stick is so rotten that it will fall to pieces or the wrists are too limp to wield it. 

This night UKR UAVs successfully hit next two oil bases in Smolensk oblast
In Lipetsk oblast, particilarly was struck Novolipestk steelworks plant, producing 18 % of overall Russian steel. This plant also produce many armor steel for military purpose and already was hit several months ago. This time drones destroyed oxigen feeding workshop, which may cause disruping of some technological processes.

It is comments like this, which pull in politics for no related reason without fear of retribution that lead some of our members to believe that there are different rules depending on which side of the aisle you sit.  

I am not a fan of any of the candidates we have, but I have to wonder if the results would be the same if the post referenced Biden's supposed dementia?

I heard France promised to supply 74 Caesar in 2024.
If they can keep that promise, it is a good addition to the Ukrainian arsenal. 

Ukraine has ordered 10 000 Turkish Hatsan BTS-12 hunter semi-automatic rifles shooting with buckshot for anti-drone purpose. 4000 already deliverd to Ukriane. Reportedly rifle passed tests and was accepted. 
 

Russians gradually have been learing of Ukrainian experience of artillery fire control. If in 2022  - mid 23 we have seen typical Soviet style of whole batteries and even battalions of side-by-side standing guns simultainous work, that now Russians are more and more shifting to dispersing of artillery and work by single guns of a battery with individaual targeting for each.
Here is google-translated post about changes since 2022. "The work was carried out in areas with a low coeeficient of UAV use" - means "ineffective area fire with low UAV usage", though for summer 2022 it's not always could be true, or soldiers then reported about dozen Orlans and Zala, ajusting fire. Probably ajusting was inefefctive or come on too long command chain, which made it ineffective.

 
And addition to this post by other Russian artillerist with my translation:
I'l throw my 5 cents:
Regimental artillery tied on artillery chief (of regiment). He, sitting on command post (let's call it in such way) together with chief of recon, watch streams from UAVs (and intercepted streams of the enemy). Spotting the target chief of artillery transmits it to battery commander or senior battery officer  [he is commander of 1st artillery platoon also] and they transmit this data to the gun. 2-7 minutes for targeting of the gun, the bird [drone] in the sky. First shoot - the fire ajustment from artilelry chief directly to the gun. Or artillery chief opens the map, come into communication with gun commandr through the radio and gives the targeting (angle, azimuth, lines). The gun crew lives on position 2-5 days, further a rotation is coming. Nobody drink on position, it's taboo, else they go to "zakrep" [probably those who have to hold the ground after assault] - and this is more scary than to stormers. 
We don't work with mortars since new year. This is no longer relevant becaus of crews life preservation purposes. Drones already fly on 10 km in the rear, so they clicks them at once  

And here Russian feedback about CAESERs

Ukraine hit one of Sevastopol bays with "Neptun" missile. Local authorities claim "the missile was intercepted, but debrises caused small fire, which was quickly extinguished". 
Though after some of locals issued a video with a fire on the some ship, thre were information appeared Russian submarine salvage vessel "Komunna" was hit.
"Komunna", belonging to 1st group of 145th resque vessels detachment is unique and oldest vessel in military service in the world. It was laid down as far as in 1912 (!!!) and was comissioned in 1915 as a vessel for submarines resque and sunken ships and other ojects lifting. As prototype was used German vessel "Vulcan". Initially it named "Volkhov" and served on Baltic, passing WWI, Winter War and WWII. In 1967 the vessel was moved to Black Sea. Since 2016 "Komunna" was equiped with more modern AS-28 deep-submergence resque vessel, having opportunity to reach 1000 m of depth. Though, in 1967 "Komunna" had more capable deep vessel AS-6, wich could reach 2000 m, but was decomissioned in the mid of 80th. Othe one interesting fact aboyt this vessel - it hull made of unique ductille mallable ship steel - the hull of the vessel even now, since 102 years in very good condition, but the technology of such steel producing was lost after Russian Civil War
Here is "Komunna"


    

Ukraine this night conducted large drone attack on Russian infrastructure objects with at least 50 drones, including jet ones. This was combined operation of SBU, GUR and SOF
Russian side as usual claimed all drones were shot down/supressed, BUT:
Most successful attack was on "Lukoil" and "Nyeftyanika" companies oil depots near Kardymovo village in Smolensk oblast. Both bases, standing side-by-side were set on fire. This is transit oil bases - Russian oil accumulates here before transporting on Belarusian refineries and then a gas and other products mostly go back to Russian market.

 

Locals also reported in TG they heard a sound of jet engine and explosion in area of Smolensk aviation plant. This object, which specialized on light aircraft and Kh-59 missiles producing already was hit by a drone in November 2023
In Vygonichi, Briansk oblast power substation was hit

Staryi Oskol, Belgorod oblast - also reportedly power object was hit
Reportedly a fire on power substation in Ufa, Bashjortostan Republic, but this is 1500 km from Ukraine. Maybe technical failure or diversion

 

On the topic of democracy (democracy indexes, democratic backsliding and the like) I can actually contribute with more than my typical "expert amateur's" opinion since poli sci is my academic background.
The Economist Democracy Index appears to be from 2021 (based on Norway's and Sweden's scores of 9.75 and 9.26 respectively). That year Switzerland dipped down below 9.00, which changed its colour in the map @The_Capt posted. It might be a colour vision thing @kimbosbread? Personally I know that my red-green colour vision is in the dumps, and I cannot make out any distinction what so ever between the colours assigned to 8, 7 and 6 in that map. That still places it as a full democracy though.
It should be noted for the Economist Democracy Index's use of the term "Flawed democracy" doesn't mean that it's not a democracy, undemocratic or the like:
In the case of the USA, this likely refers to issues such as voter turnout, gerrymandering, first-past-the-post and the virtual two party system, civil rights, etc. Emphasis on "likely" though, because the Economist Democracy Index is based on anonymous scoring from undisclosed experts, so no one can say with certainty what particular aspects influenced a state's scoring.
 
V-dem is in my experience the preferred democracy index, notwithstanding any personal bias (it's from my alma mater). What makes the most difference (going by the examples cited here) though is how you measure democracy: Visual Capitalist choses to measure shares of the global poluation as opposed to number of states. This leads to statistical oddities/misrepresentations of the scale of democratic backsliding, since states are entities: if say State A and State B have become democracies whereas State Z has become an autocracy, that's a net increase in democracy, regardless of the fact that State A & B only have a combined population of say 20 million whereas State Z has a population of 1 billion. That's how Visual Capitalist arrives at the dire conclusion of "2010 Democracy: 50.4% vs 2021 Democracy: 29.3%".
India alone being reclassed from "electoral democracy" to "electoral autocracy" is behind a not insignificant portion of that change: the number of people living in electoral autocracies increased by 1.76 billion between 2010 and 2021 (India's population today reaching 1.41 billion). The remaining net global population which has shifted from "liberal/electoral democracy" to "electoral/closed autocracy" is "only" 0.7 billion. I.e., one single country falling back into autocracy is behind a smidge over 2/3 of that shift.
 
If we were to look at states instead (the typical poli sci method and arguably the more accurate measurement), we get this more positive picture:

Between the end of the Cold War and 2022, liberal democracies have remained virtually the same, more than half the world's closed autocracies have gone the way of the dodo, and electoral democracies and electoral autocracies are tied at 32.58%: back in 1990, electoral autocracies were almost 30% ahead of electoral democracies, and a staggering 36.84% of the world's states were closed autocracies. Closed autocracies were by far the most common form of government in the world when the Cold War ended: today its the opposite, it's the least common.
 
That was an argument against Visual Capitalist's measurement of democracy. Democratic backsliding is accepted among most experts, but there's not much certainty as to whether or not this will turn out to be a lasting development or if it's simply a symptom of many politically and socially underdeveloped/unprepared states which were democratised when the Cold War wrapped up simply having reverted to forms of government which are more in line for what could be expected of them.
 
 
Edit: I was going to write a brief reply. Instead I wrote more here than I've gotten done on my thesis during the last two months combined. FFS...

Roasty Toasty

Not trying to move the thread off topic any more than it already has, but apparently US, UK, and French forces (ships I suppose) as well as Saudi and Jordanian forces are assisting in intercepting Iranian drones and missiles.  I just thought that was interesting.  I also saw something about 'stuff' happening inside Iran, but I haven't watched or read enough about it to know what's going on exactly.

Well, it's began. Soon Israel will hear "mopeds" in the air. I wish good hunting to Israeli AD and to wipe out Iranian militray industry for Israeli missile troops
Pro-Iranian group Katib Hezbollah in Southern Iraq claimed military operation against Israel. I suppose, South Lebanon Hezbollah will do the same later. It's a good opportunity to bomb into stone age one country of the "Evil Axis". But balls are needed

Hi Guys
I have uploaded the campaigns into The Scenario Depot under a single zip file.  On my return from family commitments on Monday I will upload the map pack for you all to enjoy.  Good work Frank!
https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/cm-red-thunder/cm-red-thunder-campaigns/cmrt-summer-of-destruction-campaign/

The West is watching...

NICE!!! All in alphabetical order also.    

News from Vire:
A Panther roams at th end of the street…

 
Fierce fighting have also occured in the cemetary:

 
Even the surrounding countryside is not spared…

 

Alarmeinheiten
Blunting the Spear
BP1 Five Days One Summer
BP1 Tigers at Ogledow
CMRT Kampfgruppe von Schroif
CP SoD Chapter I Partisans Land
CP SoD Chapter II Into Hell
CP SoD Chapter III Our Father
CP SoD Chapter IV Five Bridges
CP SoD Chapter V Tiger Trail
FR Breakthrough to Kovel
FR Broken Shields
FR Night at the Opera Axis
FR Night at the Opera Soviet
FR The Battle of Tukums
FR To Berlin
Hammers Flank
Rokossoykys Impasse
The Relief of Army Group North
The Road to Minsk
Thunder Over Ponyri
Training Campaign
Zitadelle
 
It's 23, I counted Tiger Trail twice as I had the pre-release testing version.
 

The game UI doesn't tell us what a vehicle's ground pressure is. Perhaps this is part of what is indicated by the "Off-Road" meter? He did say that weight made no difference (given the same "Off-Road" rating and means of movement), which struck me as odd. But it might make sense if the ground pressure is already accounted for in the "Off-Road" meter.
That was my interpretation as well. I assume when he said that the "order given" made no impact he meant whether you gave it a slow, move, quick, or fast order.

+ 1 Interesting stuff.  If I understood correctly speed had no impact on bogging.  I think this is what he meant when he said, orders had no impact?  I wish he had spent more time on the speed issue since the forum often debates speed vs bogging / immobilization.  IMO speed, in the game, does not effect bogging /immobilization but I'm not sure he went into enough detail to conclusively end that debate. 
In game bogging / immobilization probably means more than just getting stuck.  It may also mean mechanical issues, running out of fuel, etc.  Instead of the UI reading Bogged and Immobilized it might be better if it read something like Broke / Stuck and then sometimes transitioning to Out of Action instead of Immobilized.   This change in wording might be more accurate and make more sense more often. 
So when the player's tank becomes broke / stuck on grass terrain in clear weather with very dry conditions it could be assumed it threw a track or something mechanical.  If BFC ever made an animation for the track coming off this would be even better ............. 

As pointed out above, assets like the Wespe or the Priest can only be used in a direct fire mode if they are an on-map asset. You can only use them in an indirect fire mode if they were purchased as an off map artillery asset. 
On the other issue, when you want to issue an order to a on-map mortar, you need to have a radio and C2 link from the spotter to the mortar. There is an exception as explained in the CM Engine Manual 4.0 (page 77):
 

On-map self propelled guns and howitzers are not allowed indirect fire in CM. IIRC the rationale is that ranges for on-map fire would typically be too short for their trajectory to hit.

AR has been on a roll with helpful Combat Mission tips videos. His latest one is one bogging, so I think a link to it belongs in this thread.
 

ruh roh!!
China's Quiet Push Into Russia's Far East Puts Putin in a Pickle (msn.com)