sburke Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Ceasefires are nonsense unless informally agreed to by local commanders. The entire opposition knows they will be murdered the moment they fall under the authority and guns of the Assads again. However dramatic the humanitarian disaster, the cities aren't truly where the Syrian Civil War is being decided -- the regime shows the reporters only what it wants them to see. I would look instead to the classified NSA satellite imagery that is cataloguing the ramp-up of the IED (roadside bomb) campaign that is, drip by drip, strangling the mech-heavy Syrian army by striking its lengthy logistical tail out in the countryside. But again, let's keep this thread focused on the game. Imagine, SBurke, that you have only half as many AFVs to conduct our current game (the others are immobile at base, for lack of spares), and ~20% more poorly trained and undermotivated Shabiha militiamen (OK, they've now been issued body armour) instead? While whatever they say to the cameras, the elite Special Forces units are depleted and weary from being used time and time again for costly close assaults against do-or-die resistance. In contrast, the weary FSA militias also have slightly fewer infantry but twice as many RPGs, and also have booby traps and IED "paintcan" explosively formed penetrators. These are now manufactured in local workshops using knowhow brought in from Iraq and refined over 8 years of fighting against a vastly more capable opponent. I'd call foul and say you were stacking the deck in our PBEM 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saferight Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Ah, yes, that I agree with wholeheartedly. But the premise of having the FSA having more "armour" on hand in a tactical engagement than a defected BMP or two seems to me implausible -- as you likely know, there's a lot of complex logistics involved in keeping a mechanized formation in the field. Were a large chunk of the Syrian army command to defect, "liberating" a large segment of the country a la Libya, well that's something else entirely. But I'm not personally inclined to model what-ifs like that right now. The specific topic of interest to me was: why the hell did it take the Syrian Army so long to "retake" Baba Amr with all those tanks, against an enemy armed with only a few RPGs. And by the way, there's still plenty of rebel activity in Homs, 8 months later. Most of the city is still not under government control, although the FSA hasn't formally declared itself in control either for fear of inviting another savage artillery bombardment. SB, you know what, I'm gonna take a raincheck on Baba Amr until you get back. Want to do a touch more modding for Dienbienphu, which is sucking me in deeper the more I read. Fascinating battle, for both sides! Have look at the link seems interesting. I've also see a really well camouflaged t-72 covered with foilage an matresses having its NSV used to dish out some AA fire on helos in Aleppo. the more stockpiles of ammo an fuel they capture along with the armor needed, were gonna see more mechanized operations from the FSA. http://brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/first-video-evidence-of-tank-on-tank.html 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLeftFlank Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 Hmm, very interesting blog, thanks. As you likely know very well, these things aren't cars, so I stick with my previous statement. As I noted before, using a defected AFV or two as a semi-static heavy weapons position is a very different proposition from operating a truly mechanized unit. And I suspect it's only a short time before such vehicles are located and destroyed -- by helicopters most likely. To me this says more about the continuing parlous state of Syrian army morale than about any fundamental change in the FSA's ability to conduct conventional warfare, however keenly we CMSFers might wish it. Per my OP, I'm going to refrain from further comment so as not to get sucked into yet another "Who Are The Good Guys, Really?" debate.... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 LongLeftFlank, This vid neatly illustrates why MOUT is AFV hell. Syrian armor vs. FSA. Numerous high resolution color clips. Practically gave me claustrophobia--in between shudders! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qclCuQyzfB4&feature=fvwrel Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perforator Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Obviously I don't need to explain how rare tank vs tank combat footage is so I figured you guys would be interested in viewing this video that was filmed recently near Aleppo - 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saferight Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Obviously I don't need to explain how rare tank vs tank combat footage is so I figured you guys would be interested in viewing this video that was filmed recently near Aleppo - that was pretty close range. looks like a t-72 in the foreground cant make out the unlucky one... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Very close range. Was the "unlucky one" manned? I could not make out any movement before it got really "unlucky" and the secondary snake eyes. Numbers I heard recently of official "registered refugees" from Syria almost 480,000. This was expected to climb to > 700,000 by 2013 I think. Most of these folks left with the clothes on their backs and not much else. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan8325 Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I'm seeing a lot of videos of Assad's forces losing armored vehicles to the lightly armed rebels. Also, Assad's forces cannot seem to hold supply corridors between Demascus and Alleppo. One would think that there would be a distinct advantage to having armored forces and air power to hold territory against rebels with AK's and RPGs, primarily. Makes me wonder if Syrian government troops are just so unmotivated that they cannot be relied upon to fight on the ground alongside the armor, leaving flanks exposed to RPG attacks. Maybe it's just atrocious use of combined arms forces. Perhaps it's just that the combined arms forces vs. uncons ~2 hour long battles I am used to in CMSF do not translate well to slower moving skirmishes that can last for days or weeks in real life in Syria. Perhaps the combined arms are actually there on Assad's side, but over weeks of rebels sneaking in and launching RPGs they are able to whittle away the armor advantage more slowly than can be simulated well in CMSF. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmoly War Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Hey, is/will there be an individual battle pack for this? Id like to play it H2H. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLeftFlank Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Whenever I get around to finishing my "playtest" with SBurke, I'll release it together with the few mods (modded SF uniforms, Shopfront, vandalized Assad poster). Unlike Ramadi, you can play this with just the CMSF base game. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Alan8325, If this one's anything to go by, I'd say Syrian armor has fundamental problems not peculiar to MOUT. MOUT only makes things worse. Call this vid "How to Butcher a Syrian Tank Platoon." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VCMs-TzD2g Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FkDahl Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Interview with some captured jihadist by Sky TV's Sid Marshall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RjNsUD4qdG0#! It is so bizarre that the west is sponsoring these guys 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLeftFlank Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Let's try to keep this thread clean of the endless and irresolvable "Who Are The Good Guys, Again?" discussions, please. Please focus purely on the military aspects. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Let's try to keep this thread clean of the endless and irresolvable "Who Are The Good Guys, Again?" discussions, please. Please focus purely on the military aspects. I am the good guys, send me a turn you heartless jihadist scum. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmoly War Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 "Syria - More SAA tank footage from Darayya 16/12"; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIL_iSa609w "Syria - SAA frontline in Darayya. Dec 15, 2012 [english subtitles]"; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPuxhUA7gk8 "Syria - Battle in Darayya 14/12" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WqgSWY-inM&list=PL063D5Uzz1ZTGkxPjmXdhe_VHF54xanFN&index=1 Lots of random firing from the BMPs to preempt ambushes along the city roads. I got to say im wincing at how the vehicles are used in these cramped spaces. They got to be pretty desperate to use them like this. Vital supply routes have to be kept it seems. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLeftFlank Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 Classic "tactics" used by a demoralized force with too many vehicles and not enough infantry. With no RoE to speak of, they conduct indiscriminate "recon by fire" instead of sending out foot patrols. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmoly War Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Article describing a "Damascus trap" for the rebels; http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/01/12/syrian-army-changes-its-military.html#ixzz2F4teD2hM Makes sense to pull out of indefensible locations to concentrate them in crucial locations. Must have been some stuff taught by the russians. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Schmoly War, I have no idea how good the vehicle sounds are in CMSF, but I was mightily impressed by the few minutes I've watched so far of your first vid. I LOVE a vid in which you can hear things without whatever "musical stylings" someone adds to the video. Really excellent sound recordings of the BMP-2, something I never heard before! Cool interior shots. First time I've seen any view through a BMP firing port. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Schmoly War, Okay. I've NOW seen it all! A Yozh firing on the move and being used to haul--groceries?! Words fail me. Is Fellini scripting this stuff? Maybe this is proof the world really IS ending tomorrow. Certainly, it doesn't fit into any conventional military reality I ever heard of before. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmoly War Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 John, I want to know what happened to that FSA homemade "tank" with the playstation 2 controller. Then I can die in peace. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmoly War Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 This is a bit interesting. I havent fully checked out all his videos but this guy has some operational/strategic speculation/verfication about troop movements (with maps) in Syria; 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 17 minutes of MOUT from the Syrian side of the fence. T-72, BMP-1, BMD-1 in combat. Some very good footage, to include armor advancing with Syrian infantry, observed firing of AFV weapons and hits on buildings, infantry combat, mouseholes. Extended sequence in some sort of armored command vehicle, complete with so many AK hits it practically sounds like rain coming down. Yet again, I marvel that people will do this stuff. Syrian infantry seem to have a huge herding problem when not advancing. Baba Amr after the siege! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17230500 Baba Amr November 2011 (great street fighting audio) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxgPDb9TS_8 Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmoly War Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 For those of us who enjoy the absurd in all the terror, check out this vid from 09:20 and out, it looks like all the HMGs came together and decided to have a jam session that day! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apocal Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 At 13:08 and on through the rest of the video, you can see the world's worst machine gunner ply his trade. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collingwood Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 At 13:08 and on through the rest of the video, you can see the world's worst machine gunner ply his trade. Painful to watch. I gave a little cheer when he finally managed to squeeze off a few shots. Someone needs to tell some of these guys that unless there is a skyscaper the other side of the wall, holding your weapon up over your head and firing over the wall 45 degrees into the sky is just converting good ammunition into noise for no reason. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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