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Sequoia

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Posts posted by Sequoia

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    41 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

    T

    Russians have been told that they are the dominant military power in the world.  They have been told that they can win a nuclear exchange because their wonder weapons will protect them.  That's dangerous.

    Steve

    Hopefully our intelligence sources will continue to keep the Free World powers that be alert to something ominous.

    0

    So has playing Combat Mission make you now cringe when you watch war movies?

    in Combat Mission - General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm not saying the movies are bad for portraying combat cinematically. Movies portray everything inaccurately to a greater or lesser degree.

    Band of Brothers other than the scene I mentioned portrayed combat just as described above. I've not seen The Pacific. The opening scene of Private Ryan was great cinematography. It did not accurately portray the landing at Omaha Beach. 

    0

    So has playing Combat Mission make you now cringe when you watch war movies?

    in Combat Mission - General Discussion

    Posted

    I've been trying to think of ANY modern war (WWI and on) movies that shows combat realistically. Perhaps the one scene that's an exception that comes to mind is in Band of Brothers where they attack the artillery emplacement in Normandy. Short ambushes sometimes are portrayed alright, but that's about it. 

    Most movies still have attackers line up in some sort of skirmish line and advance upright in the open. Suppression is almost never represented. I suppose real life combat isn't very cinematic as you usually only see the heads of the enemy at best most of the time. 

    List your exceptions and let's see if we can dissuade you that they are realistic.

     

    1

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    1 hour ago, JonS said:

    If the US Army really want's longer ranged barrel launched fires, they should stop messing around with the 109, and just buy a ton of PzH2000s. 60+km is nothing to sneeze at (and what's wrong with RAP anyway?).

    Other than the Harrier, I can't think of a major purchase of a foreign made weapons system by the US Military, but I'm not the most informed guy around. Given the huge US defense budget, it seems the US always prefers to keep it's citizens employed by building it's own stuff, even if it's not the most cost efficient choice. Not to mention Congress sometimes forcing the military to purchase equipment it doesn't want.

    0

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    12 hours ago, c3k said:

    The dominance of ranged fires is interesting. Whether it's artillery or precision guided missiles, observation and weight of fire are the key.

    Have I mentioned the need for the US to produce a good 8" gun lately?  ;)

    Whichever side can bring it's artillery to bear against the enemy's, will be the side that dominates the fight and wins. Counter-battery fires are critical. Curtail the enemy's artillery, enable your artillery to pummel the enemy positions, and then move forward with infantry and armor, then shove your artillery forward to push your "bubble" further...seems to be the solution.

    All of which pivots on the ability to observe your ranged fires.

    The days of the stubby howitzer are over. Today, the battle goes to the guns with range. (155L39 doesn't cut it anymore: 155L52 or 155L59 are the key, followed soon by the 203L59. Oh, and every gun section gets a geolocating drone or two.)

    Out of curiosity, the US did make a good 8" gun, the M110. I see it was retired by the US in 1994 according to Wikipedia. Any particular reason it would no longer be worthy of first line units?

    0

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    32 minutes ago, danfrodo said:

    wait, Ukrainians aren't white anymore?  Gosh, I can't keep up.   First I find out the Irish, Italians, and Poles are now 'white', at least in the US, when they certainly weren't when they came to the US.  And now the Ukrainians aren't white anymore?  Does this White Club have any rules at all?  It's almost as if they are just making it up on the fly -- but that would be ridiculous, right?   I mean, if one's whole world view revolves around this I would expect their would be some scientifically solid basis, right?  I mean, who would just do this based on nothing?  That would be really stupid.

    The first rule of White Club is don't talk about White Club.

    4

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted · Edited by Sequoia

    I'm stealing this post from someone else on another forum as I thought it was excellent. If the person from the other forum is also here (though I don't recognize the name) I hope you don't mind the theft.

     

    Just my opinion, but, imagine being the one honest general in a corrupt army. You live on your pay rather than looting supplies (and your pay scale was determined by people who assumed you’d be looting your supplies and your men’s pay).

    You try hard to force your subordinates to do the same to the extent that you can.

    Then the auditors come in, every other general has plenty of money to bribe the auditors, you don’t. Every other general has hand picked subordinates whose gravy train depends on the general helping to claim everything is in order. Your subordinates know that you are the main reason they’re actually having to try to live on inadequate army pay….

    After the audit, the army no longer has one honest general, instead it has zero.

    Audits work when almost everyone is honest, and you’re trying to root out a few bad apples before they rot the entire barrel. I’m not sure what works when almost everyone is rotten and you’re trying to find and promote the handful of capable people. Public accountability has a small chance, but needs to start a the local level (so people are close enough to know who’s doing their job) and needs generations to build, and isn’t something a dictator wants.

    4

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    On 5/11/2022 at 8:23 AM, LongLeftFlank said:

     

     

    Longtime Forumites will recall that JasonC was also very insistent on the efficacy of the strategic bombing of shopping malls, particularly using scarce precision guided weapons. So as to deprive the populace of scented candles, overpriced running shoes and other essentials, thus inexorably breaking their will to resist....

     

    Yeah late for the party on this, as I'm having trouble keeping up with this thread, but that's a joke, right? From what I recall of Jason, that doesn't sound like something he would say.

    0

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    On 5/8/2022 at 9:44 AM, danfrodo said:

     

    1.  Yet more utterly pointless discussions of "who was worse", Hitler or Stalin.  Please, just stop.  It's about as useful as arguing Superman vs Dr Strange (note, when I die and go to hell, these gawd awful superhero movies will be playing non stop, I am sure, which will be infinitely more punishing to me than burning in an eternal lake of fire)

     

     

    Still much too good for you. You will be subjected to watching  Eurovision contests over and over again.

    2

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Aragorn2002 said:

    Germany is awake now and started the great clean up. It's not just Germany. The whole West, the US included, blundered. But the real blame lies in Moscow and Bejing, let's not forget that. Let's close the ranks. And let the Ukraine realize the West is doing what it can. Without that help things would look a lot worse for Ukraine.

    Besides, if you look at it realistically there wasn't that much the West could have done to prevent this war. 

    I agree it was a blunder but I think the blunder was caused in large part in that no one really expected the enormously greater blunder Putin made in going for a full invasion. Even if his fantasy of a short war came about, there was no way Ukraine wouldn't have been a gigantic suck on Russia until they gave up just like both the Soviets and the West did in Afghanistan.

    0

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    On 3/25/2022 at 10:27 AM, Battlefront.com said:

     

    The problem with this analogy is that the will to fight Russians is rooted in the knowledge of what a Russian occupation would be like and what the long term aims of Russia are.  The US concept of nation building, though extremely flawed and riddled with hypocrisy, isn't the same sort of threat.  So it's really not a comparable situation.

    I

     

    Hi Steve,

     

    Re: This post from Friday (which is ancient history on this thread I know), I don't suppose you could recommend some good reading material on the US's (etc) failures at COIN this century that is anywhere near as good as the analysis on the current war I 've been reading in this thread?

     

    Thanks

     

     

    0

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, db_zero said:

    Unfortunately Germany is caught in a bind some of which was the result of Merkles policies of trying to win over Russia with trade-obviously a grave mistake in retrospect.

    Problem now is shut down the energy imports and risk a recession or worse and this is at a time when you're trying to increase defense spending dramatically.

    I'm thinking it wouldn't have been a bad strategy if you weren't aware you were dealing with a guy obsessed with thoughts of some grand destiny of his, and cutoff from reality by his own doing.  Just like old Adolph it sounds. 

    0

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted · Edited by Sequoia

    And though I'm no expert in International relations, but not saying if NATO troops would be sent or not would be a hollow ambiguity.  No one would really expect NATO troops to be sent, so being ambiguous about it and not really ever have the intention of doing it, would make future ambiguities less credible if you follow.

    1

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Battlefront.com said:

    Russians, even the nice ones, have an over inflated sense of importance.  This is one of the things that Putin has used most to keep himself in power.

     

    I think you'd agree though, that quality is hardly exclusive to Russians. I heard a phrase "Once an Empire, Always an Empire" 

    IIRC Iranians feel themselves to be inheritors of the Persian Empire and feel they are disrespected by not being treated as a great power. 

    The UK seems to have better adjusted to no longer being an Empire than the French. Perhaps The Commonwealth preserves the appearances of an empire.

    And I will certainly not leave out the USA. While technically never an empire, it certainly has been the leader of a hegemony for about 80 years. 

    How many Americans does it take to change a light bulb? Just one. He holds up the light bulb, and the World turns around him to screw it in.

    0

    How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?

    in Combat Mission Black Sea

    Posted

    I thought it might be useful to post what is known as the Rome Statute addition to the Geneva Convention.

     

    Under international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute, the death of civilians during an armed conflict, no matter how grave and regrettable, does not in itself constitute a war crime. International humanitarian law and the Rome Statute permit belligerents to carry out proportionate attacks against military objectives,[25] even when it is known that some civilian deaths or injuries will occur. A crime occurs if there is an intentional attack directed against civilians (principle of distinction) (Article 8(2)(b)(i)) or an attack is launched on a military objective in the knowledge that the incidental civilian injuries would be clearly excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage (principle of proportionality) (Article 8(2)(b)(iv).

    Article 8(2)(b)(iv) criminalizes intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term, and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.

    Article 8(2)(b)(iv) draws on the principles in Article 51(5)(b) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, but restricts the criminal prohibition to cases that are "clearly" excessive. The application of Article 8(2)(b)(iv) requires, inter alia, an assessment of:

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