sburke

show off, that is sooo 7 years ago

I think "combined arms" has just become a buzz word(s). The use of multiple types of weapons (or branches of armed forces if you will) that have different strengths in conjunction to achieve a desired result is as old as warfare. "hey grog, you take the little guys and throw rocks at the Neanderthals while lunk and the rest of us big guys attack with clubs". The problem is defining what are those 'arms". We are used to thinking, tanks, infantry, artillery and aircraft. Time to rewrite the definition of arms in "combined arms".

Trying to look out just maybe a decade and the question of what conflicts we can expect is a guaranteed migraine, however there are some things we can see right now that are sure bets to get worse. Water, food and migrations away from places that are unable to sustain human existence are the projections we can expect. That in turn sets expectations on the potential adversaries and types of conflicts. I don't know that we will see another war like this current conflict. However unless we can find some global agreement on how to face this future, it is going to be freakin chaotic as hell.

I think you are reacting in a very one sided way. An army that starts refusing orders undermines the authority of the state. That army doesn't function independent of the state apparatus. It doesn't mobilize troops, it doesn't make economic decisions, it doesn't drive the overall political process nor negotiate with the few allies Russia has. It undermines all that by making the state appear to not have control and therefore authority. Think Xi wants to be in bed with a guy whose own army is in revolt? Who decides who in the army gets resources? Who decides that X artillery brigade supports which corps? Who decides what aviation resources support which sector of the front? Chaos absolutely serves the interest of the UA. With confusion as to who is in charge, the ability to respond to UA advances declines. The RA isn't suddenly going to start fighting smarter, it is simply going to fight even less coordinated than it does now.

That would in turn undermine the whole defense of a "western order" and reward Russia for the war. On top of that Ukraine has shown no interest in giving up a position of full restoration of the national integrity of Ukraine. NATO membership isn't really relevant and there in no telling how long and convoluted that process might become. As it stands Ukraine is being backed by almost the full arsenal of NATO so there isn't much incentive to even consider a compromise especially considering Russia's stated positions. Russia needs to be clearly seen as having lost this war after all the sacrifice Ukraine has given. Short of that Russia will continue some form of aggression to continue to destabilize things. That in turn would also hold up membership. This isn't about Donetsk, but rather the example the Ukrainian people have set. That is the threat Ukraine represents.

personally I think JonS little diddy was better put, but I couldn't resist throwing in a shout out for the Saxons.

One thing I didn't note, but should have about rainy season. As the UA continues to punish Russian supply lines, rainy season will compound those affects as Russia relies more and more on long distance truck hauling versus RR and obviously the heavier stuff is the worse the impact- i.e artillery shells. Regarding analogies. I don't think it is helpful to try and compare to prior military campaigns. They rely too much on the technology and political constraints of the time. We are in a whole new ballgame and preconceptions based on historical situations that aren't really comparable leads to incorrect expectations. I don't expect we will see a "breakout" campaign on the order of COBRA for example. Honestly not sure which will occur first, the collapse of the political or military will in Russia.

Couple things 1. Russian trying to restore manpower is fraught with problems none of which will improve based on weather 2. Not sure how much rainy season really matters if you aren't doing a mechanized push requiring extending supply lines. UA could continue its present strategy regardless of weather. 3. So far I've seen no sign of UA committing the reserves it has built up anywhere so I can't say that Russian attempting to force UA to divert resources is having any impact. In fact going on the offensive only makes it easier for UA to kill Russians. Net result. It doesn't appear that Russia has come up with anything new in its bag of stupid tricks and UA continues to erode their C&C as well as artillery park. Patience.

with their army at full strength and the UA scrambling they couldn't take Kiev so yeah I am willing to go out on a limb here and say there isn't much of a northern threat.

gonna party like its 1949!...... nah just doesn't have the same ring to it.

and here I was wondering if he just had a thing for not mentioning the saxons.

Fired Russian General’s Remarks the Latest Sign of Disarray in Military Leadership (yahoo.com) Yes you do have great trials facing you. Hopefully at the Hague.

Everything is still going according to plan! Top Putin Crony Curses Audience and Berates Colleague On-Air (yahoo.com)

Panicked Russians withdrew 100 billion rubles from banks during the Wagner revolt, central bank says (yahoo.com)

Kadyrov’s unit base in Mariupol reportedly hit; casualties removed secretly (yahoo.com)

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/russias-economy-dealt-crushing-blow-000937531.html Russia's current-account balance has collapsed, in another blow to the floundering economy. The nation's surplus tanked 93% to $5.4 billion last quarter from a year earlier, Bank of Russia data show. That comes as Western sanctions squeeze Russia's energy exports. Russia's economic woes are worsening, with the latest blow coming in the form of a collapse in its current account. The nation posted a current-account surplus of $5.4 billion for the April-June quarter, which marks a 93% plunge from a record $76.7 billion in the same period of 2022, Russia's central bank data show. That's also the smallest excess since the third quarter of 2020. The worsening trade dynamics are also reflected in the plunging fortunes of the ruble. The Russian currency tumbled to a 15-month low of around 94.48 per dollar earlier in July, hit hard by the country's weakening terms of trade. "The decline in the surplus of the balance of the external trade in goods in January – June 2023 compared to the comparable period of 2022 was caused by a decrease in both the physical volumes of export deliveries and the deterioration in the price situation for the basic Russian export commodities, energy commodities made the most significant contribution to the decline in the value of exports," the Bank of Russia said. Moscow's key source of revenue is through sales of its oil and gas products, but price caps and bans imposed on Russia's energy exports by a pool of nations following its unprecedented attack on Ukraine, have meant its commodities business has taken a huge hit. In June, Russia's Finance Ministry revealed that revenue from oil and gas taxes fell 36% compared to a year ago to about 570.7 billion rubles, while profits from crude and petroleum products tumbled 31% to 425.7 billion rubles.

I think that is only part of the calculus. China invading Vietnam didn't generate this kind of response. other factors 1. It is Europe. Too close to home for NATO 2. It's impact strategically is much more important to the US and NATO than the consequences of a war in SE Asia. 3. The Ukrainian victory at Maidan and continuing to hold out against Russian aggression was a cause the west could support. 4. The long term goal of fostering democracy in Ukraine did not have a counter part in Vietnam. If this had been Russia invading Belarus I don't think there would have been the same western response. The Ukrainians themselves set the conditions that made this a viable option for the west.

anything you download from the store now is an all in one (you'll notice right away from the file size, especially for CMBN). You'll need license keys to unlock the individual items including major upgrades. While you are at it, if you don't own them already this may be worth a look - the super bundle. Battlefront

it can be done, but not easily. Essentially, you'd need the original campaign files and would have to edit them, then compile.

I was being a bit tongue in cheek however I think the UA would love these guys to try an offensive, much easier to kill them. The days of fearing a Russian offensive capability are long gone.

Fixed that for ya

considering Turkey's relationship to Russia DESPITE being a NATO member, wonder why they didn't just decide to form the Baltic Treaty Organization with US, UK, Poland, Lithuania. Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden with a formal invite to Ukraine pending the end of the war.

China has got to be pissed As China threat grows in Asia, Japan to open NATO liaison office to counter Beijing (yahoo.com)

This I can get behind.

you asked.