Boche

Entire campaign is almost done. I was hoping to wrap up the final briefings tonight but got called into my side job so might have to wait till the weekend. - FF

Some also came to visit our base here in Barcelona last month. Dont know if they are been treated here in the city though.

1. Any Spaniard knows Alentejo is not Spain, but Portugal. 
2. We would see if Morocco could take both cities. Some people also thought that Russia could occupy Ukraine in less than a month.

Alentejo is a Portuguese region. SW Spain is Andalucía (in fact Andalucía is the larger Spanish region and covers the entire south part of Spain, from east to west) and Extremadura
There is not a lot off water between Morocco and Ceuta and Melilla. They are Spanish cities in North Africa that Morocco claims they should be Moroccan. And the NATO treaty does NOT protect them. They are not NATO-protected territory.

Ceuta:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceuta

Melilla:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melilla

Breaking with the LOTR metaphors for a moment, Estonia kinda resembles this character:


CV90s are rather unexpected:
 

Your welcome. Just to clarify. Spain in general has been favourable to actual support of Ukraine, which was a welcome suprise to me. I was very happy to see all those C90 at weapons go over, aswell as all the M113s. We did send another mish mash of gear which to be honest is preety crap but hey it is what we have.
Going back to the support. Ukraine has served to push the narrative here the the military is actually there for something and the Armed Forces atleast are trying to capitalize on this to get more funding (funding that is desperately needed and has been put off for decades).
Before Ukraine all this was much harder to aquire and justify.

Your welcome. Just to clarify. Spain in general has been favourable to actual support of Ukraine, which was a welcome suprise to me. I was very happy to see all those C90 at weapons go over, aswell as all the M113s. We did send another mish mash of gear which to be honest is preety crap but hey it is what we have.
Going back to the support. Ukraine has served to push the narrative here the the military is actually there for something and the Armed Forces atleast are trying to capitalize on this to get more funding (funding that is desperately needed and has been put off for decades).
Before Ukraine all this was much harder to aquire and justify.

The big problem is that Canary Island are protected by article 6 of the NATO treaty, but Ceuta and Melilla are OUT of the treaty. 
Article 6 1
For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:
on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France 2, on the territory of Turkey or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer;
on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in Europe in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Mediterranean Sea or the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.
 

Your welcome. Just to clarify. Spain in general has been favourable to actual support of Ukraine, which was a welcome suprise to me. I was very happy to see all those C90 at weapons go over, aswell as all the M113s. We did send another mish mash of gear which to be honest is preety crap but hey it is what we have.
Going back to the support. Ukraine has served to push the narrative here the the military is actually there for something and the Armed Forces atleast are trying to capitalize on this to get more funding (funding that is desperately needed and has been put off for decades).
Before Ukraine all this was much harder to aquire and justify.

Your welcome. Just to clarify. Spain in general has been favourable to actual support of Ukraine, which was a welcome suprise to me. I was very happy to see all those C90 at weapons go over, aswell as all the M113s. We did send another mish mash of gear which to be honest is preety crap but hey it is what we have.
Going back to the support. Ukraine has served to push the narrative here the the military is actually there for something and the Armed Forces atleast are trying to capitalize on this to get more funding (funding that is desperately needed and has been put off for decades).
Before Ukraine all this was much harder to aquire and justify.

Morocco army to receive M1A2 Abrams MBTs after M1A1 SA:
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2022/01/346522/morocco-to-receive-latest-version-of-us-m1-abrams-tanks
The Moroccan tanks to be sent to Ukraine are T-72, not Leopard 2A4. 

The Spanish problem is Morocco.

1. Spain has two cities on the north African coast (Ceuta and Melilla) and several islands and islets (Perejil, Chafarinas Islands, Alborán island, Peñón de Vélez and Peñón de Alhucemas)  off the north African coast. They have been Spanish for centuries, but Morocco claims they should be Moroccan. Last, but not least, they also claims the whole continental platform up to the Canary Islands.
2. We already had a short war in Ifni in 1957 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ifni_War ), problems in the Spanish Sahara in 1975, an incident over Perejil Island in 2002 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perejil_Island ), the border incidents in may 2021  ( https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidente_fronterizo_entre_España_y_Marruecos_de_2021) and so on. Morrocco has NEVER been a trusting friend nor an ally.
2. Ceuta has some land protecting it, but the only way to defend Melilla is assaulting the macizo del Gurugú (Gourougou Massif) and the high ground close to the city. MBT could not asssault the Gurugú, but are nice support weapons for any infantry assaulting all the high ground around Melilla.
3. Spain has usually neglected their armed forces, but has always tried to keep a clear superiority over Morocco. It means having a good air force (Ejército del Aire), able to quickly gain air superiority over Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands, a navy strong enough to be able clear the sea from Moroccan ships and land some forces on the Moroccan coast, and keeping army forces strong enough to make some limited offensive operations in that area. 
BTW, my grandfather on my father side fought in Morocco in the 20's, while my better half's father fought in Ifni en 1957. In Spain, most people realize that Morocco has been our enemy more often than not.

OTOH most of the Leopard 2A4 are in a pity state, because they were an stopgap measure until the Leopard 2E ( the Spanish version of the Leopard 2A6) were available. The 2A4 have been in storage since the Leopard 2E were received. They could be send to Ukraine after being refurbished.

Thank you for the Spain insight. I somehow always thought Spain as pretty militarist and ready to go with the Ukraine support.
Never thought it would have been a taboo of any sort.
 

Valid question. Which is why I dont know why we have so many. The main reason would be a land war with Morroco or deployment to eastern europe vs the Russians. We are already enoyings spains first deployment of Leo2Es in Latvia but just in platoon strength. Wether or not that will be increased or decreased in the future I dont know.
Vs Morroco its debatable wether they would even see combat before "its over". A number of Leo2a4s are stationed in Ceuta and Melilla. Depends on the strategy we decide to employ.
Financial AND poltiical. Defense is a tabboo subject in Spain. Any talk of defense spending creates ripples politicians are not willing to create. With the war now there has been some leeway in justifying some increases but...still. There SECOND main party in the goverment coalition heavily lobied AGAINST sending ANYTHING to Ukraine. Still the Main question is how many of those Leo2s are operational. If you are going to ask for half our fleet....yeah I doubt we can give that. I would love for that to be the case though.
 

Valid question. Which is why I dont know why we have so many. The main reason would be a land war with Morroco or deployment to eastern europe vs the Russians. We are already enoyings spains first deployment of Leo2Es in Latvia but just in platoon strength. Wether or not that will be increased or decreased in the future I dont know.
Vs Morroco its debatable wether they would even see combat before "its over". A number of Leo2a4s are stationed in Ceuta and Melilla. Depends on the strategy we decide to employ.
Financial AND poltiical. Defense is a tabboo subject in Spain. Any talk of defense spending creates ripples politicians are not willing to create. With the war now there has been some leeway in justifying some increases but...still. There SECOND main party in the goverment coalition heavily lobied AGAINST sending ANYTHING to Ukraine. Still the Main question is how many of those Leo2s are operational. If you are going to ask for half our fleet....yeah I doubt we can give that. I would love for that to be the case though.
 

https://cepa.org/article/expelling-russia-from-the-un-security-council-a-how-to-guide/
Expelling Russia from the UN Security Council — a How-to Guide
September 26, 2022
Written By: Thomas D. Grant
Russia’s permanent membership of the world’s most powerful international forum has been a cause for despair, but there is a way to unseat Putin’s diplomats.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, over the objections of Russia and a small gaggle of its allies, last week addressed the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and asked a long overdue question: why does Russia still hold a veto-wielding seat on the UN Security Council?  
Twice in the past, the United Nations has taken improvised steps to modify or restrict the participation of a member state when the organization judged such steps necessary. Similar improvision, adapted to the circumstances, can work again. 
A General Assembly vote in 1971 gave China’s UN seat to the government in Beijing, effectively removing Taiwan from the UN. Three years later, the General Assembly declared that South Africa’s government no longer had a right to address the Assembly or to cast votes there. In neither case did the Assembly follow any script provided by the UN Charter. It relied instead on creative use of the UN’s credentials procedures — the seemingly arcane procedures that determine who represents a given member state. 
What would justify putting Russia’s Security Council credentials to a vote? How would such a vote take place? And why would credentialling a representative from Ukraine be the right solution to fill the seat Russia vacates? 
Under UN Charter Article 23(1), the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council are “[t]he Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom . . . and the United States of America.” The USSR seat, since December 1991, has been filled by representatives of the Russian Federation. The text of Article 23(1) has not changed since that time.  
International lawyers often describe this state of affairs as having arisen automatically. However, it did not. A Russian representative filling the USSR seat resulted from an agreement. The agreement, both tacit and express, was part of the overall peaceful transition to a new political order in Russia and to Russia’s largely seamless inheritance of a vast array of Soviet rights, privileges, and assets. 
Other outcomes were possible. As of December 1991, although nobody pursued the possibility at the time: two UN Members besides Russia were also, in principle, suitable to fill the USSR Security Council seat. Ukraine and Belarus had both been Union Republics of the USSR — and both were also “original Members” of the UN, i.e., founding member states. No other UN member had or has those characteristics as negotiated at Yalta and accepted at San Francisco in 1945 — both had Union Republic status in the former USSR and original membership in the UN.  
But one of the two, Belarus, has since February 2022 aided and assisted Russia in aggression against Ukraine, thus disqualifying itself by any reasonable measure.  
That leaves Ukraine as the sole original member of the UN that has remained faithful to the organization’s principles and was also a constituent of the USSR. It, therefore, has a credible claim to the USSR’s seat. 
How to make good on that claim? The first step would be for Ukraine to issue credentials to one of its diplomats to fill the USSR seat. No doubt Russia’s representative would insist that he, not a Ukrainian, keep the seat. Other Council Members, however, would be free to object to the Russian’s presence. An objection would give rise to a matter requiring settlement.  
Here, the Security Council’s seldom-noted credentials rules would come into play. Under Rule 17 of the Security Council’s Provisional Rules of Procedure:  
[a]ny representative on the Security Council, to whose credentials objection has been made within the Security Council, shall continue to sit with the same rights as other representatives until the Security Council has decided the matter (emphasis added).  
So Russia’s representative would “continue to sit” on the Council until a decision was made. Deciding the matter — i.e., deciding an objection to the credentials of a Security Council representative — falls under the rules on procedural matters. These are decided by a nine-member majority on the 15-member council. Under UN Charter Article 27(2), such matters cannot be vetoed. Russia would be powerless. 
Is there any justification for this? As it happens, there is. The Council would be asked to recall the agreement under which Russia initially filled the USSR seat, and by drawing attention to Russia’s subsequent violation of that agreement. In December 1991, Russia agreed to respect the UN Charter, including, specifically, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors. Russia expressed the same intention in numerous other forums and instruments, including in the Alma Ata Protocols and Budapest Memorandum. In return, Russia obtained numerous significant benefits, ranging from the USSR’s strategic nuclear assets and the former Soviet space infrastructure, to the privilege of representing the USSR under Article 23(1) of the Security Council. 
This settlement of questions of state continuity and state succession in the 1990s, which was very much to Russia’s liking, took place through highly bespoke transactions, not through the automatic application of general international law. Of indispensable importance in the settlement was Russia’s pledge to accept as final the sovereign frontiers of its neighbors and never to use force or threat against them.  
Russia, through its aggression against Ukraine, has egregiously violated that pledge and, thus, its presence on the Security Council has lost its legal basis. The Council has the procedural tools to respond to Russia’s violation and to recognize Ukraine’s fealty to the UN Charter.  
If it wishes to affirm its own vitality and that of the UN as a whole, then the Council should use those tools without delay. 
Dr. Thomas D. Grant is a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge and writes on geopolitics and international law. (See Aggression Against Ukraine: Territory, Responsibility, and International Law (2015) and International Law in the Post-Soviet Space, volumes I and II (2019)).

I made a small Cheat Engine patch for the game, it allows you to prevent the mission ending when the timer runs out.
Just attach cheat engine to the game, then load the file and check the "Disable Mission Timer" checkbox.
When the timer goes to zero it begins counting up, the AI still functions even after you pass the time limit (though no more timed scenario actions will occur).  
I made patches for Normandy, Shock Force 2, Cold War, and Black Sea, which can be found in their respective forums
CM Black Sea.CT

Interesting video about a tank-supported infantry attack on RU position in Kharkiv region.  Battalion commander watch w drone and commanded using that info -- like he was playing CM 😆
 
 

Have been expecting this for awhile.
 
 

New Jomini!!
 
 

this thread right now:
ukr.mp4    

Everyone remembers how Red Storm Rising ended, right?

Upvote is not enough for this. All time classic, and so fitting!
In the meantime, claims about other UA advances are appearing one after another, but this one stands out among the rest:


Also, me last night: