Vet 0369
-
Posts
1,347 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
2
Posts posted by Vet 0369
-
-
20 hours ago, Holman said:
As an alternate example, imagine if someone came to their final conclusions about the value of armor by studying the WW2 Pacific theater and ignoring the European theater.
Agree! I don’t know if U.S. Army Landing forces used their armor the same way as the USMC did, but suspect that they did. USMC armor was used basically as support for the Grunts. If a Marine unit came up against a strong point that would be difficult for them to take, cave, bunker, etc., they would call in the tanks (light 37mm M5s) or M4s to reduce the strong points with HE or flame. There were very few tank to tank battles, primarily because the Japanese tanks were not very good. Unfortunately, later armor use and tactics were developed on European use because the Army could get more funds that way. Then, they believed their own propaganda.
I’m pretty sure the USMC’s use of tanks during WWII formed a major part of its decision to divest of it’s armor and heavy artillery. They just don’t fit the USMC mission to “Seize and secure advanced naval bases.” In my humble opinion, the USMC has been used incorrectly since the Korean Conflict, primarily because they have been under an Army Overall Commander in every conflict since WWII.
-
8 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:
It wouldn't have done all that much better in the end, I agree, but I do think a US force would be able to take over all of eastern Ukraine within a month with another week or maybe two to establish air supremacy and degrade various other defensive capabilities.
If that had happened, maybe the Russian's presumption of surrender would have happened without the need to do urban warfare? Or maybe certain cities would surrender?
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'm glad you brought this up.
There's been all kinds of things throughout the history of warfare that people of the day said would never change. Anybody see much evidence that the stunning successes of the long bow or pike still being around these days? How about trebuchets or catapults? Yes, there some analogs to these things on the battlefield today, but the weapons themselves and the tactics that went with them are GONE.
This is my primary point about the MBT. The thing that makes the MBT important is the role it fills on the battlefield. If something else can fulfill the same role in a way that is overall viewed as "better" then that's the direction militaries will take. The sling changed to bow changed to primitive firearms changed to rifled firearms changed to... well, you get my drift that the ability to project harm from a single person to someone else has remained over thousands of years, but the means of achieving it changes quite regularly. Why should super expensive, difficult to field, awful to support, and yet highly vulnerable to vastly cheaper counter weapons stick around forever?
Steve
Well, when the Commandant of the Marine Corps and his staff decided to decommission Marine Armor and long-range artillery, they commissioned a new infantry battalion. My take on that is they feel a Marine Infantry Battalion is equivalent to their previous armor and big guns.
Can’t say I disagree
-
On 3/24/2022 at 12:28 PM, db_zero said:
Korea has some armor, but much of the country is not suited for armor.
Old and dangerous thinking. In 1950/1951, the U.S. positioned only light and medium tanks in South Korea because the “Omnipotent” brass insisted that it wasn’t tank friendly terrain. When North Korea attacked, the attack was spearheaded by T-34s, which were considered medium to heavy armor. They weren’t stopped until the U.S. “heavy” artillery behind the Pusan perimeter. We wouldn’t give any heavy artillery to Syngman Rhee because we were afraid he’d start a war with them.
-
On 3/24/2022 at 7:38 AM, Haiduk said:
Turret space launch. UKR Leleka-100 UAV is filming
I’ll bet the drone operator spotted the tracks in the lower left, and just followed them. So much for concealment from ground fire. One really has to start thinking in three dimensions.
-
1 hour ago, akd said:
Chechens and not Chechens in Mariupol (presumably DPR “regulars” based on reasonable uniform and somewhat older guns).
Ahaaaa, the “old clown car” deception where they come out of a building, walk a bit, make a left through the building and enter back into the the back door of the building they’re exiting from.
Geo. Washington did that when he deceived the Redcoats in Boston by marching the same militia around and having them change their waistcoats when they were out of sight so the Redcoats thought they were different militias (June, 1775).
-
2 hours ago, sburke said:
"falling" out of a fifth-floor window is known to a have a serious detrimental effect on your heart. If I were Shoigu, I'd have been on one of those flights to UAE.
Perhaps he was.
-
2 hours ago, Fenris said:
Someone was asking about under barrel grenade launchers somewhere in the thread... Well here's some being used to do something
Yes, they’re “being used for something.” I don’t know what they’re being used for though. My analysis from having used the M203 under-barrel and M79 (blooper) grenade launchers in the Marines is that this was a pretend display. First, what were the firing at? They didn’t use any sights, and fired using the knee or thigh instead of the shoulder, so they weren’t aiming at anything. And yes, I know they can be accurately used without the sights, but only by a very experienced Grenadier who has practiced it a lot, not by the average infantryman either Marine or soldier. Even the discharge didn’t sound right. It sounded more like a rifle discharge than the “bloop” of a grenade launcher. Maybe I’ve been away from them for too long, but it smells of BS to me.
NOTE: I’m using an iPad, so that could be the issue with the sounds, and I didn’t see a rifle cartridge ejected, so I could be wrong.
-
3 hours ago, DesertFox said:
Remember Wali?
Why is he being referred to as “infamous?” That’s usually reserved for bad guys. The attack on Pearl Harbor was “infamous.” We usually refer to good guys as “famous.”
-
3 hours ago, akd said:
Not sure what is going on here:
Arabs (Syrians?) fighting for Ukraine?
Definitely not Russians or Ukrainians. Possibly Chechens fighting for Ukraine. I have to say that RPG gunner has brass ones. Too bad his ammo humper didn’t, and he had to keep running back to reload. I have to say, the ammo humper was probably the smarter of the two. I’d hazard a guess based on his staying somewhat under cover that this was an actual firefight.
-
3 hours ago, danfrodo said:
Is that TheCapt in the picture? I thought he was like the Lone Ranger or Orville Peck (masked musician) who no one knows who he actually is.
I would assume it is one of three men; Bill H., The_Capt, or Steve. I’m leaning to either Bill H., or Steve since I get the impression that The_Capt is a serving Officer where the beard would violate uniform regulations. Nothing more than an impression though, so it could be any one of the three.
-
3 hours ago, LukeFF said:
"Ukraine" not "The Ukraine"
Thank you for the edit. I didn’t realize that it stopped being referred to as “The Ukraine” in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Obviously, 40 plus years of correctly calling it “The Ukraine” is a difficult habit to break, especially for someone my age.
-
6 hours ago, Haiduk said:
128th mountain-assault brigade captured Russian high-ranked officer. Claimed he is lt.colonel Alexandr Koshel, the chief of PsyOps counteraction group of 58th CAA (Southern Military District, N.Osetia, Vladikavkaz)
Though, his documents says he is mayor, serving in m/u 21250 - 212th Training center of tank troops (Syberian Military district). He can be promouted to lt.colonel and appointed lately on the duty of PsyOps in 58th CAA and hadn't time to change own military ID.
The place of ambush, where Russian officer was captured. Probably Zaporizhzhia oblast. The same source yesterday issued in own FB photos of destroyed T-90A in the same oblast.
Why is he wearing a civilian sport jacket? Was he captured while wearing it, or was his uniform ruined or destroyed so the capturing Ukrainians gave him something to wear?
Being captured while wearing civilian clothing, even over his uniform, allows the Ukraine to execute him as a spy under the Geneva Conventions.
-
7 hours ago, womble said:
A "Commissar Corp" would just divert some of the kickback money to a different patronage stream. Corruption is the accepted way of doing business in Russia, from top to bottom. It's so baked in to systems like theirs that it isn't even considered "wrong". The forms of patronage which are the root of the problem are so well established that they will take generations to root out to the levels seen in the less-corrupt* "West". It has, after all, taken "us" a couple of centuries to drag ourselves out of that mire, even to the extent which we have.
The very attitudes that support corruption as endemic in the society will work strongly against any attempt to decentralise the C2 of the Russian military. Ukraine has managed to leverage the existential threat of Russia to make reforms along those lines, it seems, but getting its army eviscerated isn't likely to provoke change in the same way in the RF.
* Yes, "less-corrupt". Corruption still exists, subtle and gross in form, in all societies. Ukraine isn't rated much better than Russia.
Yes, corruption exists everywhere at different levels. As far as I’m concerned, the most visible corruption in the U.S. are called “political action committees (PACs)” and “Lobbyists.”
-
1 hour ago, Fenris said:
This sort of thing must be good for morale and motivation. Something I really doubt the RF forces will ever see. Another little factor favouring UKR in the equation.
The Norwegian people treated us the same way when we were there for NATO Operation Teamwork in September, 1976. It is an enormous morale boost to feel the population appreciates your presence. Not like SanFrancisco when I returned from Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPac) in 1971.
-
5 minutes ago, ASL Veteran said:
No, but they would most likely be leaving the country FROM Lvov and not Kiev, so your point about them leaving Kiev because they think it's about to be attacked would be invalid - that's what my point was. Of course, if they remained behind in Kiev for some reason or another after all the other diplomatic missions left, then your suggestion might be a valid one.
OK, I can accept that. I was assuming they were leaving from Kyiv, ergo my statement. That makes second possibility stronger as far as I’m concerned.
-
27 minutes ago, The_MonkeyKing said:
and Russian are practically entirely tied to rail supply. If this continues the Kiev front WILL COLLAPSE in matter of weeks just because of the supply situation.
Excellent! Just like the Dutch/Belgian “Ghost Train” in WWII!
-
28 minutes ago, kraze said:
Are you saying that some kinda russian black ops, who always completely and royally mess up every thing they do (see literally anything in Europe) - would they suddenly be that smooth in killing their own high profile commanders, who are surrounded by troops at all times?
I for one will never assume that someone is “incapable” of doing anything. If you gives monkey a typewriter, it’s bound to hit the right key sometimes. For those of you who are too young to have used a typewriter, it was the keyboard that we used before they were connected to computers.
-
51 minutes ago, ASL Veteran said:
I believe most, if not all, embassies have moved from Kiev to Lvov.
Well, since the post that I quoted said that “11 diplomats and the Belarus Ambassador have LEFT THE COUNTRY” (cap emphasis is mine), I’m assuming that the Belarus Embassy is not “relocating” to Lvov.
-
1 hour ago, sburke said:
Nothing says we are just fighting a limited 'special operation" against a few Nazis like launching the most advanced expensive weapon you have.
I wonder how they spin the deaths of so many generals when they are saying they have lost less than 500 men so far.
Perhaps it isn’t the UKR forces that are killing those high-ranking officers. Perhaps it’s Putin’s own “Operatives” killing them for their failures, or to eliminate the threat of a coup, “ala Stalin?”
-
2 hours ago, Haiduk said:
I was a NATO membership supporter even more than EU membership. But now I dissapointed in NATO, Turned out this is old scared bureaurocratic structure which can only fight in local conflicts with weak opponents like Libya, for example, but already not capable to withstand the own main opponent, for which it was created. Mainly not in military sence (though....), but in political. Not only because NATO officials scare "to escalate", but because Gemany, France, Italy - the countries, whose elites connected closely with Russian business (read "political elites") never allow Ukraine to be a member - neither NATO, and much likely EU. Many people here will tell me about NATO will fight in the case of Russian attack on Baltic states, but I say - I doubt.
There is a good if Ukraine become a full EU member for now, but... "Old Europe" is under great influence of "left-progressive" ideology, which never be accepted in Eastern Europe, especially in traditionally conservative Poland and Ukraine. Contradictions inside EU between Westrn and Eastern Europe memebers will be grow, like and probably in EU part of NATO
So, sooner or later we will need new military and political allince. UK+Poland+Baltic states+Ukraine ? Maybe.
While I can completely understand your evolved feelings about NATO, as I understand it, NATO has it’s hands are tied by it’s own charter. It cannot enter a conflict between non-NATO members. I believe that Libya was a different situation. I think that NATO was able to set up the “no-fly zone” and intercede because the Government of Libya bombed a U.S. air carrier over Scotland. That would undoubtedly have triggered an “Article V” of the NATO Charter, allowing such an action.
What really infuriates me, as a U.S. Citizen, and one whose family has lived within 15 miles of where we live now, for just shy of 400 years, is how the U.S. failed to abide by it’s 1994 agreement to protect Ukraine in 2014 by the weasel words of “well, we can’t be sure the little green men are Russian.” What really worries me is that the SAME person that handled that response is handling this invasion of Ukraine when there is no doubt of the aggressor, and STILL refuses to meet it’s obligations of the 1994 agreement. That disgusts me.
-
3 hours ago, TheVulture said:
Continuing the Belarussian mystery machine, military vehicles with identification markers on the move - away from the border with Ukraine and towards Brest on the Polish border. Plus 11 staff from the Belarussian embassy in Ukraine have left the country, including the ambassador.
Two possibilities:
(1) The diplomatic staff and Ambassador don’t want to become “collateral casualties when the Russians “try” to raze Kyiv,
(2) There is about to be a “change of Government” in Belarus.
-
33 minutes ago, Probus said:
@Battlefront.com or if someone else knows, I am being told by a friend that when Germany re-unified that the West secretly (at the time) promised Russia that NATO would not "expand" further East. Is this true? Does someone have a source for these (declassified) documents?
This had the effect of allowing Russian Hardliners (like Putin) to get into power in Russia, pointing at the West and saying "See, you can't trust them". This was the first I'd heard of this, water under the bridge now but is unfortunate if true.
Although it doesn't justify Russia's blatant and unlawful attack on Ukraine, I could see where allowing nations like Poland and others into NATO is kinda like pokin' the Bear and giving hardliners political ammunition to use in their arsenal.
This has been the only argument against the West I've heard that is very troubling (if true).
https://www.france24.com/en/russia/20220130-did-nato-betray-russia-by-expanding-to-the-east
I've also read much of Bloodlands which makes me think that Ukraine is very justified in wanting to become part of NATO. That poor area was stuck between Hitler and the USSR, both of which seemed to want to destroy a significant part of its population.
Very confusing and convoluted subject and may not be a good fit for this thread as I would prefer to see reports of what is going on in Ukraine right now. So don't let me derail my own thread.
But this thread also has very knowledgeable folks who may very well be able to put this issue to rest in my mind.
This might be a bit difficult to prove the west made a “secret” deal with The Soviets/Russians since it’s like “secret” right?
-
1 hour ago, akd said:
Ka-52 has two crew, side-by-side.
Thank you Sir, or Ma’am.
-
3 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:
I wonder how long they can tow them before there is a failure in one of the helicopter's wheels/axles. Such systems have design tolerances for such things as weight and heat (friction). For a helicopter wheel the design assumptions might not include prolonged towing. Then again, Russia might have taken such situations into account when designing the wheels/axles.
Steve
Russian/Soviet aircraft were designed to use rough/unimproved airfields. Their helicopters routine use a rolling takeoff under most conditions, and especially when heavily loaded. Based on my 50+ years in aviation and aviation maintenance, I expect, and assume, that those frictions and stresses that are experienced during takeoff and landing are much worse than simple low speed towing when basically at empty weight.
How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?
in Combat Mission Black Sea
Posted
Nope, WE (the US) can’t do that. That would be classified as an assassination of a foreign leader. President Ford issued an Executive Order to prohibit that (primarily aimed at the out of control CIA at that time) and every U.S. President has signed it since. I haven’t read it, but it has to be published in the Federal Register, and anyone can access to text through NARA.gov or Federalregister.gov.
Of course, the sitting President can always remind the E.O., but I don’t anticipate that happening.