pintere

I would very much like for the Ukrainian strategic strike campaigns to stop being “symbolic” and start shaping the battle space for re-engaging in offensive operations.  Symbolism is great but destroying Russian abilities to effectively defend an 800km frontage with a highly degraded military are much better.  Further, “symbolism” is not going to keep western support coming…operational gains that push the Russians back will.  The thumbnail sketch plan:
- Re-establish denial of air and ground. 

- Hit the RUAF hard and keep them well back.
- Hit The RA where it hurts…logistics, enablers and C2.  Prioritize artillery and EW.
- Hit the SLOCs.  Hard military targets that move all that hardware and people to the front and then up and down it.
- Solve for offence.  Stop using FPVs defensively now that artillery is showing up and use them offensively en masse.  Saturate bridgeheads and try bounce crossings at scale.
- Re-establish forward momentum and get the RA reacting to them, not the other way around.
- Bite, grab and hold….repeat.  Eventually, if we are lucky, corrosive warfare will work again and the RA will have to re-set like it did in Fall 22.
That is one helluva bill to pay but it is the one in front of the UA and the West to support.
Do not waste limited military high end hardware on “symbols”…use it to kill the Russian war machine.

To do what with exactly?  Choke off the Crimea?  Except for that whole strategic corridor problem of course.  Screw that, the Kerch Bridge would soak up a lot of punishment for not enough gain.  Russia’s ability to attack or defend is not dependent on it right now at all.  Maybe if they got bottled up in the Crimea but that would take breaking the defence in the middle which is no small hill to climb.  Nor will Russia fall by some weird symbolism.  
Use the damned missiles to hit strat LOCs, airfields, ports and C2 nodes to erode the Russia ability to prosecute the war directly.  In the business we call it “shaping”.  Then solve for those minefields and regain operational offensive initiative.  The Kerch Bridge does little to support any of that beyond making us feel better.

So for once the Russians would be right if they said it was all the CIA‘s doing 😂

I think if Ukrainians get to choose what the limited funds are used for, Abrams is not on that list

Found this in the thread of the GOBLN:
Ukraine has developed a drone mine-detector called “Brave 1”. It can survey 3000 m2 on a 30 minute charge. The drone scans the surface and creates a map of metal containing objects using GPS tags. It grades the size of each detection and attaches photos or video of the ground.

So for once the Russians would be right if they said it was all the CIA‘s doing 😂

So for once the Russians would be right if they said it was all the CIA‘s doing 😂

So for once the Russians would be right if they said it was all the CIA‘s doing 😂

So for once the Russians would be right if they said it was all the CIA‘s doing 😂

Some time ago this was biosphere reservation "Sribnianskyi forest" (Kreminna area). Complete devastation. Filmed by "Azov" brigade on retaken positions.
CM should have this type of trees after period of intensive shellings - just a standing or falling down barrels without branches and leaves. 
 
 

So for once the Russians would be right if they said it was all the CIA‘s doing 😂

Russians gradually have been learing of Ukrainian experience of artillery fire control. If in 2022  - mid 23 we have seen typical Soviet style of whole batteries and even battalions of side-by-side standing guns simultainous work, that now Russians are more and more shifting to dispersing of artillery and work by single guns of a battery with individaual targeting for each.
Here is google-translated post about changes since 2022. "The work was carried out in areas with a low coeeficient of UAV use" - means "ineffective area fire with low UAV usage", though for summer 2022 it's not always could be true, or soldiers then reported about dozen Orlans and Zala, ajusting fire. Probably ajusting was inefefctive or come on too long command chain, which made it ineffective.

 
And addition to this post by other Russian artillerist with my translation:
I'l throw my 5 cents:
Regimental artillery tied on artillery chief (of regiment). He, sitting on command post (let's call it in such way) together with chief of recon, watch streams from UAVs (and intercepted streams of the enemy). Spotting the target chief of artillery transmits it to battery commander or senior battery officer  [he is commander of 1st artillery platoon also] and they transmit this data to the gun. 2-7 minutes for targeting of the gun, the bird [drone] in the sky. First shoot - the fire ajustment from artilelry chief directly to the gun. Or artillery chief opens the map, come into communication with gun commandr through the radio and gives the targeting (angle, azimuth, lines). The gun crew lives on position 2-5 days, further a rotation is coming. Nobody drink on position, it's taboo, else they go to "zakrep" [probably those who have to hold the ground after assault] - and this is more scary than to stormers. 
We don't work with mortars since new year. This is no longer relevant becaus of crews life preservation purposes. Drones already fly on 10 km in the rear, so they clicks them at once  

And here Russian feedback about CAESERs

I hereby swear that if M Johnson actually allows for big aid package to Ukraine that I will not call him any more bad names.  Until the next UKR aid package he blocks.  UKR needs this so badly.  I wonder how long before US 155mm & patriot ordnance is actually on site at the front?
 

That attitude is a huge mistake - this is what keeps the ranks of the West's enemies are always full. If the only ones who are worthy of support are those who share the - rather unique-  views of the West on social issues such as homosexualism, religion, ethnic minorities etc. then it is no wonder that finding allies in places such as Africa and Asia is difficult. Kabul University tweets about graduation of the gender studies class a couple of months before the Taliban stormed Kabul come to mind. It is an unforced own goal on part of the West.
If the aim is to defend the post-Cold War order against an attempt to change borders by force of arms, then every victim of aggression deserves to be supported, regardless of his social policy. Think Kuwait 1990-1991.
 
 

Given Warhammer has long been another hobby/interest of mine, I had to Google. The internet did not disappoint. 

The problem with battleships guns is that they can only be fired from a battleship. They are sort the poster child for somethig that is going to be few, expensive, and too valuable to lose. Where you can dump cruisse missiles out submarines, and other PGMs out submarines that are much harder to kill, or cheap surface vessels that could be praticlly disposable. The unbelievably expensive radar, defensive lasers, and who knows what else a surface ship will need to actually be survivable can go on a platform dedicated to staying alive, and providing C4SIR to the miisslie barges..
Ranges for artillery and drones are just going to go up, and then up more. 
https://www.nammo.com/story/the-range-revolution/
100 km 155 is in late stage testing.
Perun covers current and near future drones here with his usual brilliance, was posted a few pages ago, but definitely worth your time if you haven't watched it yet.
What all of this adds up to is an ever expanding grey zone/no mans land in a more or less equal fight between first tier militaries, and probably vastly higher costs for a first tier power to take on a second, or third tier one. We are already at the point where both sides in Ukraine can barely bring a vehicles within 10km of the front, and they certainly can't stop moving in that  zone for more than a minute or two. Next year in Ukraine that could easily be twenty km instead of ten. In the next war, five or ten years from now it could easily be fifty.
 
U.S. is at the point of trying to get rid of towed guns completely. They can't shoot far enough, or scoot fast enough.
 

Can we please lay off beating on our brother Erwin at this point? I think people made their points on the merits, let's turn down the ad homs.
...For those who forgot life before Feb 2022, he's put a *gigantic* amount of effort into this community.

It looks like I have 2 more. Rattenkreig and The Cross of Iron.

I think the "joke" becomes more apparent in the context of the Soviet Union, when huge part of books, films and art was specifically about Wehrmacht being the worst enemy of the Russian man. And in order to underline the heroism of the Russian man, sometimes (particularly at the beginning of those films/books) the German soldiers were portrayed as extremely well trained killing machines, while the Soviets as victims and well meaning, self-sacrificing amateurs with basic weapons. And of course the atrocities of the Werhmacht and Waffen SS were played up.
So the symbolic message of painting a Waffen SS divisional symbol on a tank or a helmet I would read like a combination of <<Russians, I hate you, I am your worst nightmare, I am a superior soldier and a human being in general, your weapons are no match for mine, and I will take revenge on you with horrible deeds straight out of "Go and See">>.  I have no doubts it may be an attractive message for a soldier in this war. Obviously, a hard sell to someone watching news in the West. 
 

Per Baneman.....
 
 
Russian staff school forgot to mention this was supposed to be a joke. I do think Black Adder's prescription for the morale problem is dead on though, in the Russian context.

Always nice to see javelin kicking ***. 

Ok, so looking at the actual poll, this is typical media/political spinning. The headline conveniently leaves out that 70% think that the US should either continue or increase aid to Ukraine with the only split being whether it is given with or without oversight. 
The actual question (question 4 of the poll) was "How much of a role do you believe the US should have in helping to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war?" 71% responded with either a major role or a minor role by combining the two choices. The question was not what the headline above says and neither was the answer. Later on question 7, 69% respond that they support the US urging Ukraine to negotiate a settlement to the war. Maybe that is because most people want wars to end? 
In the end a typical poll with wishy-washy questions that can be interpreted to the will of whatever political slant one wants.
edited to add link to poll: https://quincyinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Quincy-Institute_rev-tabs.pdf

I don't believe any one posted this interview with Oleksandr Syrskyi yet here:

https://www.ukrinform.ua/amp/rubric-ato/3845632-oleksandr-sirskij-golovnovnokomanduvac-zsu.html
 
 

Since I'm now working on another project that isn't related to CM and because I would like to finally complete this project, I've decided that now is the time to get not only the mastermaps, but also the entire CampaignPack released for the general download.
It was very interesting to get in touch with the many people who wrote to me. Thanks again everyone!!! 🙏
Today I have sent the whole CampaignPack to @Bootie who will make it available for download on the scenario-depot 👍
So you don't need to write to me anymore 😎
 
"Mission accomplished" , Mr.X