pintere

Ohhh boy I was actually gonna contact you regarding ideas anyways, but since the thread‘s here for all to see might as well do it here.
Eastern front is where it’s at IMO, so another 3-5 campaigns from there would be really cool. Here’s some of my top suggestions:
1. East Prussia 1944 - Recapture of Gumbinnen & Goldap
One of a handful of instances where the Germans went on the attack in the late war period and won. I can envisage a campaign focused around the 5. Panzer-Division and how it aided in the recapture of Gumbinnen and Goldap respectively in the fall of 1944. You could also cover the same Division in East Prussia in early 1945, as it fought impressively in that time too!
2. Retreat to Silesia 1945 - Nehring and von Saucken Floating Pockets
This one would be very similar to the Five Bridges campaign from your current battle pack. Essentially, you could follow the retreat of an assemblage of German units in their desperate withdrawal from the Vistula to the Oder River. Which they did in fact succeed in doing, though at great cost. You could focus on either the 16. or 19. Panzer-Divisionen, as these both played a key role in spearheading the retreat.
3. Operation Gemse 1945 - Recapture of Lauban
This could make for a short but intense campaign that saw the Germans retake Lauban in March 1945. More research would need to be done to find the best storyline to follow, but the Führer-Grenadier Division as well as the 8. and 17. Panzer-Divisionen would be good candidates to focus on.
4. Operation Südwind 1945 - Destroying the Gran Bridgehead
Another short and sweet campaign where either the 1. or 12. SS Panzer-Divisionen could be commanded in the fight to destroy the Gran bridgehead. 
5. Budapest 1945 - The Battle for the Hungarian Capital
You could make an awesome campaign here similar to the Our Father campaign from your battle pack. As with that campaign, the focus would be on the desperate defense of the city followed by a near hopeless breakout mission. The good news is that I have a good deal of documentation regarding individuals who  fought inside, and then successfully broke out from, Budapest. There are thus plenty of candidates that could take on the same role as Major Schmidt for this campaign.
6. Warsaw 1944 - The Defensive Battles of IV. SS-Panzer-Korps
Red Thunder (and history in general) has already given plenty of attention to the fighting around Warsaw in early August 1944. However, far less has been written about the subsequent 3 defensive battles of Warsaw in August-October 1944. This is a shame, because in many ways these battles represented some of the finest hours for both the 5. and 3. SS Panzer-Divisionen. A campaign about these battles would help to fill this gap (and let’s face it, you couldn‘t resist doing another campaign about Totenkopf anyways 😄).
7. Courland 1944/45 - Last Stand of Army Group North
This one would have to be a campaign with a greater focus on defense, however there is fortunately a lot of source material available for this time. You could make an entire campaign pack out of the six battles fought here, there’s that much to unpack. If this gets your attention then let me know and I’ll try to find some more specific battles to design a campaign around. One about either the 12. or 14. Panzer-Divisionen could be especially promising.
Now, bear in mind that if you’re prepared to cover purely defensive campaigns then the possibilities really are endless. Lmk if you’d be receptive to that and I could probably come up with more suggestions. Or, if you’d rather release another themed campaign battlepack (focusing on a certain theatre/timeframe) I could help flesh that out too. If you want to go down that route then I’d recommend a battlepack focused on either:
a) Courland
b) East Prussia
c) Hungary
Your skills as a campaign designer are impressive in any case, so I look forward to seeing whatever does end up shaping up!

A totally valid decision, if a little disappointing. It would’ve been VERY satisfying to pit Leo 2s and Puma IFVs against the Russians in a rematch of the Eastern Front where the Germans are the good guys.
Ah well, I’m sure there’ll be a CW expansion that’ll satisfy that itch 😁

A totally valid decision, if a little disappointing. It would’ve been VERY satisfying to pit Leo 2s and Puma IFVs against the Russians in a rematch of the Eastern Front where the Germans are the good guys.
Ah well, I’m sure there’ll be a CW expansion that’ll satisfy that itch 😁

Ohhh boy I was actually gonna contact you regarding ideas anyways, but since the thread‘s here for all to see might as well do it here.
Eastern front is where it’s at IMO, so another 3-5 campaigns from there would be really cool. Here’s some of my top suggestions:
1. East Prussia 1944 - Recapture of Gumbinnen & Goldap
One of a handful of instances where the Germans went on the attack in the late war period and won. I can envisage a campaign focused around the 5. Panzer-Division and how it aided in the recapture of Gumbinnen and Goldap respectively in the fall of 1944. You could also cover the same Division in East Prussia in early 1945, as it fought impressively in that time too!
2. Retreat to Silesia 1945 - Nehring and von Saucken Floating Pockets
This one would be very similar to the Five Bridges campaign from your current battle pack. Essentially, you could follow the retreat of an assemblage of German units in their desperate withdrawal from the Vistula to the Oder River. Which they did in fact succeed in doing, though at great cost. You could focus on either the 16. or 19. Panzer-Divisionen, as these both played a key role in spearheading the retreat.
3. Operation Gemse 1945 - Recapture of Lauban
This could make for a short but intense campaign that saw the Germans retake Lauban in March 1945. More research would need to be done to find the best storyline to follow, but the Führer-Grenadier Division as well as the 8. and 17. Panzer-Divisionen would be good candidates to focus on.
4. Operation Südwind 1945 - Destroying the Gran Bridgehead
Another short and sweet campaign where either the 1. or 12. SS Panzer-Divisionen could be commanded in the fight to destroy the Gran bridgehead. 
5. Budapest 1945 - The Battle for the Hungarian Capital
You could make an awesome campaign here similar to the Our Father campaign from your battle pack. As with that campaign, the focus would be on the desperate defense of the city followed by a near hopeless breakout mission. The good news is that I have a good deal of documentation regarding individuals who  fought inside, and then successfully broke out from, Budapest. There are thus plenty of candidates that could take on the same role as Major Schmidt for this campaign.
6. Warsaw 1944 - The Defensive Battles of IV. SS-Panzer-Korps
Red Thunder (and history in general) has already given plenty of attention to the fighting around Warsaw in early August 1944. However, far less has been written about the subsequent 3 defensive battles of Warsaw in August-October 1944. This is a shame, because in many ways these battles represented some of the finest hours for both the 5. and 3. SS Panzer-Divisionen. A campaign about these battles would help to fill this gap (and let’s face it, you couldn‘t resist doing another campaign about Totenkopf anyways 😄).
7. Courland 1944/45 - Last Stand of Army Group North
This one would have to be a campaign with a greater focus on defense, however there is fortunately a lot of source material available for this time. You could make an entire campaign pack out of the six battles fought here, there’s that much to unpack. If this gets your attention then let me know and I’ll try to find some more specific battles to design a campaign around. One about either the 12. or 14. Panzer-Divisionen could be especially promising.
Now, bear in mind that if you’re prepared to cover purely defensive campaigns then the possibilities really are endless. Lmk if you’d be receptive to that and I could probably come up with more suggestions. Or, if you’d rather release another themed campaign battlepack (focusing on a certain theatre/timeframe) I could help flesh that out too. If you want to go down that route then I’d recommend a battlepack focused on either:
a) Courland
b) East Prussia
c) Hungary
Your skills as a campaign designer are impressive in any case, so I look forward to seeing whatever does end up shaping up!

Ohhh boy I was actually gonna contact you regarding ideas anyways, but since the thread‘s here for all to see might as well do it here.
Eastern front is where it’s at IMO, so another 3-5 campaigns from there would be really cool. Here’s some of my top suggestions:
1. East Prussia 1944 - Recapture of Gumbinnen & Goldap
One of a handful of instances where the Germans went on the attack in the late war period and won. I can envisage a campaign focused around the 5. Panzer-Division and how it aided in the recapture of Gumbinnen and Goldap respectively in the fall of 1944. You could also cover the same Division in East Prussia in early 1945, as it fought impressively in that time too!
2. Retreat to Silesia 1945 - Nehring and von Saucken Floating Pockets
This one would be very similar to the Five Bridges campaign from your current battle pack. Essentially, you could follow the retreat of an assemblage of German units in their desperate withdrawal from the Vistula to the Oder River. Which they did in fact succeed in doing, though at great cost. You could focus on either the 16. or 19. Panzer-Divisionen, as these both played a key role in spearheading the retreat.
3. Operation Gemse 1945 - Recapture of Lauban
This could make for a short but intense campaign that saw the Germans retake Lauban in March 1945. More research would need to be done to find the best storyline to follow, but the Führer-Grenadier Division as well as the 8. and 17. Panzer-Divisionen would be good candidates to focus on.
4. Operation Südwind 1945 - Destroying the Gran Bridgehead
Another short and sweet campaign where either the 1. or 12. SS Panzer-Divisionen could be commanded in the fight to destroy the Gran bridgehead. 
5. Budapest 1945 - The Battle for the Hungarian Capital
You could make an awesome campaign here similar to the Our Father campaign from your battle pack. As with that campaign, the focus would be on the desperate defense of the city followed by a near hopeless breakout mission. The good news is that I have a good deal of documentation regarding individuals who  fought inside, and then successfully broke out from, Budapest. There are thus plenty of candidates that could take on the same role as Major Schmidt for this campaign.
6. Warsaw 1944 - The Defensive Battles of IV. SS-Panzer-Korps
Red Thunder (and history in general) has already given plenty of attention to the fighting around Warsaw in early August 1944. However, far less has been written about the subsequent 3 defensive battles of Warsaw in August-October 1944. This is a shame, because in many ways these battles represented some of the finest hours for both the 5. and 3. SS Panzer-Divisionen. A campaign about these battles would help to fill this gap (and let’s face it, you couldn‘t resist doing another campaign about Totenkopf anyways 😄).
7. Courland 1944/45 - Last Stand of Army Group North
This one would have to be a campaign with a greater focus on defense, however there is fortunately a lot of source material available for this time. You could make an entire campaign pack out of the six battles fought here, there’s that much to unpack. If this gets your attention then let me know and I’ll try to find some more specific battles to design a campaign around. One about either the 12. or 14. Panzer-Divisionen could be especially promising.
Now, bear in mind that if you’re prepared to cover purely defensive campaigns then the possibilities really are endless. Lmk if you’d be receptive to that and I could probably come up with more suggestions. Or, if you’d rather release another themed campaign battlepack (focusing on a certain theatre/timeframe) I could help flesh that out too. If you want to go down that route then I’d recommend a battlepack focused on either:
a) Courland
b) East Prussia
c) Hungary
Your skills as a campaign designer are impressive in any case, so I look forward to seeing whatever does end up shaping up!

Ohhh boy I was actually gonna contact you regarding ideas anyways, but since the thread‘s here for all to see might as well do it here.
Eastern front is where it’s at IMO, so another 3-5 campaigns from there would be really cool. Here’s some of my top suggestions:
1. East Prussia 1944 - Recapture of Gumbinnen & Goldap
One of a handful of instances where the Germans went on the attack in the late war period and won. I can envisage a campaign focused around the 5. Panzer-Division and how it aided in the recapture of Gumbinnen and Goldap respectively in the fall of 1944. You could also cover the same Division in East Prussia in early 1945, as it fought impressively in that time too!
2. Retreat to Silesia 1945 - Nehring and von Saucken Floating Pockets
This one would be very similar to the Five Bridges campaign from your current battle pack. Essentially, you could follow the retreat of an assemblage of German units in their desperate withdrawal from the Vistula to the Oder River. Which they did in fact succeed in doing, though at great cost. You could focus on either the 16. or 19. Panzer-Divisionen, as these both played a key role in spearheading the retreat.
3. Operation Gemse 1945 - Recapture of Lauban
This could make for a short but intense campaign that saw the Germans retake Lauban in March 1945. More research would need to be done to find the best storyline to follow, but the Führer-Grenadier Division as well as the 8. and 17. Panzer-Divisionen would be good candidates to focus on.
4. Operation Südwind 1945 - Destroying the Gran Bridgehead
Another short and sweet campaign where either the 1. or 12. SS Panzer-Divisionen could be commanded in the fight to destroy the Gran bridgehead. 
5. Budapest 1945 - The Battle for the Hungarian Capital
You could make an awesome campaign here similar to the Our Father campaign from your battle pack. As with that campaign, the focus would be on the desperate defense of the city followed by a near hopeless breakout mission. The good news is that I have a good deal of documentation regarding individuals who  fought inside, and then successfully broke out from, Budapest. There are thus plenty of candidates that could take on the same role as Major Schmidt for this campaign.
6. Warsaw 1944 - The Defensive Battles of IV. SS-Panzer-Korps
Red Thunder (and history in general) has already given plenty of attention to the fighting around Warsaw in early August 1944. However, far less has been written about the subsequent 3 defensive battles of Warsaw in August-October 1944. This is a shame, because in many ways these battles represented some of the finest hours for both the 5. and 3. SS Panzer-Divisionen. A campaign about these battles would help to fill this gap (and let’s face it, you couldn‘t resist doing another campaign about Totenkopf anyways 😄).
7. Courland 1944/45 - Last Stand of Army Group North
This one would have to be a campaign with a greater focus on defense, however there is fortunately a lot of source material available for this time. You could make an entire campaign pack out of the six battles fought here, there’s that much to unpack. If this gets your attention then let me know and I’ll try to find some more specific battles to design a campaign around. One about either the 12. or 14. Panzer-Divisionen could be especially promising.
Now, bear in mind that if you’re prepared to cover purely defensive campaigns then the possibilities really are endless. Lmk if you’d be receptive to that and I could probably come up with more suggestions. Or, if you’d rather release another themed campaign battlepack (focusing on a certain theatre/timeframe) I could help flesh that out too. If you want to go down that route then I’d recommend a battlepack focused on either:
a) Courland
b) East Prussia
c) Hungary
Your skills as a campaign designer are impressive in any case, so I look forward to seeing whatever does end up shaping up!

Hello Steve, any future posibility to include additional WW2 Eastern Front representation, such as Romanian and Hungarian forces? I heard some units were around that area back in 44.
 
Thank you!
 

How about far future? I wanna play Combat Mission: BattleTech.

Article in English about preliminary researching of ballistic missile parts (tail part of one of missiles remained in quite large fragments), which has struck Kharkiv several days ago. It is similar to Iskander-M, but has some differences. Diameter is on 10 mm more, assembling quality is much worse, erased factory mrks on many parts, no EW system, etc. But to make final conclusion that this is N.Korean missile need to conduct additioanal researhes
  https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/6/7436148/

But I agree with Zeliban. 
Evil Axis Russia - N.Korea - Iran with proxies backed by China is growing own strength month by month, arming each other and igniting conflicts, threating to West sensitive areas (Gaza, Red Sea)
Russia expanded own "Shadow Axis" - BRICS, several days ago Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Ethiopia joined to this organisation, so BRICS countries now control 45 % of world oil 
US claimed: N.Korea will regret if hands over ballistic missiles to Russia
N. Korea: handed over
US: we will put personal sanctions on persons, responsible for this and will call UNSC meeting to blame this
UK: This is a victory! We forced Russia to walk with outstrached hand! They beg missiles in N,Korea and Iran!
Ukraine: soooo, but how it help us? N.Korea gave missile to Russia "stretched hand". Can we get at last ATACAMS, BGM-109 and Taurus?
West: this may cause escalation.Maybe will be better if we help you to produce 155 mm shells? Through the year or two...
N.Korea: shelled S.Korea territory with artilelry
Evil Axis (chorus): Yes, we are fu...g nuts. And what will you do to us?
West: sinking in 1000 round tables and deep concernings  
Alas, in situations "tough times demand tough solutions" liberal democracy is too slow in comparison with authocraties and dictatorships
 
 

Good stuff. 🇩🇪

With all the talk of F-16s and Abrams tanks, I for one still think Dana is a pretty girl. 🙃
 

My prediction - China will release Godzilla or some other mega monster and all of humanity will unite for our very survival.
China’s ocean drilling ship Mengxiang aims to be first to reach Earth’s mantle, opening ‘gate to hell’ (msn.com)

Rotterdam?

There may’ve already been a discussion on this that I missed, but one thing I’ve been wondering for a while is why did things end up going nowhere on the Velyka Novosilka axis during the Ukraine summer counteroffensive?
From day one it seemed like this was the most promising of Ukraine’s 3 axes of advance. Ukraine needed months to capture a single solitary village on the Tokmak axis, while further east they were liberating the first villages on the Velyka Novosilka axis within days. 
My impression the whole time was that the defences in this area weren’t as extensive as around Tokmak. Unlike at Tokmak, Ukraine just needed to break through one fortified line rather than 2-3. And yes, it is farther to get to Berdyansk than Melitopol, but the whole idea behind this offensive was that the key was to get past the great minefields. From how things have played out I’d reckon it’s easier to deal with 10 km of minefield followed by 100 km to the coast rather than 30 km of minefield and then 40 km of clear to Melitopol.
So why did Ukraine seemingly break a key principle of war by reinforcing failure (the Tokmak axis) rather than the one line of advance where real progress was being made?

And here's a little update for anyone who doesn't want to read the entire thread:

 
And another overview of the strategic situation and the localization of the individual campaigns:

Having playtested several missions I can say that the work done by Frank on these campaigns is top notch, and on par with the quality of officially released battle packs.
The completed product will surely be lots of fun!

SOOO CLOSE!
Best of luck dealing with real world stuff for the next little bit.

Having playtested several missions I can say that the work done by Frank on these campaigns is top notch, and on par with the quality of officially released battle packs.
The completed product will surely be lots of fun!

Some more advertising 😎 the product is now 98% finished

Schedule until release:
1. From today onwards, I will stop all CM-work due to professional reasons until January 11th 2024. Of course you
   can always contact me via the forum of e-mail, if you like to volunteer for testing of if there are questions.
2. The final test runs will continue in the almost 6 weeks until January. Enough time for all testers. At this point, 
   a big THANK YOU 🙏 again to all of you !!! 
3. But I still have one big request:
  It would be very nice  if at least one more tester could be found for the campaign "Our Father". So, if you    are  interested: it´s an almost finished product, ready to be played !!! 👍
4. When I will be back on January 11th 2024, I will make some fine corrections:
    = some missions need still some more flavor objects
    = special thanks goes to @pintere who does the very laborious work of correcting my poor English and optimizing               the  briefings - before release, I will add these briefings to the missions.
   = as of now, there is one smaller mission, that needs a real rework, which will take about 3 days - may be, there will be           2   -   3 more single missions, which need some rework, but this should be manageable without release delay.
 
Regards
Mr.X

Another BBC story. This one  about a former British sniper that died in Ukraine:
 

Someone provided a surefire way to get across Russian minefields.
 
 

Not at all. I remember these two years of war very well, because I myself partly took part in them. Therefore, there is no need to doubt my health. I remember very well how energetic, optimistic and ready to do anything for victory against the enemy, the people who were near me did not give me the slightest doubt about our victory. But there is nothing of this anymore. I'm already tired of describing the mood of people in the rear. Now there is not even a shadow of the spirit that was in people at the very beginning of this war.  This has nothing to do with the past. This is what it is right now. Let's forget 2022. 2023 is already coming to an end.
 
Perhaps the Polish government understands the danger of this blocking. But the mood of ordinary Poles is by no means in favor of Ukraine. To be convinced of this, you can read the comments of the Poles on any news about the blocking of the Ukrainian borders - they gloat over the imminent and inevitable fall of Ukraine. And the government of a democratic country is obliged to listen to the sentiments of ordinary people. 
Previously, I was also confident in the full support of Ukraine by the Poles. But these times have passed as well as the fortitude of the Ukrainians. Now the Poles are more likely to sympathize with the Russians than with the Ukrainians. And I previously argued that Ukraine would fall very quickly without the support of Poland and now the time is drawing near.
Yes, but what is the point of carrying out any strategic offensives if the rear of Ukraine as well as the entire supply system falls and if a civil war breaks out in the rear.
 
Russia will not need to strain itself so much. All Russia will have to do is continue its successful campaign to destroy Ukraine’s rear and incite its former allies against Ukraine.
No, there is no talk of surrendering to Russia. But speeches about the overthrow of the government are becoming louder, and on the other hand, accusations of an attempted coup in the interests of Russia are heard. and the situation is heating up every day. I don’t think it’s worth reminding how it could end
This is wrong. Ukraine is in a much worse situation than in February 2022. Most of our most experienced and motivated fighters were killed, captured, maimed, and finally simply tired of the war and require replacement. But there is no one to replace them. You can send us mountains of weapons and equipment. But where can we get soldiers to continue the war?
As for Russia, if you really want to defeat it, then forget about underestimating Russia. We made this mistake before and today we are paying for it.

Short update:
4 of 5 campaigns are running their final test 👍 this means, 44 single missions are almost ready for the release.
But there will be a small delay until the last campaign "Our Father" is finished, because I have enlarged this campaign 😉
More news to come...
 
Regards
Mr.X

"Russia's plan is luncheon meat somewhere on the Vistula. They want to continue after Ukraine" [SROCZYŃSKI'S INTERVIEWS]
Grzegorz Sroczyński
20/11/2023 11:57
Western governments and the US government already know about the plan to conquer all of Europe. The problem is that societies still do not believe it or deny it, because people want to live a normal life - Grzegorz Sroczyński talks to reserve major Michał Fiszer.
Sroczyński's interviews

Grzegorz Sroczyński: Where are we exactly?
Michał Fiszer: In September 1939. At that time, there was no general awareness that a world war was already underway. The fighting took place in one place - Poland - and European societies believed that Hitler would be satisfied with that. He won't go any further, because what's the point?
Is it like that now?
Just like then, we deny the fact that World War III has started. Even though the Russians don't really hide what their goal is. Recently, an interview with one of the main Russian commanders, General Andrei Mordvichev, was published. "When will this war end?" "Not soon, it will continue, first in Ukraine, and then beyond." "So Ukraine is just a phase?" "Of course."
But what does "and then next" mean?
West. When my son and I - because the two of us are preparing our war analyzes for "Polityka" - wrote this a year ago, there was a huge wave of indignation: what nonsense are they saying, why are they spreading panic?! And just listen to Biden. He already knows.
Know?
That the Russians will not stop in Ukraine, he said this in a speech in Israel . Moreover, now the Americans are intensively informing their allies about this. President Duda also said this clearly on November 11.
Duda said: "Can we be sure that Russian imperialism will stop there, on the Russian-occupied lands of Ukraine? Well, let me tell you straight - not only can we not be sure that it will stop, we can be sure that it will not stop." Do you agree?
It's not about whether I agree. Duda is not saying this because he read my analysis in "Polityka", but the Americans made him aware of it. Biden has access to intelligence information and professional analyzes that we can only dream of. This team of people in the US knows that the Russians want to conquer Western Europe. Recently, Politico and the New York Times described leaks from the US Department of Defense: the Americans approached the Russians to enter into negotiations, they were offered something. There was no response at all. The Russians are not interested in any negotiations or stopping the war. According to them, it's going well: they've dug in and are waiting. They believe that at some point, Western aid will end, Ukraine will fall, and they'll move on. If Biden didn't know that this was Putin's plan, what would be the point of all this? Insisting on further packages for Ukraine do not gain him electoral points at all. Quite the opposite. Same with Duda. Why would he care? People don't want to hear such things and be afraid.
So politicians know?
The governments in Europe know and the US government knows. The problem is that societies still do not believe it or deny it, because people want to live a normal life.
And Russia will not hesitate to attack Poland?
Why would she hesitate?
Because he will get a fifth from NATO.
Will not get. From who?
From the USA.
The Americans have half the army of Russia. And if Trump wins, I don't know if they will send anything here.
They will send.
All right. Let's say that Biden wins, or that Trump only talks like that and he sends troops. How much can Americans send to Europe in an emergency?
I don't know.
They need to maintain reserves in case of war with China, so they will send a maximum of seven or eight divisions. And the Russians have about 30 divisions, including the conversion divisions, i.e. three brigades as one division.
How many soldiers is that?
A division consists of 10-15 thousand people.
So the US will send a maximum of 100,000?
100,000 soldiers in combat units, 50,000 in logistic units, 50,000 in aviation units. With the Navy, I don't think it would be more than a quarter of a million.
That's probably a lot. And wouldn't that be bull****?
The Russians now have 800,000.
Well, during the war in Ukraine we learned that technological advantage and the quality of weapons are decisive. Modern equipment is a hundred times more important than masses of cannon fodder.
The thing is, we ended up finding out the opposite. Ukraine received Western weapons much better than Russian ones, but this did not play a major role on the battlefield. A technological advantage can somewhat compensate for a smaller military force, but only within certain limits. If the quantity difference is large, the quality cannot cope with it at all. And this is the real lesson from this war.
If there was a war between Russia and NATO, it would not involve any sophisticated operations or brilliant strategies that the West had imagined long ago during the Cold War, but something similar to what is happening now in Ukraine: a mincemeat somewhere on the Vistula River.
Meatball on the Vistula River?
They would attack, sending tens of thousands of people every day to attack from that shore. Because before the reinforcement forces reached us, before we acquired fighting skills, they would definitely have reached the Vistula, no matter what we did. A country that has not participated in a war for a long time always makes a lot of mistakes at the beginning of the fight. Only then does it start to work better and adapt to the conditions and draw conclusions. The Russians have already done this, because at this point they are veterans. However, we would be newbies.
But why would they attack NATO and go further West?
Because in order to play a role in the world, they cannot have competition in the form of healthy countries. They themselves are a criminal, mafia, corrupt state, full of terrible chaos and carelessness, so they will always be pariahs in the surroundings of Western European countries. And they don't want to be pariahs, but a dominant country. That is why they wrote in their new doctrine that Russia's goal will be to create a multipolar world, and although it is not stated directly, it can be read between the lines that it is about such a division: Russia takes Europe, China takes Asia, both share Africa , and Let the Americans linger on those two continents, let them mind their own business in the North and the South. In such a world, the Russians would be able to emerge as a superpower and cannot compete with the West. They hate the West.
And they want to invade the West?
Eliminate it in its current form. And introduce Russian peace. Then there will be peace, no one will compare that people have it better in the West, and if they have it better, why is the government doing what it is doing in our country, why is there dishonesty and corruption in our country? This normal environment needs to be abolished and then everyone will think that the whole world is constructed this way.
But how do we know that if they win in Ukraine, they want to move on? What are the signals?
For example, they talk about it on TV every day. Just watch their programs. "Solovyov Live". "60 Minutes". Or Margarita Simonian, who outdoes herself. But I recommend Sołowiow, he leads interesting discussions. For example, he invited Russian professors, including President Putin's adviser on military affairs, and the discussion went like this: "Okay, Ukraine, then Poland, that's already known, but then Germany or the Balkans? What do you think?" "Professor, after Poland, should we take Berlin or Sarajevo first?" Russian professors discuss things this way.
This is a deliberate scare, propaganda!
Sure, you can console yourself that way. They made the same threats against Georgia, right? So, did they enter or not? Then they threatened Ukraine in the same way... They say what they will do. When will we finally learn this? How will they approach Brussels?
How are they doing in Ukraine now?
I already said: they think it's good. They hold on to their positions, send further attacks on the Ukrainians, the Ukrainians are losing strength, they are losing strength too, even faster, but they don't worry about it, because they have much more. Let Trump win in the United States and say that Europe should defend itself, because we don't care about Ukraine - and withhold aid. Europe will not be able to cope on its own and Ukraine will eventually fall. Then the Russians move on without stopping.
Without stopping?
They started preparing for war with the entire NATO. They want to do it right away, because they know that with each month of downtime after the annexation of Ukraine, the advantage of the West - terrified and desperate - would increase. Because if an arms race were to start seriously, the West would have a much more efficient economy, more innovative, and we would have a much better industrial and scientific base. That's why they want to do it right away in Ukraine and aim to march to the West in 2026 or 2027. Their plans for developing the armed forces go far beyond the needs of the war in Ukraine. They create new military districts, new armies based on corps, in these corps they transform former brigades into divisions, i.e. they triple their size, and they admit a huge number of students to officers' schools. After the presidential elections next year, they will probably announce open general mobilization so that over the next two or three years the newly formed forces will become more polished and combat ready. They introduce old types of weapons into production.
Why the old ones?
They are no longer able to make newer ones because they used many imported components, so they decided that they would switch the factory lines to the production of old models, all the iron that can be thrown at the front. If it is possible to produce an old tank again that does not need modern technologies, then they produce it. They will bombard us with numbers, they will create a large army, when Ukraine falls, all this can be thrown at Poland and continue the mincemeat until the end. And we will see how long the Belgians will endure in the trenches.
Trump leads in the polls. In the few states that decide the presidency, he has a solid lead over Biden: 10 percentage points in Nevada, five points in Arizona, five in Michigan, six in Georgia, four in Pennsylvania. What would happen if Europe were left alone with Russia? Can't cope without the USA? 27 countries won't send a decent army to defend themselves against invasion?
He'll put something up. But what armed forces does Germany currently have? Well, they have half of the Polish army. Even less. They have a special division, which includes an airborne brigade, a mountain infantry brigade and a special forces brigade. In addition, they have two semi-mechanized armored divisions. And that's all. We in Poland will be building six divisions, and now we actually have four.
But France, Italy, Spain?
It's been counted. Together with America, we can put up about as much as Russia throws at us.
And without America?
We will have less and the Russians will have a quantitative advantage at the start. Turkey has the strongest army in Europe, almost as many troops as the rest of Europe, but it is unclear how Erdogan will behave. He will probably send troops, but the question is how many. Greece has a large army, but pro-Russian sympathies dominate there, we don't know how they will behave. The Italians, Spaniards and French have armies the size of Poland's, the British a little smaller. We slept in Europe for 30 years, we were fooled. "Putin only scares." "Putin is not dangerous." "You can do business with the Russians." And it ended up that we are almost defenseless. The Russians are constantly creating new units, Europe is also slowly waking up and expanding its own forces.
What would have to happen for you to be able to write a text saying that everything is fine?
The point is that the Ukrainians will manage to do the job for us and save Europe. So that it becomes the Poland of 1920. European governments - as I said - fortunately know what is coming. The Germans allocated huge amounts of money to the army, the French canceled the great army reform in order to redo it for the war with Russia, the Swedes explicitly wrote in their defense doctrine that, as a NATO member, they would probably have to send troops to defend their allies in Europe, because in the event of the fall of Ukraine, the Russian attack is inevitable. So governments have woken up, but societies are still unaware and think: it's impossible.
And what to do?
Provide Ukraine with far-reaching support.
After all, this support is provided all the time.
Too little and too slow. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, said what they need to gain an advantage on the battlefield. Firstly, they need planes to take the initiative in the sky, secondly, they need faster training of troops and faster equipping of soldiers with equipment, thirdly, help in developing techniques for overcoming minefields and breaking fortifications, fourthly, more precision missile systems, and the last point is systems for electronic closeup. These points are interconnected, because a greater possibility of interference and electronic warfare means support for aviation - interference makes it more difficult for the Russians to defend themselves against aircraft.
But all this - all the help Załużny is talking about - seems to be within the reach of Western countries.
Yes.
And this is not done?
How many tanks will Ukrainians get in 2023? About three hundred. And the Russians provided their troops with almost seven hundred tanks. You can't win this war like that.
Shouldn't NATO just stop pretending it's not a party and send the army there?
Not yet. But if the Russians somehow started winning decisively, it would be in NATO's interest - instead of waiting for them to come here - to organize defense on the Dnieper. And then the West must tell Russia: not one step further. Take advantage of our technological advantage and the increased number of joint troops together with the Ukrainians. And then, together, start retaking the areas lost by Ukraine.
Will Putin then drop nuclear weapons on these joint troops?
He won't cum. Because he is aware that if he uses nuclear weapons against NATO troops, he will receive such blows that would lead to the annihilation of Russian troops.
Strikes with nuclear weapons?
NATO would respond at the same level. But the Russians do not have to resort to nuclear weapons, they simply believe that a soldier from Norilsk will survive a much longer winter in the trenches than a Belgian soldier from a villa on the outskirts of Brussels.
So what should we do now?
Understand that we are next in line and not delude ourselves that Putin will negotiate. Because there are voices like: okay, let him take what he already has, the rest of Ukraine will be accepted into NATO, the Ukrainians - so that we can accept them - will give up these areas and there will be peace. But the Russians are not interested in such a thing. They are not interested in Bakhmut or Severodonetsk, they are interested in Warsaw and Berlin.
We need to ramp up arms production in Western countries. New units need to be formed, the armed forces and infrastructure need to be expanded. And we must always remember that investing in Ukrainian troops is an investment in our own defense. This is not a gift to Ukraine. Western planes should have been flying there a long time ago, there were still fears that the Russians would treat it as an escalation and start escalating themselves, but meanwhile they don't need any excuse. And so they escalate whenever they want. 
So we have a situation where Russia has de facto declared war on NATO, and NATO is pretending that this is not the case?
They haven't formally declared it, but yes - they have a plan to attack Western countries, i.e. NATO, after Ukraine. For Russia, this is an ideological war, a modern version of the Great Patriotic War, they are convinced that they are fighting for their own survival as a country important in the world. And they assume that at some point they will fight the entire NATO. They keep telling their citizens about it on TV. They prepare them for this.
Where would you send your youngest son if anything?
Recently, after an article in "Polityka", a man from Białowieża, who is building a house there, wrote to me in this spirit. "A beautiful place to live, but does it make sense?" I myself push away the thought of what I would do if they came here to Poland, occupied the areas leading to the Vistula, then dug in, set mines and they couldn't be kicked out. In Ukraine, they have built such a tangle of trenches and minefields that they can sit and fight until they die.
What did you reply?
Well, I don't know what to reply to him. Something like we have to believe that we will defeat them in Ukraine and do everything to make it happen.
So where?
Kids? To Germany. To buy time. And then further. We keep pushing it away from each other and I push it away in the same way, but when writing about Ukraine I have to analyze it all, put two and two together and it always comes to four, I don't want it any other way.
Four means what?
That they want to come here right after Ukraine.
And how will it end? Are you a pessimist or an optimist?
Still, an optimist. What is the reason for my optimism? Paradoxically, these scary statements made by politicians. Because if they already know, they will act. And let's hope something comes out of it. They will expand the armed forces, ramp up arms production, and will not let Ukraine fall. If Ukraine has the entire West behind it, maybe the Russians will exhaust their resources first.
***
Michał Fiszer  (1962) is a former military pilot and instructor on Su-22 supersonic aircraft. Lecturer at Collegium Civitas, columnist for military specialist press, regular collaborator of Polityka.pl. He is the author, together with his son Jacek Fiszer, of a series of articles in "Polityka" commenting on the war in Ukraine.
https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/7,114884,30422174,plan-rosji-to-mielonka-gdzies-na-wisle-po-ukrainie-chca-z.html?fbclid=IwAR2BZ3urOaUSXzTzex4KWJAtBslMkDGcUH7Hue6_IFcT8z1n7uObdetzabY