Begemot

Steve, You have a problem with the truth. Ukraine has a Nazi problem like here, the famous Azov battalion: If you want to pretend otherwise, fine. So if you and your chums can't face the reality then go ahead and be the little Nazi you are and send me to the Gulag.

[Russian Fascist Photoshoped Propaganda Piece Deleted by Moderator] New leader of the free world?

"That said I suspect nuclear war within a month. If we all die doing the right thing then god bless." And we thought the jihadists were insane.

Steve, I speak the truth and you don't like it. Too bad. I have a stepson and his wife sheltering in a basement in Sumy at this moment. My wife has friends who are in similar jeopardy. I am very much aware of what has happened in Ukraine since 2014. I have a very personal interest. But I also have a commitment to the truth and I will call it like I see it. I have seen too many pictures and videos of the death and misery that has been unleashed on Ukraine these last 8 years and you support the killers in Kiev. So go ahead and do your worst. You damn Putin as a tyrant but you are only a small one yourself.

Said Vet 0369 above. Vet you seem to have forgotten that the US and its European allies helped overthrow the democratically elected government of Ukraine in 2014. Remember Nuland's phone call, picking the soon to be installed new government of Ukraine? How is this supporting the integrity of Ukraine? It isn't, of course. The US breached this agreement, not Russia. This war did not start this week. It has been ongoing since 2014. Just ask the people of Donbass what it's like to live under indiscriminate artillery bombardments for eight years. Any sympathy for these people?

Says Danfrodo. Indiscriminate shelling of the civilian population is what has been going on against the people in Donbass since 2014 by the Ukrainian military. A lot of Ukrainians would need to be in that docket.

Jim Storr, Thank you for taking the time to respond to my query about your characterization of Soviet artillery in a Cold War goes hot scenario as as "... heavy but inaccurate [fire], and its fire planning crude". Regrettably, I thought your reply was disappointing. First, the reference to my wife's father, a colonel of Soviet artillery and an instructor in an academy devoted to producing junior grade artillery officers in a four year program was intended to show that I had personal knowledge that such institutions existed (there were more than one such academy for artillery) and to show that the Soviets evidently took such an investment in training seriously. Your response was to say that while you didn't say that Soviet artillery officers were incompetent (true) the Soviet standards of training were "generally poor", thus, along with technical backwardness, the best to be expected was "... heavy but inaccurate [fire], and its fire planning crude". If artillery officers can't hit a target then how competent can they be? Referring to the Great Patriotic War ("Soviet artillery fire in the Great Patriotic War was often heavy but inaccurate and its fire planning crude") is relevant to the Cold War period in what way? Are you suggesting that the Soviets did not improve their artillery and practice and doctrine in any way from 1945 to the 1980's? Am I on firm ground here in thinking that the Soviets did improve their game in this area? If so, wouldn't accuracy be one of those things improved upon (that being the ultimate point of artillery) or are we to think that these guys are just too primitive and unsophisticated to "get it"? You also offer the example of the Arabs trained by the Soviets and the Arabs sad and failed efforts as an indicator of the quality of Soviet artillery. If we can accurately judge the teaching nation's military by how well its students have done, then how do we evaluate the US military and the students its has taught: South Vietnamese Army (collapsed 1975), Georgian Army (collapsed 2008), and Afghan Army (collapsed 2021)? I find it incredible that a nation that could build a nuclear arsenal and carry out a manned space program, even if not up to the technical level of sophistication of the United States, couldn't solve the problem of getting accurate artillery fire, which was solved back in WW1. It beggars belief. Enough. I suspect that we are firmly lodged in our positions and not likely to yield, so I propose a "Christmas Truce" and there's and end to it. Good luck with your next book (is the topic a secret?). Regards

Some questions for Jim Storr. Starting with something non-contentious. You indicated that you and your brother developed a method in your gaming that reduced the "God's Eye View" factor and it seems allowed for actual surprise to occur on the game board. Would you care to tell us what you did to achieve this? In your footnotes you reference particular games you and your brother played (e,g. "Battle 164, 12 January 2003." - pg. 231). Are these games referred to in the footnotes available somewhere to examine? If so, where? If not, why the footnote? More contentious: On page 149 you state: "Soviet artillery fire would probably be very heavy but inaccurate, and its fire planning crude." I don't feel you properly justified this comment in the preceding text and to be frank I find it doubtful for two reasons. First the importance that artillery has played in Russian and Soviet military tactics. And second, your assessment suggests a low standard of training. I know that the Soviets had artillery academies devoted to producing artillery officers. These were academies with four year programs that produced company/battery grade officers with engineering degrees. I can't imagine that such an education would produce incompetents. My wife's deceased father was a colonel in the Soviet artillery and was on the faculty of such an institution. He was a university mathematics student when he was recruited into the Soviet Army. Perhaps I am wrong, so can you explain why an army that prized artillery, seems to have placed it high in their tactical system and seems to have invested quite a bit in the education of its artillery officers would produce and be satisfied with such dismal results as "... heavy but inaccurate [fire], and its fire planning crude"? Regards.

Secondbrooks, You stated for the TOW that "... powerlines and large bodies of water are an issue, causing wires to short circuit". What about snow on the ground and precipitation, like moderate to heavy rain? Could these cause problems?