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WAR CRIME GIGOLO posted:His stance the entire time has been that Russia will win handidly and is winning. He's never lost that gentlemanly pro Putin fervor that he projects in posts. It's not worth it to engage when no matter what evidence is provided the stance will be the same. ah yes, yup. I thought Putin would win in the beginning, but so did the entire world. Zelensky told the EU he would likely be killed in the first weeks. the US evacuated its embassy. That didn't happen and I changed my assessment. The strategic significance of Popasna has nothing to do with the buildings in it. That said, Russia is advancing far too slowly to achieve anything meaningful in Donbas. That doesn't mean that that town isn't still a strategic position.
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May 12, 2022 02:40
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Count Roland posted:Do you (or does anyone else) have related reading sources re: combat engineers? If you want a fictional low fantasy (kind of?) take - Sixteen Ways To Defend a Walled CIty by KJ Parker is really fun. The main character is Colonel of Engineers Non-spoilery review for the interested - http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2019/07/sixteen-ways-to-defend-walled-city-by.html KJ Parker is really fun in general KitConstantine fucked around with this message at 02:45 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 02:40
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smug n stuff posted:What does ISW mean when they keep saying RU isn’t making “significant” advances? Like, they are taking ground in the Donbas pretty much every day, they just took Popasna, which is somewhat strategic, right? I guess it feels like they can keep not making “significant” advances but still end up controlling all of Donetsk and Luhansk They are saying that in the context of Russian goals, the fact that they do not have an unlimited pool of manpower and equipment to draw upon, and the fact that they are most definitely on the clock as far as their national economy goes, those gains are not significant. This was supposed to be the great redeployment that would smash through Ukrainian defences in the region and bring those oblasts under Russian control and instead it’s turning into a costly slugfest involving attacking into prepared positions manned by determined defenders.
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May 12, 2022 02:40
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KitConstantine posted:Huh, I guess it's a good thing Ukraine doesn't have any planes or helicopters left or even long distance artillery or that would be impossible to attack! I thought the buildings were the important part of it? The seminary on seminary ridge is not important to its strategic value.
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May 12, 2022 02:41
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Count Roland posted:Do you (or does anyone else) have related reading sources re: combat engineers? David Pergrin headed a famous combat engineer group in WWII that did a lot of bridge work (building and blowing up, both). He wrote two books, "First Across the Rhine" and "Engineering the Victory", that I recall were very informative about practices at the time (but also pretty dry (but also I was like 7)). Another book I recall about the same unit was "The Damned Engineers". Pergrin's specific activities during the Battle of the Bulge bear some broad similarities to the current river bridge funtime from the Russians. Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 02:59 on May 12, 2022 |
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May 12, 2022 02:42
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FishBulbia posted:I thought the buildings were the important part of it? I responded to your comment about the high ground. The remark about the buildings was me being sarcastic. Here's the US Defense official on the "significance of Russia taking Popansa" from the briefing yesterday https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3027132/senior-defense-official-holds-a-background-briefing/ posted:Q: We talked a lot for the past few weeks about Popasna. It seems like it was an important battle site. What is the significance of the Russians taking that? What was the, I don't know, strategic, tactical value of taking control of Popasna? Weird he doesn't mention the high ground at all! What a fool he must be!!
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May 12, 2022 02:50
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WAR CRIME GIGOLO posted:His stance the entire time has been that Russia will win handidly and is winning. He's never lost that gentlemanly pro Putin fervor that he projects in posts. It's not worth it to engage when no matter what evidence is provided the stance will be the same. how many friends and family do you have in the tro btw?
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May 12, 2022 02:51
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KitConstantine posted:I responded to your comment about the high ground. The remark about the buildings was me being sarcastic. So yeah, its significant strategically but they're doing it at a snails pace. seems correct assessment. im glad this can be entertaining for you
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May 12, 2022 02:54
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lilljonas posted:This is borderline scandi thread but basically we've been neutral for 200 years and looking back two centuries, that has been a good idea far more often than it has been a bad idea. Sweden's geographical position has meant that we've been less threatened, not more, by not being in a military alliance. Basically joining NATO is in certain ways (like in a theoretical nuclear conflict) draw more of a bullseye on us than if we stay neutral. Especially when Russia IS NOT a viable threat to Sweden now, far less so even than it was in February this year. The hurry is artificial and the threat is overblown. If we needed to hurry into NATO at any point it would have been in January this year, definitely not now. To be fair a lot of NATO didn't contribute 2% of GDP for a long time. I think there is also another problem now for the Swedes. If Finland joins NATO they will be surrounded by NATO countries completely. This will have security implications so better to be pissing out of the tent then in?
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May 12, 2022 03:02
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FishBulbia posted:So yeah, its significant strategically but they're doing it at a snails pace. seems correct assessment. And I hope that being uncharitable to others on a forum helps you feel better.
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May 12, 2022 03:06
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Budzilla posted:To be fair a lot of NATO didn't contribute 2% of GDP for a long time. I think there is also another problem now for the Swedes. If Finland joins NATO they will be surrounded by NATO countries completely. This will have security implications so better to be pissing out of the tent then in? If Sweden decided not to join NATO they would not face any security implications by being surrounded by NATO members, no. Why would they?
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May 12, 2022 03:12
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Another dawn is breaking in Kyiv, and it's still Ukrainian.   
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May 12, 2022 03:15
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Deteriorata posted:Another dawn is breaking in Kyiv, and it's still Ukrainian. in spirit anyway (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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May 12, 2022 03:16
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Dirt5o8 posted:Yep, that's it. YouTube "u.s. MRBC" for a comparison. A lot more steps involved. How do they get the trucks perpendicular to the shore like that? That looks really cool.
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May 12, 2022 03:20
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Despera posted:Well no one saw coming the one use of article 5 and it led to a not so popular war 9/11 may have been a black swan event, but invoking Article V over it didn't really cause the Afghanistan or Iraq wars and they were not conducted under its auspices (or really NATO at all).
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May 12, 2022 03:24
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FishBulbia posted:Popasna is high ground. I doubt the bombed it enough to change that. High ground is useful to get behind. In modern warfare you generally do not want to sit on top of it. Towns are the sometimes exception, but it's not important due to its elevation.
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May 12, 2022 03:26
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Dawn breaks. 25 days remaining.
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May 12, 2022 03:28
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Ynglaur posted:How do they get the trucks perpendicular to the shore like that? That looks really cool. We just back them in. They can also drop them in off small cliffs or fly them into the water with CH-47 helicopters. Bridging units have a small detachment of bulldozers that can improve the shore line for vehicles as well.
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May 12, 2022 03:31
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Dirt5o8 posted:We just back them in. They can also drop them in off small cliffs or fly them into the water with CH-47 helicopters. That's wild. It sounds less like a truck with a bridge on top and more a bridge that floats and also it can drive.
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May 12, 2022 03:34
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Ynglaur posted:That's wild. It sounds less like a truck with a bridge on top and more a bridge that floats and also it can drive. And raft! If you just link a few together, you can floats vehicles across really quickly without having to build an entire bridge. Good for small amounts of vehicles. Like, less than 100. More vehicles or a larger river require a bridge though to be efficient.
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May 12, 2022 03:43
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I think I read in Red Storm Rising it was Russian practice to build the pontoon bridge at a right angle and the push it 90 degrees to get across quickly. Guess they dont have the training for that now. This would make a good Hollywood “Enemy at the gates” movie - tight area, identifiable heroes, 9 bridges down and 1 to go and BOOM just in time like it’s Force 10 from Navaronne. Harrison Ford might be a bit too old to play a part though.
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May 12, 2022 03:51
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Charliegrs posted:Isn't this somewhat short sighted thinking though? I mean yeah, obviously Russia can't invade Sweden right now and if they did they would probably get completely stomped by the Swedish military. But capabilities and intent are two different things and Russia has shown the intent to invade nearby countries a few times already. Whos to say that decades from now Russia won't have the actual capability to mount an invasion of Sweden? It's probably better to already be a NATO member by that point to deter it. It sounds far fetched to expect Russia to mount an invasion across the sea and supply the bridgehead when they fail to supply an invasion across land border to a country with the same rail gauge. Maybe if the Black Sea fleet proved their capability, alas... Ultimately Sweden and Finland go hand in hand here, there has been so much joint defense planning before that it would be best to continue that as NATO members.
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May 12, 2022 04:26
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Moon Slayer posted:I was going to make this exact same point, just add to the list paratroopers landing at an airport like they've got armored columns just up the road. They didn't. Russia just keeps making bad decisions. I think everybody recognizes that if you undertake a complex military operation with 200k troops and thousands of vehicles mistakes will inevitably be made. It’s just unavoidable. However, some things are just inexplicable. - Placing aircraft within artillery range after they have been hit at that location multiple times. - Moving the Moskva within range of the Neptune without support knowing full well that the Neptune exists and what it can do. - Placing landing ships in Berdyansk harbor after a Toshka-U missile have been shot down in that harbor in a previous attempt at hitting those landing ships. - Insisting on putting stuff on tiny barren Snake Island 20 miles from the Ukrainian mainland where it’s impossible to conceal anything and well outside Russian AA defenses. It’s like parking in an open field in view of the enemy and waving a flag. Again and again and again. The question is if the Russian military is terrible at assessing risk or reliably implementing procedures to account for it, if they consistently underestimate the Ukrainian military for whatever reason, if they just operate with a high risk tolerance or the whole system lacks coordination with local commanders just doing whatever.
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May 12, 2022 04:33
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How are u posted:If Sweden decided not to join NATO they would not face any security implications by being surrounded by NATO members, no. Why would they? Ya know. The Implication.
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May 12, 2022 04:35
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WAR CRIME GIGOLO posted:Dawn breaks. 25 days remaining. I'm dumb, what's this mean? D-day? Pushkin day in Russia or journalist day in Ukraine...?
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May 12, 2022 04:44
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clusterfuck posted:I'm dumb, what's this mean? D-day? Pushkin day in Russia or journalist day in Ukraine...? 
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May 12, 2022 04:54
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FishBulbia posted:in spirit anyway You're a heinous rear end in a top hat, both in spirit and in fact. What the gently caress is this post supposed to mean, anyway? (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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May 12, 2022 05:00
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I lol at the idea that a {{{{MAJOR COUNTER ATTACK}}}} Is coming if Russia is leaving so much poo poo in Kharkiv and running with their pants down. While it's an orderly retreat I think the troops left are needed in Donbass even if they are gonna be exhausted. I mean Russia did just lose 2000 men in a river crossing so it's not like their numbers are getting any better for these swole brah level takes that a Uranus style attack is on its way to finally envelope the ukrianian army.
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May 12, 2022 05:01
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PT6A posted:You're a heinous rear end in a top hat, both in spirit and in fact. What the gently caress is this post supposed to mean, anyway? Is there a conspiracy theory that Russia actually did capture Kyiv and it still being controlled by Ukraine is some Western construction?
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May 12, 2022 05:03
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BattleMaster posted:Is there a conspiracy theory that Russia actually did capture Kyiv and it still being controlled by Ukraine is some Western construction? Or it could be that some think the Ukrainians are simply Western puppets and as such it doesn't matter. Either way it's bullshit promulgated by brain-damaged Russophiles who've indulged in far too much vodka.
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May 12, 2022 05:05
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Is Elden Ring not released everywhere yet?
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May 12, 2022 05:10
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Deteriorata posted:Another dawn is breaking in Kyiv, and it's still Ukrainian. You bring glory to your house.
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May 12, 2022 05:34
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FishBulbia posted:in spirit anyway You bring dishonor to your house. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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May 12, 2022 05:35
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BattleMaster posted:Is there a conspiracy theory that Russia actually did capture Kyiv and it still being controlled by Ukraine is some Western construction? Not sure about now but did see some stuff getting posted somewhere pretty similar to that a few weeks ago. Russia apparently took Kyiv and destroyed the Ukrainian government/army in the first few days. Now they are just taking care of US/NATO riff raff as um, "show of strength" or something, I guess.  . No ancient aliens, Angel DNA/plagues, or Bigfoot country music mind control. 1/10 conspiracy theory.
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May 12, 2022 05:40
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Owling Howl posted:The question is if the Russian military is terrible at assessing risk or reliably implementing procedures to account for it, if they consistently underestimate the Ukrainian military for whatever reason, if they just operate with a high risk tolerance or the whole system lacks coordination with local commanders just doing whatever. There was a comment that Russia is behaving like they’re in friendly territory and have already won. Considering how a lot of Russian soldiers seem relatively confused about what they’re meant to be doing, it feels like their propaganda and need to keep the public apathetic about reality has ended up self-owning their military.
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May 12, 2022 06:00
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PT6A posted:You're a heinous rear end in a top hat, both in spirit and in fact. What the gently caress is this post supposed to mean, anyway? I'm speculating, but if I had to be generous then maybe he was referring to the fact that the pictures were taken from non-Kiev (and yeah, I know that Deteriorata had a reason for the switch, but I forgot the details).
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May 12, 2022 06:21
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It's because the image was from Simferopol which is in Crimea and the obnoxious Fishgoon recognizes that territory as Russian.
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May 12, 2022 06:40
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How are u posted:If Sweden decided not to join NATO they would not face any security implications by being surrounded by NATO members, no. Why would they?
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May 12, 2022 06:58
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If Sweden doesn't join NATO they will be forced to become the 51st state of the USA
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May 12, 2022 07:14
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Herstory Begins Now posted:If Sweden doesn't join NATO they will be forced to become the 51st state of the USA You can't become what you already are.
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May 12, 2022 07:18
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