Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion

[De Portago]

Whoever commands as the real military authority over that army will definitely go down in the annals of history and on the list of most incompetent generals ever alongside the likes of Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Luigi Cadorna and William Westmoreland.

I can somewhat understand Hötzendorf and Cadorna, but why Westmoreland? I'm hardly a great expert on Vietnam war but to me it always seemed that it was more or less unwinnable from the USA side if you take into account the political situation and the constraints any American commander operated under which were set by civilian leadership.

Slightly off topic I guess, but I'm genuinely interested.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

I can somewhat understand Hötzendorf and Cadorna, but why Westmoreland? I'm hardly a great expert on Vietnam war but to me it always seemed that it was more or less unwinnable from the USA side if you take into account the political situation and the constraints any American commander operated under which were set by civilian leadership.

Slightly off topic I guess, but I'm genuinely interested.

To put an end to the off-topic part, this article from 11 years ago has listed 10 solid reasons as to how and why he lost the Vietnam War. In contrast, the British found a way to win the hearts and minds of the Malays during the 1948-1960 conflict against the communist MNLA years before the Vietnam War became a serious thing.

In order to win a war, you can't just go by body counts and utter destruction. The concept of winning over the hearts and minds should be a primary item in order to win any conflict.

 

[Sky1981]

To put an end to the off-topic part, this article from 11 years ago has listed 10 solid reasons as to how and why lost the Vietnam War. In contrast, the British found a way to win the hearts and minds of the Malays during the 1948-1960 conflict against the communist MNLA years before the Vietnam War became a serious thing.

In order to win a war, you can't just go by body counts and utter destruction. The concept of winning over the hearts and minds should be a primary item in order to win any conflict.

That's assuming there's no political aspect of wars.

Sometimes war is not fought with the sole aim of winning

 

[Frosty]

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[the hea]

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[VorZakone]

So...artillery is still the 'God of War' eh? It's so destructive.

 

[Carolina Red]

So...artillery is still the 'God of War' eh? It's so destructive.

Absolutely

As long as logistics holds up. The Ukrainians are using a smart strategy going after the ammo supply. Superior arty is useless without ammo, and Russian logistics has been spotty in the best of conditions since Day 1 of this war.

 

[Peter van der Gea]

Absolutely

As long as logistics holds up. The Ukrainians are using a smart strategy going after the ammo supply. Superior arty is useless without ammo, and Russian logistics has been spotty in the best of conditions since Day 1 of this war.

Wassily Kandinsky wants his brushes!

Yes, I googled Wassily Kandinsky

 

[Carolina Red]

Wassily Kandinsky wants his brushes!

Yes, I googled Wassily Kandinsky

I want to get the joke, but I have no idea who that is

 

[Peter van der Gea]

I want to get the joke, but I have no idea who that is

A Russian artist... I think.

 

[nimic]

So...artillery is still the 'God of War' eh? It's so destructive.

Fun (eh) fact: artillery caused 60% of casualties in WW1.

 

[Carolina Red]

A Russian artist... I think.

Ohhhh… cause I used the arty abbreviation. Got it

 

[Peter van der Gea]

Ohhhh… cause I used the arty abbreviation. Got it

It seemed droll to me, sorry. Never seen that abbreviation before, assumed it was spell check

 

[Carolina Red]

Fun (eh) fact: artillery caused 60% of casualties in WW1.

Over 60% of them in Europe and the Mediterranean in WWII as well.

 

[Carolina Red]

It seemed droll to me, sorry. Never seen that abbreviation before, assumed it was spell check

Haha nah, it’s just military shorthand for artillery.

 

[Peter van der Gea]

Haha nah, it’s just military shorthand for artillery.

One day I will catch one!!!

 

[the hea]

Absolutely

As long as logistics holds up. The Ukrainians are using a smart strategy going after the ammo supply. Superior arty is useless without ammo, and Russian logistics has been spotty in the best of conditions since Day 1 of this war.

Russian ammunition logistics has not changed anything since WW2. Everything is still transported in wooden boxes by train and loaded/unloaded by hand. This means that they are moving a shit ton of wood in every shipment and the loading and unloading times are very long. They also end up with huge stockpiles next to train tracks close to the front which are fairly easy to find and target for the Ukrainians.


Western ammunition logistics

Russian ammunition logistics

 

[Carolina Red]

Russian ammunition logistics has not changed anything since WW2. Everything is still transported in wooden boxes by train and loaded/unloaded by hand. This means that they are moving a shit ton of wood in every shipment and the loading and unloading times are very long. They also end up with huge stockpiles next to train tracks close to the front which are fairly easy to find and target for the Ukrainians.


Western ammunition logistics

Russian ammunition logistics

And there you have it.

“Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics”

 

[Raoul]

western propaganda.

 

[Frosty]

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[Carolina Red]

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“NATO missiles will be coming from above you”

is about all the Intel they’ll need

 

[frostbite]

So...artillery is still the 'God of War' eh? It's so destructive.

Air Force is the God of War today. USAF would be able to eliminate Russian artillery quite fast. However, Ukrainians do not have a modern Air Force, so...

 

[VorZakone]

Latvia has a 24% ethnic Russian population according to Wiki.

 

[Raoul]

Air Force is the God of War today. USAF would be able to eliminate Russian artillery quite fast. However, Ukrainians do not have a modern Air Force, so...

And even if they did, Putin could always escalate with much more destructive weapons.

 

[Cheimoon]

One day I will catch one!!!

That's generally considered unsafe.

 

[Peter van der Gea]

That's generally considered unsafe.

I'm a goalie, can't you tell by my name?! I'll catch anything! Obviously not a debilitating illness, but anything else! Also not transport... I'll catch some things!

 

[Dante]

Analysis of artillery usage in the war so far. Another great video essay by Perun.

 

[Cheimoon]

I'm a goalie, can't you tell by my name?! I'll catch anything! Obviously not a debilitating illness, but anything else! Also not transport... I'll catch some things!

Well. For artillery stuff, I hope you have soft hands...

 

[Mb194dc]

Air Force is the God of War today. USAF would be able to eliminate Russian artillery quite fast. However, Ukrainians do not have a modern Air Force, so...

Probably true. The US very much does not want a direct war with Russia of course.

There's risk of nuclear escalation and even if it's only conventional any significant casualties difficult from domestic perspective.

 

[JPRouve]

“NATO missiles will be coming from above you”

is about all the Intel they’ll need

To be fair that lot was likely looking at missiles flying from under, so you likely shared a crucial intel.

 

[Carolina Red]

To be fair that lot was likely looking at missiles flying from under, so you likely shared a crucial intel.

 

[Peter van der Gea]

Well. For artillery stuff, I hope you have soft hands...

Some!

Why would I catch that arty stuff? I'm a goalie, so I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid!

(Plus, there's a WH Smiths around the corner, I can buy all the arty stuff I like!)

 

[Cheimoon]

Some!

Why would I catch that arty stuff? I'm a goalie, so I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid!

(Plus, there's a WH Smiths around the corner, I can buy all the arty stuff I like!)

And now we've gone full circle! Nice!

 

[Peter van der Gea]

And now we've gone full circle! Nice!

 

[Frosty]

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[Frosty]

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[the hea]

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[frostbite]

‘We have a new Hitler in Russia’: Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina on Putin’s crimes and her years of resistance

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...khina-putin-crimes-hitler-years-of-resistance

If there had been the sanctions there are now after Crimea and the subsequent invasion of the Donbas, Alyokhina is certain that we would not be in this mess today. “We were calling for a full embargo in 2014 and again in 2015. We were doing street actions. I was arrested 100 times. I hear a lot of discussion in the west that it’s very hard and painful to stop buying oil and gas – well, you guys had eight years. In eight years, it would have been possible. In one month, it’s hard. Maybe politicians were afraid of their voters protesting that their houses were cold. Now Ukrainians don’t have houses at all.”

She lays out in brutal terms what this combination of inertia and self-interest has created. “Money from the west is the basis of our imprisonment, of our poisoning, of political murders and, now, of the war in Ukraine. I really want people to understand this and stop it.”

 

[FireballXL5]

‘We have a new Hitler in Russia’: Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina on Putin’s crimes and her years of resistance

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...khina-putin-crimes-hitler-years-of-resistance

If there had been the sanctions there are now after Crimea and the subsequent invasion of the Donbas, Alyokhina is certain that we would not be in this mess today. “We were calling for a full embargo in 2014 and again in 2015. We were doing street actions. I was arrested 100 times. I hear a lot of discussion in the west that it’s very hard and painful to stop buying oil and gas – well, you guys had eight years. In eight years, it would have been possible. In one month, it’s hard. Maybe politicians were afraid of their voters protesting that their houses were cold. Now Ukrainians don’t have houses at all.”

She lays out in brutal terms what this combination of inertia and self-interest has created. “Money from the west is the basis of our imprisonment, of our poisoning, of political murders and, now, of the war in Ukraine. I really want people to understand this and stop it.”

She's not wrong.