I’ve read that the Russkies don’t have much in the way of their medical units deployed. I’ve always figured they will roll after theophany (19 jan in Russia)
Significant if true. They won Afghanistan but were forced to leave -- according to their own analysis in The Bear Went Over The Mountain -- because Soviet mothers noticed that their sons were coming back dead in droves not from enemy action but from poor camp hygiene. We'll see in re this situation.
I believe that Putin regards conquering Ukraine by land war as a necessary first step in achieving reestablishment of the Russian empire in his lifetime.
Also necessary to spin up his military with his eye to the China threat.
The only European countries taking affirmative physical steps to readiness are the Baltic States, Poland, and Finland. Germany and the rest are talking while their economies tank on energy prices and woke agendas. The United States... is not a factor politically or militarily.
The ground is mostly frozen now. Waning moon in another week.
Look for hard cyber against Ukraine power and comms. I don't know the laws of the sea but would look for a notice to Mariners declaring the Black Sea Russian waters. I think the shooting will start with decapitation strikes, either by air or prepositioned teams. Probably both.
Hitler remilitarized the Sudetenland with bicycle troops and staff cars, backed up by a newsreel showing tanks parked on a road somewhere.
The French had three million men under arms, with six (?) Divisions in march order on the German frontier that day.
Yeah, son and I have been discussing this force profile. We call it Battalion Task Force, Russians call it Battalion Tactical Groups. But the formation is the same: @ 800 personnel of a combined arms total force (Penta-Force = Space, Air, Cyber [Word], Sea, Land) land-holding maneuver unit. In WW II these were called “Reinforced Battalions.” By rights, they should be the core of the modern American Armed Forces: authority and lethality pushed down even farther than till now: first from Division to Brigade, and now from Brigade to Battalion TF. Marine mission success also would benefit from this organization even though they are a land-assault rather a land-holding force. Air Force as well. Basically, anywhere there is US armed force, it should be configured as US Penta-Force in Battalion TF formations. Maximum maneuverability, lethality, and strategic versatility in a maximally controllable Total-Force formation. Russians are smart.
Not long ago, the US 173rd ABB (formerly ABR), out of Vicenza, Italy, built the world's finest Joint Training/Readiness Center in Ukraine. How would you feel if CCP built the world's finest Joint Training/Readiness Center in, say, Chihuahua, Mexico? How did POTUS Kennedy feel when Khrushchev moved Soviet nukes 90 miles off the coast of Florida? What have Iranian Ayatollahs moved into Venezuela?
Russia's perpetual headache is border security. Her age-old strategy in that regard is to put buffers between herself and aggressors from West and South. The West German tribes (Franks, Germans, Scandinavians) have been far more aggressive towards the the East German tribes (Slavs) than ever the reverse has occurred.
I’ve read that the Russkies don’t have much in the way of their medical units deployed. I’ve always figured they will roll after theophany (19 jan in Russia)
Significant if true. They won Afghanistan but were forced to leave -- according to their own analysis in The Bear Went Over The Mountain -- because Soviet mothers noticed that their sons were coming back dead in droves not from enemy action but from poor camp hygiene. We'll see in re this situation.
I believe that Putin regards conquering Ukraine by land war as a necessary first step in achieving reestablishment of the Russian empire in his lifetime.
Also necessary to spin up his military with his eye to the China threat.
The only European countries taking affirmative physical steps to readiness are the Baltic States, Poland, and Finland. Germany and the rest are talking while their economies tank on energy prices and woke agendas. The United States... is not a factor politically or militarily.
The ground is mostly frozen now. Waning moon in another week.
Look for hard cyber against Ukraine power and comms. I don't know the laws of the sea but would look for a notice to Mariners declaring the Black Sea Russian waters. I think the shooting will start with decapitation strikes, either by air or prepositioned teams. Probably both.
Hitler remilitarized the Sudetenland with bicycle troops and staff cars, backed up by a newsreel showing tanks parked on a road somewhere.
The French had three million men under arms, with six (?) Divisions in march order on the German frontier that day.
The Russians are coming.
The point that Putin et al revere the Russian Empire (rather than the Soviet Union) cannot be too strongly made. Our daughter did her SAMS thesis on this point: https://www.amazon.com/Putins-Political-Philosophy-Implications-Military-ebook/dp/B07ZG3S83B/
Yeah, son and I have been discussing this force profile. We call it Battalion Task Force, Russians call it Battalion Tactical Groups. But the formation is the same: @ 800 personnel of a combined arms total force (Penta-Force = Space, Air, Cyber [Word], Sea, Land) land-holding maneuver unit. In WW II these were called “Reinforced Battalions.” By rights, they should be the core of the modern American Armed Forces: authority and lethality pushed down even farther than till now: first from Division to Brigade, and now from Brigade to Battalion TF. Marine mission success also would benefit from this organization even though they are a land-assault rather a land-holding force. Air Force as well. Basically, anywhere there is US armed force, it should be configured as US Penta-Force in Battalion TF formations. Maximum maneuverability, lethality, and strategic versatility in a maximally controllable Total-Force formation. Russians are smart.
Not long ago, the US 173rd ABB (formerly ABR), out of Vicenza, Italy, built the world's finest Joint Training/Readiness Center in Ukraine. How would you feel if CCP built the world's finest Joint Training/Readiness Center in, say, Chihuahua, Mexico? How did POTUS Kennedy feel when Khrushchev moved Soviet nukes 90 miles off the coast of Florida? What have Iranian Ayatollahs moved into Venezuela?
Russia's perpetual headache is border security. Her age-old strategy in that regard is to put buffers between herself and aggressors from West and South. The West German tribes (Franks, Germans, Scandinavians) have been far more aggressive towards the the East German tribes (Slavs) than ever the reverse has occurred.
This is on the minds of Putin and Lavrov: https://theological-geography.net/wp-admin/upload.php?item=31015
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/18/europe/ukraine-intelligence-russia-military-build-up-intl/index.html
Theophany is over today