TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
MILITARY & STRATEGIC:
TANK WARFARE HAS CHANGED
The first tanks were deployed in WW1 in 1917. They were developed to break the stalemate of trench warfare. With nothing to counter them except a direct hit from heavy artillery - something more likely to happen by accident than design, in the end they were critical in upending the war and winning it. They restored mobility.
In WW2 the tank truly came into its own as the very focus of military operations - Blitzkrieg was predicated on the armoured spearhead slicing its way behind enemy lines and cutting off infantry armies, placing them in pockets that were in some cases vast in size - especially in Russia. Several examples of infantry as large as 250,000 men being captured provided staggering victories for Nazi tank armies led by imagination and daring.
The tank dominated land warfare.
By 1988 the end of the Iran-Iraq war which became remarkably static occasionally broken by Iraqi tank raids that usually ended badly, created some doubt. The US invasion of Iraq a couple of years later and again in 2003 proved that a disciplined combined arms tank based war was still viable. In many ways it was text book but its weakness was its overwhelming nature, that led to a view that nothing could surpass it.
Ukraine has changed the whole concept of the tank. Military forces around the world are wondering how their expensive tanks are going to fare in a world of drones and wide use of ATGM’s.
The loss of the T-72 series to single hits that cook off the ammunition in the autoloader sending one recent turret 75m into the air has undermined the value of such weapons.
The M-1 Abram’s suffered so many losses - partly because it became a high bonus payment target for Russian troops - that Ukraine withdrew them from use. 15 of 31 were destroyed. Some of the imagery shows them properly destroyed - weakness around the tracks and rear engine compartments were quickly identified by drone operators. Crews lauded the fact they survived which is more than can be said for T-72/80/90 operators.
The M-1 has now reentered service with specially designed mesh net frameworks over the rear of the turret, full length armoured side skirts and a heavy coating of Kontakt-1 exploding bricks designed to stop some anti-tank weapons.
There was much concern over the value of the 1960’s designed Leopard-1A5 long stored in warehouses in Germany. It was designed in the early 1960’s to counter the Russian T-62/64 but was outclassed by the T-72 which had thicker armour and longer ranged guns.
Yet it’s proven to be quite useful once crews worked out how it could be employed.
Some use it as mobile artillery and that’s something the ancient T-55 has been used for by the Russians.
Others have found that its long range optical sights, fast rate of fire, speed and manoeuvring skills completely outclass the T-64 and other armoured units and it can pick them off at long range and scoot off. Just don’t let drones get to it.
Another way tanks are being used rather than as spearheads is to come in and back up infantry during trench and tree line clearing operations. They have to race in, do a fast job and get out again before the enemy drone operators get a grip of the situation.
The tanks then retreat quickly back out of range often under smoke.
There have been almost no scenarios where the use of armour as spearhead has been possible. Neither side has the numbers and on the few occasions there are not trenches and minefields established in depth - such as the flanks of the Pokrovsk salient, even as the opportunity to use mass armour presented itself, there was neither the quantity or manpower to make it viable.
The Ukrainians urged on by the allies attempted a combined arms operation in the summer of 2023. It was initially a disaster. Leopard-2A6’s were seen burning and spearhead tactics obliterated. It should never have been attempted because the key element missing was air power. Without that no spearhead these days can advance against heavy networked and mined defences.
The lesson was learned the hard way. CONTINUES…
Russian Lukoil Adds 25 Old Tankers to Its Shadow Fleet — Financial Times
Journalists discovered that each of these tankers was purchased by a separate offshore company, which was linked to one or even several other firms.
The ships were operated by Dubai-based companies owned by a Pakistani shipping entrepreneur who is currently facing prosecution in British courts for defrauding investors.
All purchases were financed by Dubai’s Eiger Shipping DMCC, which belongs to Litasco Middle East DMCC, the Middle Eastern branch of Lukoil’s oil trading division. Eiger provided upfront funding by pre-chartering the vessels being prepared for acquisition.
Journalists estimated that Lukoil spent over $700 million on these tankers.
Since their purchase, the vessels have been used almost exclusively to transport Russian oil, with 82% of the shipments being Lukoil oil, totaling around 119 million barrels. At $60 per barrel, this amounts to nearly $7.2 billion.
A key figure in this scheme was British accountant John Ormerod. His firm, Ormerod Allen & Co., has provided financial services to the shipping industry since 1990.
In total, Russia’s shadow fleet consists of more than 400 tankers. Despite increasing efforts by Western countries to target individual vessels through sanctions, oil companies shield them behind so many shell firms that it is extremely difficult to prove their connection to Russia.
Having endured 14 months in brutal Russian captivity, kidnapped Journalist Viktoria Roshchyna has reportedky died in Russian prison.
Authorities have confirmed that she was among those to soon be exchanged and was “expected to be home soon.”
“Her return had been agreed upon, and the last known information was that she had been transferred to ‘Lefortovo’ in preparation for her return home,” Yusov said, yet the circumstances of her death are still unknown.
Roshchyna had gone missing during a trip to the occupied territories but later revealed to have been taken prisoner by the Russians.
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I sort of suspected
⚡️ Journalist Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity, held in 'one of the most brutal detention centers,' NGO says.
Viktoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who died in Russian captivity, was held in Russian detention centers where torture is used against the prisoners, the Media Initiative for Human Rights said on Oct. 11.
81% of Ukrainians believe in victory
Now human animals are threatening FEMA workers.
https://open.substack.com/pub/joycevance/p/hurricane-rumor-response?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
I thought he was completely batty when he started talking about movie characters as if they were real.
https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/donald-trump-goes-completely-batty/58482/
He should be charged with a whole bunch of counts of manslaughter
One of many issues we have with your corrupt court
https://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/john-roberts-is-out-to-lunch/58481/
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 73 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
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