steve203
As usual, to be taken with a big grain of salt, because, war.
Mentions of “cluster…” in the Kremlin
Russian troops stranded in 40-mile convoy could freeze to death in ‘metal tank refrigerators’
IIRC, it was old man winter that doomed Emperor Napoleon.
The Ruskies can take heart, tho.
Spring is but a mere 12 days hence. So they just have to ‘hold on’ a little longer!
IIRC, it was old man winter that doomed Emperor Napoleon.
Coincidentally, I was thinking of a movie sequence of the French army withdrawing from Russia, in a driving snowstorm. The soldiers come across a fancy coach abandoned in the snow. The bodies of frozen hookers were inside, so the soldiers stripped the coats and scarves off the bodies, put them on, then continued trudging west.
Steve
Russian Winter’s third victim?
Napoleon
Hitler
Putin
The Finns also did good in the Winter against Russia – white camouflage
How Finland held off the Russians and won a moral victory — with lessons for Ukraine
Assured by his overwhelming military strength, Stalin was confident that the “liberation operation” against the outnumbered, pesky Finns would be a walkover, much like Putin at the outset of his campaign against the recalcitrant Ukrainians.
So were most foreign observers. “The Finns are putting on a good show,” “However,” he continued, “they will collapse in a day or two.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/03/04/finland-ru…
The Captain
It is going to be hard to take them prisoner instead of killing them outright.
But something tells me getting out of a freezer to go into the woods wont stop most of them from freezing to death.
Reminds me of photos of German troops frozen to death in Russia.
“The Finns are putting on a good show,” “However,” he continued, “they will collapse in a day or two.”
Finland is a good analogy. Stalin likely eveb made the same argument that “Finland isn’t even a country” because it had been part of Russia until 1917. When Russia had their communist revolution in 1917, Finland quietly declared independence. Finland named General Carl Gustav Mannerheim their first President.
In 1918, communists (supported by Russia) in Finland tried to foment a revolution. They were beaten back by democratic forces led by General Mannerheim.
In 1939, when the Soviets attacked, they were held to a stalemate by the Finns, led by General Mannerheim.
In 1944, after negotiating reparations with the Soviets, General Mannerheim again became President of Finland. The Finns repaid the reparations in full knowing that the Soviets would use any default as an excuse to invade.
sf, distant descendant of General Mannerheim
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“The Finns are putting on a good show,” “However,” he continued, “they will collapse in a day or two.”
Finland is a good analogy. Stalin likely eveb made the same argument that “Finland isn’t even a country” because it had been part of Russia until 1917. When Russia had their communist revolution in 1917, Finland quietly declared independence. Finland named General Carl Gustav Mannerheim their first President.
One of my more interesting characters in the cast.
Of course the Russian soldiers were very helpful to his high score by lining up for him waiting for their turn to be shot. }};-D
Now this fellow didn’t quite match his score but the German soldiers in WWI were not nearly as cooperative as the Russians were in WWII. Many of his kills were up close and personal while acting as a scout including occasionally slitting their throats while they slept in underground bunkers before taking their paperwork and badges back to the intel people.
Canada recently re-equipt our 5000 ish Northern Rangers with Canadian made Finnish bolt action sniper rifles to replace the old Lee-Enfield Mk 4s. As usual they ordered far more than they needed so our PM told them to send the excess ones to the Ukrainians. Hopefully it was one of those that took down the Russian General?
Rangers across the North are now receiving their brand new C-19 rifles, designed to replace the World War II era Lee Enfield . 303's. The C-19 is a . 308, and has special changes to make it Arctic ready. Jun 19, 2019
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/just-like-the-canadian….
Just like the Canadian Rangers, the new C-19 rifle is designed to thrive in Canada’s Arctic
Kent Driscoll Jun 18, 2019
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1UEAD_enCA974CA974&s…
Note: Our Northern Rangers are mostly Inuit hunters who receive weapons, ammo, radios and a stipend to keep an eye out for strangers and report what they see in our Arctic.
Spring is but a mere 12 days hence. So they just have to ‘hold on’ a little longer!
When they will have mud substitute for the cold.
Tim
I read somewhere today that the Canadian sniper with the record 2 mile kill shot has joined the Ukraine resistance - just to help out he says.
You may find more details. Too many sites with news for me to remember the source.
Someone earlier this week suggested using a 50 caliber to shoot holes in tanker trucks followed by an incendiary round to ignite them. Sounds like a great way to hold down any future armor movements from a long distance.
I read somewhere today that the Canadian sniper with the record 2 mile kill shot…
Wow. Two miles is over 10,000 yards. Link?
DB2
Wow. Two miles is over 10,000 yards. Link?
DB2
Ummm… more like 3500 yards?
Wow. Two miles is over 10,000 yards. Link?
Last time I looked, a mile was 1,760 yards.
Here’s one link to the story that I found. I think there are others.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/canadian-sniper-arrives-ukrain…
Tim
I read somewhere today that the Canadian sniper with the record 2 mile kill shot has joined the Ukraine resistance - just to help out he says.
You may find more details. Too many sites with news for me to remember the source.
The Canadian troops are rather famous for their long range sniper records including I think three of the top five who started out in my former (before I left for aircrew training) Light Infantry Regiment. JTF-2 was largely formed from PPCLI guys. Having said that there is a policy of not releasing names while they are still active military. There are levels of snipers even in my teen days. Company level took the one week course and sniping was a secondary duty when the call “snipers up” came on the radio. The Battalion level guys belonged to Recce Platoon in HQ company. The JTF-2 guys are special forces.
https://people.com/politics/canadian-sniper-details-joining-…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_recorded_sniper_kills
https://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-snipers-set-longest…
While longest kill sounds impressive, I suspect more important was that they got a lot (estimated at 30+) during Operation Anaconda
2 snipers set back-to-back records for longest-range kill during the first major battle in Afghanistan
Stavros Atlamazoglou Mar 18, 2021, 12:13 PM
…
The Canadian snipers hit the ground running, racking up multiple kills, but they truly distinguished themselves a few days into the operation, when Master Cpl. Arron Perry took out an Al Qaeda fighter who was acting as a forward observer.
Note: These guys were from the PPCLI not part of JTF-2.
Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry search for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters north of Qualat, Afghanistan, July 2002. US Defense Department/Staff Sgt. Robert Hyatt
Perry’s shot was from 2,310 meters, or 2,526 yards, breaking the record for the longest sniper kill. But glory was not his for long.
A few days later, Cpl. Rob Furlong broke that record with a 2,430-meter (2,657-yard) shot against an enemy machine-gunner.
By the end of Operation Anaconda, the Canadian snipers had made the difference, killing numerous enemy fighters and saving countless US lives. As a result, the five snipers received the US military’s Bronze Star Medal for Valor, the fourth-highest award for bravery under fire.
In the years of fighting that followed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the impressive records set in Shahi Khot Valley were broken, but the titles remain in Canadian hands. The current record is 3,540 meters (3,871 yards), set by JTF-2 commandos against ISIS fighters in Mosul, Iraq, in 2017.
Perhaps of interest, we didn’t just teach people who showed up to shoot as a sniper, we took people who showed natural talent first and provided the tools and training to make them better.
This is the one they let me play with back in the day. The scope just slides on and replaces the cover. Other than that it was a standard infantry FNC1. I was on several rifle teams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfAgvNhDLm4
And people wonder why I have hearing aids! Anymouse
Wow. Two miles is over 10,000 yards. Link?
—
Ummm… more like 3500 yards?
Ah, yes. 10,000 feet.
DB2
Wow. Two miles is over 10,000 yards. Link?
DB2
how many yards in 2 miles? 3520
Anymouse
Tex, there is no way to confirm the name of the guy who got the 2 mile kill … but that this guy is from a line infantry unit and that shot accomplished by a special forces guy … don’t know, things change and many things are possible …!
After my six years in the infantry I ended up hunting submarines from aircraft for 18 years much of it from helicopters from ships … then programming AOCP (Aircraft Operating Computer Programs) on the NATO AWACs for three years then another ten years doing Logistics programs as a civilian on the NATO base … I’m always somewhat amazed at that? My daughters think it is cool. }};-D
Tim
Wow. Two miles is over 10,000 yards. Link?
Dunno about link, but two miles is over 10,000 feet. Exactly 3,520 yards.
Someone earlier this week suggested using a 50 caliber to shoot holes in tanker trucks followed by an incendiary round to ignite them. Sounds like a great way to hold down any future armor movements from a long distance.
I saw a short video about anti tank strategy.
Go for the fuel first, no fuel no tanks. There are some good WWII movies about trying to seize fuel dumps.
Go for the first and last tanks in a convoy. The tanks in between are trapped and easier kills.
It seems this is what Ukrainians are doing. If the story is true, in one encounter the Ukrainians seized several Russian tanks as the crews surrendered or fled.
Of course this ratchets up Putin’s frustration and anger and makes the war even more gruesome. I doubt Putin has a way to save face in such a situation. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Just think back to how in WWII they resorted to destroying whole cities, civilians be damned.
British MP Jacob Rees-Mogg gave a good explanation for why it makes sense for NATO to deliver defensive weapons to Ukraine but not offensive weapons like the Mig-29 citing that NATO is a defensive alliance as well as some Christian “good war” ethics and stuff dating back to St. Augustine. Jacob Rees-Mogg is one of the few politicians I respect.
The Captain
Of course this ratchets up Putin’s frustration and anger and makes the war even more gruesome. I doubt Putin has a way to save face in such a situation. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Just think back to how in WWII they resorted to destroying whole cities, civilians be damned.
Connecting this to the Finland analogy, Stalin stopped his offensive on Finland because he determined that he would never be able to subjugate the people–similar to Ukraine. He claimed and eastern territory of Finland as part of Russia–one could draw the parallel to Ukraine giving up the Donbas region.
The big difference is that Stalin had bigger fish to fry and could easily justify taking a pass on Finland–there was a whole world war going on elsewhere.
Putin doesn’t have such an easy excuse. Getting Donbas and some kind of promise that Ukraine wouldn’t join NATO wouldn’t be enough. That said, he will just lie to the Russian population no matter what happens, so maybe it would be if he felt it was the best way to stay in power.
British MP Jacob Rees-Mogg gave a good explanation for why it makes sense for NATO to deliver defensive weapons to Ukraine but not offensive weapons like the Mig-29
This is the most difficult thing to explain to the Ukrainians (our neighbor and her extended family living in our houses). NATO wants to help but not escalate. They don’t understand that escalation will also make it worse for Ukraine. They think it can’t get worse, but it can clearly get worse.
Unfortunately, escalation or not, it will probably get worse simply because things are not going as planned for Putin.
Connecting this to the Finland analogy, Stalin stopped his offensive on Finland because he determined that he would never be able to subjugate the people–similar to Ukraine.
Finland lost both wars against the Soviet Union. The Winter War ended in 1940 on Soviet terms with Finland agreeing to the cession of western Karelia and to the construction of a Soviet naval base on the Hanko Peninsula. The Continuation War was fought with the aid of the Nazis. Germany lost the war and so did Finland. They signed an armistice in 1944, barely avoiding an occupation of Finland and losing more territory to the Soviets.
At any rate, were you referring to the first or second war?
DB2
At any rate, were you referring to the first or second war?
The first war. The Finns don’t like talking about that time they allied themselves with the nazis.
For the Finns, remaining independent was a victory. Yes, they paid a heavy price and lost some territory, but they were never part of the Soviet Union.