War in Eastern Europe, what's it good for ....

[MechAg94]

The Wagner Group is losing so many fighters in Bakhmut that it’s launching a recruitment drive
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/wagner-group-losses-bakhmut-recruitment-drive/

It’s gotten so bad, and Wagner has lost so many fighters, that the company is launching a new recruitment drive to fill its depleted ranks. In one of his latest messages, this time an audio file shared on Friday, Prigozhin claimed that he had more fighters coming to aid the fight, to fill gaps left by heavy losses.

“Recruitment centers for PMC Wagner have opened in 42 Russian cities,” Prigozhin added in a statement on the news. According to a list of sites shared by the mercenary company, these centers will be located at gyms and martial arts studios.

[MechAg94]

The Russian military is so low on ammo that troops are reduced to fighting with e-tools
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/russian-military-shovels-combat-ukraine/

I think the article's title is a bit of an exaggeration, but maybe not.  I guess there might have been a reason those soldiers were in that position.

Equipment shortfalls have resulted in those harrowing conditions for Russian conscripts documented in the UK Defense Ministry intelligence assessment. In a video circulated on Telegram and other Russian social media networks in late January, a group of Russian soldiers bemoaned the state of their supplies.

“Our commander gave us an order not to retreat from our positions. But the commander gave us no cover and no support,” according to a translation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “We had only machine guns, and all the rest of the weapons were damaged.”

“Now they’re accusing us of desertion, since the company commander says he didn’t give the order,” the soldiers said. “In sum, command doesn’t care about us.”

Given that the UK Defense Ministry assessment believes that Russian troops are “neither physically nor psychologically” prepared for the close-quarters combat that would necessitate the use of an entrenching tool, we can probably all rest assured that there won’t be a Russian version of Korean War e-tool legend Benjamin Wilson on the horizon anytime soon.

[MechAg94]

How Ukraine is using US mines to decimate Russian tanks
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/ukraine-vuhledar-mines-decimate-russian-tanks/

This was an interesting article on use of US anti-armor mines fired from artillery. 

[MechAg94]

Vuhledar, Why Russia Repeats the Same Mistakes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwuRpYw7vyw

This video says the Russian army is separated into groups set up and funded by each Russian state and there isn't a lot of information sharing between groups. 

[MillCreek]

Didn't I used to see 'authentic Spetsnaz fighting shovels' at the gun shows?

[HankB]

If I were a Russian conscript with no ammo provided, I'd hope the handle of my "fighting shovel" was long enough for me to tie a white flag on and wave it aloft . . .

[Ben]

Didn't I used to see 'authentic Spetsnaz fighting shovels' at the gun shows?

Don't forget the book on shovel fighting written (translated) by a certain former APS member:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008XDGS52/

[MillCreek]

So it turns out that I don't even need to go to the gun show.  Cold Steel has my back.

https://www.coldsteel.com/special-forces-shovel/

Edited to add: pshaw on your special forces shovel, Cold Steel.  Here is the Spetznaz shovel.

https://www.coldsteel.com/spetsnaz-special-forces-trench-shovel/

[WLJ]

So it turns out that I don't even need to go to the gun show.  Cold Steel has my back.

https://www.coldsteel.com/special-forces-shovel/

Edited to add: pshaw on your special forces shovel, Cold Steel.  Here is the Spetznaz shovel.

https://www.coldsteel.com/spetsnaz-special-forces-trench-shovel/

So one just has a longer handle then the other.

Is a longer handle spoon a Spetsnaz spoon?

[HankB]

Available in an improved tactical version as well

[Ben]

I keep that cold steel shovel in the vehicle. Easily stored, and the one piece, non-folding shovel is ten times better than the expensive folding Etools. Works just as well for chopping small firewood when camping as it does for actual digging. I haven't busted anybody's melon open yet, so don't know how it works for that.

[MillCreek]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/us/politics/military-weapons-ukraine-war.html

Well, this is a worrying article.  Due to industry consolidation and end-of-the-Cold-War cutbacks, our munitions manufacturing capability has gone to heck in a handbasket. We are not producing enough missiles, rocket motors, cruise missile motors and artillery shells. After a couple of weeks exchanging fire with China, the munitions bunkers will be empty.

[MillCreek]

Is a longer handle spoon a Spetsnaz spoon?

I thought that was a MRE spoon, so you can reach to the bottom of the bag.

[Ben]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/us/politics/military-weapons-ukraine-war.html

Well, this is a worrying article.  Due to industry consolidation and end-of-the-Cold-War cutbacks, our munitions manufacturing capability has gone to heck in a handbasket. We are not producing enough missiles, rocket motors, cruise missile motors and artillery shells. After a couple of weeks exchanging fire with China, the munitions bunkers will be empty.

Bureaucrats, including the leaders in uniform in DC.

I have found it interesting that so many establishment politicians, and military leaders appointed to positions in the administration, are so pro giving everything we have to Ukraine. It's almost the equivalent of draining the strategic petroleum reserves for non-strategic purposes.

So it's youtube, and you can argue that it's not a good source, but I find it interesting that all the Tier 1 guys who have youtube channels, are almost to a man, against our involvement in Ukraine.  At least in the haphazard "give them money and stuff with no plan" way we have been doing it.

[RocketMan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/us/politics/military-weapons-ukraine-war.html

Well, this is a worrying article.  Due to industry consolidation and end-of-the-Cold-War cutbacks, our munitions manufacturing capability has gone to heck in a handbasket. We are not producing enough missiles, rocket motors, cruise missile motors and artillery shells. After a couple of weeks exchanging fire with China, the munitions bunkers will be empty.

This has been a problem for a very long time.  Another glaring example of fed.gov not doing its constitutionally mandated job.
If we can't beat China in a stand-up fight in two weeks, then we lose.  And we won' be able to beat China in two weeks.

[WLJ]

This has been a problem for a very long time.  Another glaring example of fed.gov not doing its constitutionally mandated job.
If we can't beat China in a stand-up fight in two weeks, then we lose.  And we won' be able to beat China in two weeks.

Our army has more trans and equity promotions than their army, they don't stand a chance.

[sumpnz]

I will point out, we just need to put a few destroyers/subs in the Indian Ocean near the Straits of Malacca and sink any oil tankers heading to China.  Lob a few Tomahawks at any oil/gas pipelines going into China for good measure.  Light go out within a month and famine sets in within 6 months killing half a billion Chinese.  They would cease to function as a country, let alone one able to project military force very quickly.

And if you really want to *expletive deleted*ck up China use some penetrator type weapons to hit the 3 Gorges Dam and breach it.  The major percentage of the population, and the basis for their whole economy is downstream of that dam. 

Do both and within a year China will be a pre-industrial country of maybe 100-200 million.  And all that without firing a single nuke or engaging in a land war.

[RoadKingLarry]

This has been a problem for a very long time.  Another glaring example of fed.gov not doing its constitutionally mandated job.
If we can't beat China in a stand-up fight in two weeks, then we lose.  And we won' be able to beat China in two weeks.

Nothing really new.
30+ years ago I "heard a story" about a fast attack sub doing weapons trials and testing that fired four "war shot" MK48 ADCAP torpedoes.
Of the four torpedoes fired only two actually detonated.
They weren't special hand picked torps, they were all pulled from the boats regular load out.
I "heard" it was kind of a sobering experience for the crew. Kind of suck to think that half of your weapons load out may be defective.

[WLJ]

I will point out, we just need to put a few destroyers/subs in the Indian Ocean near the Straits of Malacca and sink any oil tankers heading to China.  Lob a few Tomahawks at any oil/gas pipelines going into China for good measure. 

Have said for awhile that their almost total reliance on imported and relatively easy to cut off oil is their Achilles heel.
Plus they really don't want a rearmed ticked off Japan.

[Ben]

Do both and within a year China will be a pre-industrial country of maybe 100-200 million.  And all that without firing a single nuke or engaging in a land war.

Yeah, but they can do the same to us. They currently have naval superiority. Also, from what I have read, both China and NorKo are likely superior to us in cyberwarfare.

Also, if you want to put the tinfoil on, thousands of Chinese recently illegally crossed the Southern border. Those are the ones we know about. Combine that with the Wuhan lab and that if it were a test, a very successful test of the US reaction to a non-lethal proto-bioweapon. Make it lethal.

Or the third option, the Chinese could just finish buying up every piece of real estate in the US.

[cordex]

I will point out, we just need to put a few destroyers/subs in the Indian Ocean near the Straits of Malacca and sink any oil tankers heading to China.  Lob a few Tomahawks at any oil/gas pipelines going into China for good measure.  Light go out within a month and famine sets in within 6 months killing half a billion Chinese.  They would cease to function as a country, let alone one able to project military force very quickly.

So Zeihan says, but that seems to pretend that China doesn't have submarines.  Also, last time we denied oil to an Asian power we had to close that out with a nuke.  I have no reason to believe that China facing a legitimate existential crisis would take it lying down.

This has been a problem for a very long time.  Another glaring example of fed.gov not doing its constitutionally mandated job.
If we can't beat China in a stand-up fight in two weeks, then we lose.  And we won' be able to beat China in two weeks.

I'm honestly not sure what a conventional stand-up fight with China actually looks like.  Neither one of us is invading the other.  A Taiwan proxy war akin to the Ukraine conflict, maybe?

[cordex]

Yeah, but they can do the same to us. They currently have naval superiority.

Wait, what?  China has naval superiority?  Over the US?  Did this happen last night?

[dogmush]

Yeah, but they can do the same to us. They currently have naval superiority.

No, they do not.

[Ben]

No, they do not.

I thought they have way more vessels than we do now?

Edit: Articles like this is where I was getting that from:

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2021/04/12/chinas-navy-has-more-ships-than-the-us-does-that-matter/
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/16/asia/china-navy-fleet-size-history-victory-intl-hnk-ml/index.html

Breakdown of type:

https://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-comparison-detail.php?country1=china&country2=united-states-of-america

[cordex]

Before their recent adventure, Russia had over 11,000 tanks compared to the US's 8,000.  Would you say that they had tank superiority?