CoA Japan.

This is coolbert:

CoA = Course of Action.

"ponder - - To think about (something) with thoroughness and care. - - To reflect or consider with thoroughness and care."

From Sputnik and thanks to the tip from Jeff:.

"Japan Reportedly Mulls Over Four Possible Scenarios of War on Korean Peninsula"

"Tokyo believes war is possible between North and South Korea, and that the possibility exists that Washington will launch a preemptive strike on Pyongyang, according to Japan's Kyodo News Agency."

. . . .

"In addition, Kyodo reports, the Japanese government is pondering four possible scenarios for launching military operations on the Korean Peninsula."

"These include * hostilities between the armed forces of North Korea and South Korea, * the US' preemptive strike on the DPRK, * a South Korean invasion of the DPRK and * a North Korean missile strike on Japan."

A REGIONAL WAR WITH A DANGER OF WORLD-WIDE CONSEQUENCES OF MIND-BOGGLING PROPORTIONS, CATASTROPHIC!!

coolbert.

Milspeak II.

This is coolbert:

Concluding!

From an article as seen in Aviation Week we have a comment as extracted that most extreme and egregious example of Milspeak you are ever going to find!!

"We didn’t know what 90 percent of the switches did"

From Glaaar on Jun 25, 2017. Most specifically with regard to an American understanding of the Soviet era MiG-23 combat warplane.

That comment by GLAAR: My explanation as best as I understand it in bold:

"Nothing is useful if it doesn't come with the full GTW kit."

GTW = Global Thermonuclear War.

"A MiG-23 is a Kuban Shelf or In trail Snapup platform for the R-23/24 in which dealing with the lead elements gets you zapped by the stingers."

Kuban Shelf = ?

In trail Snapup = ?

R-23/24 =  AA-7 Apex air-air missile.

Stingers = American air-air missile infra-red guided?

"If you have a 23E with the Jaybird nose instead of Sapfir, how can you test the Apex?"

23E = Flogger E MiG-23.

Jaybird =  Airborne Radar.

Saphir =  Airborne Radar.

Apex = AA-7 air-to-air missile.

"If it is a Silent Runner working a broadcast LINK from Warpac ADGE, how do you emulate that ability in a jammer interactive environment?"

Silent Runner = Radar guided missile receiving target data passively?

Warpac = Warsaw Pact.

ADGE = Air Defense Ground Environment

"You can simulate the performance and you can work the angles and edges of envelope that makes it kill-able at visual range but if it's a rocket-on-a-rail, 'fire now', platform for two AAM, it's functioning is that of an assembly line. Zip, Ramp, Shoot, Break, Run, Land, Turn, Launch, repeat."

AAM = Air-to-air missile.

"The Soviet system didn't have to win the OCA fight, they just had to keep NATO BAI/INT from killing their logistics. The frontal and beyond AD battle was a SAM solved problem to them so that their tanks could advance under a constant S2A umbrella. Not an A2A one."

AD = Air Defense.

SAM = Surface to Air Missile.

OCA = Offensive Counter Air

BAI = Battlefield Air Interdiction

INT = Intelligence

S2A = Surface-to-air

A2A = Air-To-Air (weapon)

"And to me, especially as ARH-on-missile (GAI/SAGG/TVM) makes salvo launch multi-kill, possible until ONE SIDE runs out of weapons, it certainly looks like they got that part right."

ARH =  Anti radiation homing. [?]

GAI =  General Aircraft Information.

SAGG =  Seeker Aided Ground Guidance.

TVM =  Threat and Vulnerability Management.

"Our problem is that we have a Knights Of Sky mentality dating back to Midway and Schweinfurt if not Richtofen in which there is a /struggle/ as sense of 'overcoming' something. Like a great game."

"Shrug. Why not just overfly it instead?"

"Kelly Johnson once said: 'We don't give the Russian's near enough headaches in the high right part of the envelope.' He was talking about SRAMs and SR-71's but I am thinking Hoplites (300n) and HSSW (900nm). It's one way and it's done between 80 and 200K which means it can be blisteringly fast. And the cost per round means you have 25-50 for each F-35 you _don't_ buy."

SRAM = Short Range Attack Missile.

Hoplite =  Indirect Precision Attack Missile.

HSSW =  High Speed Strike Weapon.

SR-71 =  Long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft.

"Each F-35 which, shot down being predictable, within 12nm of a JDAM target, costs you 400 billion and 15 years of Gen 5."

Gen 5 =  Fifth Generation warplane.

JDAM = Joint Direct Attack Munition.

"Since double or even quadruple the price of a Tomahawk is still barely break even on a 9M96 or a 48N6E3, the reality then becomes killing arrows with arrows is a bad cost-:loss trade for the few systems (nothing less than an SA-10) which can hit them."

SA-10 =  Grumble SAM. [Surface-air-missile]

9M96 = Short-range S-400 SAM.

48N6E3 = Medium-range S-400 SAM

"Instant obsolescence of an entire class of 3rd World SAM systems along with everything up to about SA-11/17 which is still in the Russian inventory leaves you with a pretty thin defense of just a couple hundred S-300/400 batteries."

SA-11 = Gadfly SAM.

SA-17 = Grizzly SAM.

"Have you seen a map of Russia?"

"Anorexic."

"Chuck Myers once said: 'JAST was fine until they switched 'Advanced' for 'Air' and came up with the F-35. I think he was pretty clever too.

JAST = Joint Advanced Strike Technology.

"Contempt of Engagement is about selectivity and saturation the same way that DMPIs per day drives LER decisions about attrition and frag list reduction on theater strategy."

LER = Loss Exchange Ratio.

DMPI = Desired Mean Point of Impact.

"If you can push a lot of shots downrange and into terminals which stress threat defense reaction windows, even if the individual delivered warheads are only in the 100-300lb range (couple to a Mach 5-9 kinetic strike), you can take the measure:counter variable out of knowing how the platform works, how the weapons system uses the platform capabilities and how the 'kompleks' (system of systems, i.e. IADS) synergizes."

IADS = Integrated Air Defense System.

Personally and honestly I am not really sure if any of this qualifies as milspeak as would understood by Colonel Bay. I leave it to the devoted reader to the blog to decide for themselves.

coolbert.

Milspeak I.

This is coolbert:

From National Public Radio [NPR] and an Amazon book review:

"'Embrace the Suck' and More Military Speak"

"Austin Bay, who is retired from the U.S Army Reserve, was recalled to active duty and served in Iraq in 2004."

"You know you must be a member of the armed forces if you know what a 'fobbit' is or what 'FUBIJAR' means or where, exactly, 'Marineland' is located. Morning Edition commentator Austin Bay, a retired colonel in the Army Reserve and a veteran of the Iraq war, explains some of the military jargon, which he's compiled in a little handbook called 'Embrace the Suck: A Pocket Guide to Milspeak'."

“'Milspeak' is one of those things that set military personnel apart from civilians. Every profession has its own slang, if you will, be it medicine, law, firefighting, or police, and so too does the military. The military’s slang, though, is one of the most unique. Military culture is based on shared sacrifice, dedication, and commitment to the country – and it is exclusive.

"MILSPEAK: Slang for military jargon, troop idioms, and Pentagonese. The perfect gift for anyone who is in the military, veterans, or who plans to serve."

"Members of America’s armed forces have their own distinctive language: milspeak. Especially since WWII, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines have invented and adapted their own slang vocabularies, creating a colorful insider’s lingo of bureaucratic buzzwords, acronyms, mock jargon, dark humor, and outright profanity. Milspeak gives a unique and touching insight into military life from basic training to the trenches; from the flight deck to the cockpit."

Described as SLANG BUT MUCH MORE THAN JUST THAT!!

coolbert.

STOL Japan.

This is coolbert:

Again from Freeper, Japanese light-carriers to be equipped with top-of-the-line fighter-bomber warplanes?

"Japan considering buying F-35B fighters that can operate from helicopter carriers"

"In what could be seen as a change in Japan’s defense posture that has banned the possession of offensive aircraft carriers, the Defense Ministry is considering buying new fighter jets that may be put on its helicopter carriers, government sources said Sunday. The sources said the introduction of F-35Bs, which are capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings, will be useful to counter China’s growing maritime assertiveness. They are expected to bolster defenses of far-flung islands in the southwest, where only short runways exist"

NOT NECESSARILY SEEN AS AN INDICATION OF GLOBAL REACH BUT RATHER A RESPONSE TO WHAT IS PERCEIVED AS A REGIONAL THREAT.

Current Japanese light-carriers of the Izumo class not able to accommodate the F-35. Certain deficiencies must be overcome to make this possible!

coolbert.

Kashmir LoC.

This is coolbert:

Once more as seen at Freeper.

Forget about South China Sea, Suwalki Gap, North Korea, etc.

Think more of Pakistan and India. The possibility of a regional war with the use of atomic weapons cannot be completely ruled out.

Indeed, even as we speak the two nations exchanging gunfire on the Line-of-Control [LoC], Kashmir! That line separating Indian Kashmir from Pakistani Kashmir.

"Pakistan Opens Fire Along Border Killing Indian Troops, Warns 'Nuclear War Cannot Be Ruled Out'"

"With most of the Western hemisphere on holiday, another crisis appears to be developing on the India–Pakistan border known as the Line of Control (LoC). The incident started on Saturday, where at least four Indian soldiers were killed, in an exchange of fire with the Pakistani Army on the Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir"

THAT DIFFICULTY WITH KASHMIR HAVING LASTED WITHOUT SETTLEMENT FOR SEVENTY YEARS NOW! AND NO END IN SIGHT! RATHER THE OPPOSITE. INSURGENCY AND TERRORISM ENDEMIC TO THE AREA, TROOPS MASSED AT ALL TIMES AND ON HIGH-ALERT!

BOTH SIDES POSSESSING NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND THE CAPABILITY TO USE SAME!

Watch out!

coolbert.

Scrooge.

This is coolbert:

NO ROOM AT THE INN AFGHAN!

"cheap, chintzy, close, closefisted, mean, mingy, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, stingy, spare, sparing, stinting, tight, uncharitable, ungenerous"

As seen at the Daily Mail  by Charlotte Dean the tip from Freeper:

"British Troops in Afghanistan 'Get Just £1 a head' Spent on them for Christmas Celebrations"

One English pound by current conversion rate = $1.34 USD!

"Close-fisted defence chiefs have allocated just £1 a head to British troops with 'suffering moral' for their Christmas celebrations. The 500 troops positioned in Afghanistan have been given £500 for their festive celebrations this year - working out at just £1 a head. But apparently this isn't even enough for coffee and they 'send in more money to feed the stray cats on the US compound' and even the Mongolians receive more"

All not so forlorn after all? As has been noted:

"Someone pointed out that there are no British troops serving in Afghanistan on a base with only Brit troops.  They serve on bases where other Coalition soldiers are in the majority and they eat at their chow halls.  That means they will be having Christmas dinner the same as the others (American holiday fare)."

Turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing with gravy, pie, etc. The English lads are going to have to make do but not so bad.

coolbert.

Five.

This is coolbert:

Prediction 2018. Hopefully none of these events will occur!

From the article by Robert Farley as seen at the Internet web site "Scout". This story was originally published by The National Interest

"5 Places World War III Could Start in 2018"

  "The world has managed to make it through most of 2017 without the return of cataclysmic, great power conflict. In some parts of the world (most notably Syria) tensions have declined significantly. In others, already difficult situations have grown even more tense. Here are five crises that could lead to great power conflict over the course of 2018."

Regions and areas for possible conflict in the nutshell:

* North Korea.

* Taiwan.

* Ukraine.

* NATO’s Southern Flank.

* The Gulf.

Conclusion:

"The world remains jarringly dangerous."  [when has the world ever been not a dangerous place?]

NO South China Sea?  NO Baltics? NO Suwalki Gap? Some sort of menacing gestures are being directed from mainland China toward Taiwan? I would assume correctly [??] that "The Gulf" includes but not strictly limited to Syria?

NOT necessarily any of those potential conflicts properly categorized as A WORLD WAR? More better understood as a REGIONAL WAR? Escalation of course possible at any moment.

War or wars as fought with conventional means and NOT thermonuclear GLOBAL CONFLICT with the obliteration of all mankind?

coolbert.

AE-1 RAN.

This is coolbert:

Courtesy of Sharkhunters and Harry images of the lost Australian submarine AE-1 that has NOW BEEN FOUND! Expedition successful and perhaps beyond expectations!

Without further ado and elaboration on my part  to the images:

"Twelve search missions over the last century had failed to find its resting place."

Until now!

coolbert.

Anthrax NK.

This is coolbert:

Kim has atomic. Kim has chemicals. Kim has anthrax? What is there Kim doesn't have?

No one can be pleased with what has been found during a routine medical exam of a North Korean defecting soldier. From several sources to include Sputnik

1. "North Korea soldier who defected had immunity to anthrax"

"A North Korean soldier who defected to the South was found to have antibodies to anthrax – triggering concerns the rogue regime has weaponized the deadly bacteria, according to reports Tuesday."

2. "North Korean Defector Has Anthrax Antibodies in Bloodstream - Report"

"A North Korean soldier who defected to South Korea in 2017 was found to have anthrax antibodies in his bloodstream, according to a Tuesday report from Channel A news."

IF AND WHEN THE DECISION TO EMPLOY BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS MADE,  UNDERSTAND IT BEING HIGHLY ADVISABLE TO HAVE YOUR OWN TROOPS INOCULATED AGAINST WHATEVER DEADLY PATHOGEN IS BEING USED FIRST!!

NORTH KOREA WELL AHEAD OF THE LEARNING CURVE IN THIS REGARD SO IT WOULD SEEM!

coolbert.

Might.

This is coolbert:

Concluding with the final list as extracted from "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

"Ten Military Might-Have-Beens"

* "Xerxes' Fleet Avoids the Athenians Trap at Salamis, and Greece becomes Part of the Persian Empire."

* "Alexander the Great lives to Old Age."

* "Mongol Khan Ogodei Lives to Old Age, and His Armies Conquer Western Europe Instead of Withdrawing to Elect a New Khan."

* "The Ottoman Empire Captures Vienna and Goes on to Conquer Western Europe for Islam."

* "The Wind Blows the Armada Back Into the English Channel."

* "Benedict Arnold Captures Quebec, and Canada Joins the Colonies in Revolt."

* "Napoleon Does Not Go To Moscow and Expels The British From the Iberian Peninsula."

* "The Schlieffen Plan Works." [WW1]

* "Successful Assassination of Adolf Hitler."

* "Operation Sealion Succeeds, and Germany Conquers England; Hitler Takes Moscow and the Caspian Oil Fields; Rommel Takes Cairo and Palestine, and Nazi Forces Join Hands in Iraq; Meanwhile the Japanese Navy Rules the Indian Ocean as Far as Africa."

ALSO AXIS EFFORTS SUCCESSFUL THE GERMANS AND JAPANESE HAVING ESTABLISHED UNDISPUTED CONTROL OF EUROPE AND ASIA RESPECTIVELY AS A CONSEQUENCE THE COMBINED FLEETS OF GERMANY, ITALY, VICHY FRANCE AND JAPAN BEGIN NAVAL OPERATIONS AGAINST THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

coolbert.

Innovations.

This is coolbert:

Still further with a list as extracted from: "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

"The Most Important Military Innovations"

A list as compiled by  John F. Guilmatin, PhD.

* Copper-headed mace.

* War-horse.

* Wheel.

* Composite bow.

* Gunpowder.

* Full-rigged ship.

* Military maps.

* Steam power/propulsion.

* Rifled musket.

* Quick-firing artillery.

* Internal combustion engine.

* Radio and radar.

* Computers and transistors.

* Nuclear weapons and nuclear power.

THE RIFLED MUSKET FIRING A CONOIDAL BULLET THAT MOST SIGNIFICANT AND IMPORTANT MILITARY INNOVATION OF ALL  TIME? RAPIDITY OF ACCURATE FIRE AT LONGER RANGE THE CASUALTIES AS A PERCENTAGE OF BATTLEFIELD PARTICIPANTS CAUSED BY SUCH A WEAPON WITHOUT PARALLEL.

According to and in the opinion of one acknowledged weapons authority I am familiar with, the Roman gladius and the reflex sight the two most important military technological innovations of the last two-thousand years!!

coolbert.

Sites.

This is coolbert: 

Twenty!

Yet  still additionally a list as obtained from "The Reader's Companion to Military History";

"The Best Western Military Sites"

As compiled by Robert Crowley: "We have listed here the twenty military sites that we consider . . . 'worth a visit'. We use the word site: not all are battlefields. We have also limited our choices to the West, recognizing that we are omitting what might be the greatest military site in the world, The Great Wall of China."

* Meggido.  [Israel]

* Masada. [Israel]

* Hadrian's Wall.  [England]

* Cadbury Castle.  [England]

* Aigues-Mortes.  [France]

* Lutzen.  [Germany]

* Neuf-Breisach.  [France]

* Louisbourg.  [Canada]

* Saratoga.  [USA]

* West Point.  [USA]

* Valmy.  [France]

* Austerlitz.  [Czech Republic]

* Antietam.  [USA]

* Gettysburg.  [USA]

* Vicksburg.  [USA]

* Verdun.  [France]

* The Somme.  [France]

* The Maginot Line at Hackenberg.  [France]

* The Churchill War Room.  [England]

* The D-Day Beaches.  [France]

Go here and see an outstanding virtual 360 degree tour of the Maginot Line at Hackenberg.

Additionally to the list and cannot be ignored worthy of inclusion in my opinion

* Tunnels of Củ Chi. [Vietnam].
* Carcassonne.  [France]
* Krak of the Chevaliers. [Syria]

coolbert.

5/3/1808.

This is coolbert:

Additionally more war art the inspiration of which was "The Third of May 1808". Goya having inspired other artists of great repute to include Manet and Picasso.

The original as by Goya! "The Third of May 1808 . . .  is a painting completed in 1814 by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya . . .  In the work, Goya sought to commemorate Spanish resistance to Napoleon's armies during the occupation of 1808"

An impressionist work by Manet. "The Execution of Emperor Maximilian is a series of paintings by Édouard Manet from 1867 to 1869, depicting the execution by firing squad of Emperor Maximilian I of the short-lived Second Mexican Empire. Manet produced three large oil paintings, a smaller oil sketch and a lithograph of the same subject."

And finally from Picasso. "Massacre in Korea is an expressionistic painting completed on January 18, 1951, by Pablo Picasso; it criticizes United States intervention in the Korean War . . . Massacre in Korea depicts civilians being killed by anti-communist forces . . . Picasso's work is influenced by Francisco Goya's painting The Third of May 1808, which shows Napoleon's soldiers executing Spanish civilians. . . It stands in the same iconographic tradition of an earlier work modeled after Goya, [and] Édouard Manet's series of five paintings depicting the execution of Emperor Maximilian, completed between 1867 and 1869."

Imitation is the highest form of flattery so it is said. Probably so. In that regard Goya highly regarded by others in the profession, profoundly so even!

coolbert.

WW1 Art.

This is coolbert:

This blog entry borderline nonetheless relevant. World War One war art. Art of the Great War in particular characterized by an illustration is seen in: "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

 "The Menin Road" - Paul Nash. "The Menin Road is a large oil painting by Paul Nash completed in 1919 that depicts a First World War battlefield . . . The painting is considered one of the most iconic images of the First World War". A landscape totally devoid of any form of life, blown to smithereens, cratered and  remnants of what once was limited to branch[less tree trunks standing as would a totem-pole. Human beings if present leading a troglodyte existence in dugouts or trenches. Other life forms if indeed found limited to an infestation of rats, prodigious numbers present!

"Machine Gunners Advancing" - - Otto Dix. WW1! German machine gun crews surmounting a mountain of human skulls! Otto Dix served with a machine gun crew during the Great War.

"Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas" - - Otto Dix. German storm troopers assail an enemy position. Men their appearance not even human. Helmets, masks, gloves, etc. Not really persons recognizable as such. The industrialized, mechanized, mass production, by-the-numbers, totally dehumanized type of warfare as had never been seen before.

The subject matter done in a style both horrific and depressing, morbid even. But outstanding art in all cases.

coolbert.

Art.

This is coolbert:

Still more, one additional list as extracted from: "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

"Ten Famous Representations of Military History in Western Art"

List as compiled by Theodore Rabb.

* Alexander at the Battle of Issus.  [unknown]

* The Bayeux Tapestry.  [Scolland?]

* The Battle of San Romano.  [Uccello]

* Equestrian Portrait of Gattamelata.  [Donatello]

* Charles V at Muhlberg.  [Titian]

* The Surrender of Breda.  [Velazquez]

* Ferdinand of Austria at the Battle of Nordlingen.  [Rubens]

* Napoleon Crossing the Alps.   [David]

* The Execution of the Rebels on May 3, 1808..  [Goya]

* Guernica.  [Picasso]

"The Execution" by Goya having inspired other artists. More on this to follow!

coolbert.

Movies.

This is coolbert:

Still yet again with extracts and commentary  "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

"The Ten Best War Movies."

* "Battleship Potemkin".

* "All Quiet on the Western Front".

* "The Grand Illusion".

* "Casablanca".

* "The Best Years of Our Lives".

* "Twelve O'clock High".

* "The Cruel Sea".

* "Zulu".

* "Apocalypse Now".

* "Kagemusha".

Casablanca rated as # 5 best movie all time by IMDB.

Also from You Tube see this listing as compiled: "Top 10 Most Realistic War Movies According to Military Veterans".

THE "CRUEL SEA" AMONG BOTH THE BEST FICTION AND BEST WAR MOVIE!

coolbert.

Fiction.

This is coolbert:

Yet once again and extract, a list, as found in: "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

"The Ten Best Works of Historical Fiction About War"

* "Iliad".  [Homer]

* Romance of the Three Kingdoms.  [Lo Kuan-Chung]

* Henry V.  [Shakespeare]

* Simplicissimus. [Grimmelshausen]

* The History of Henry Esmond, Esquire.  [Thackery]

* "War and Peace".  [Tolstoy]

* "The Red Badge of Courage".  [Crane]

* Good Soldier Schweik.  [Hasek]

* "A Farewell to Arms".  [Hemingway]

* "The Cruel Sea".  [Montserrat]

It is often thought [and I also thought this to be true] that Crane actually was a combatant during the American Civil War. He was writing about his actual experience as a soldier but this is not so:  "'The Red Badge of Courage' has often misled readers into thinking that Crane . . . was himself a veteran. While trying to explain his ability to write about battle realistically, Crane stated: 'Of course, I have never been in a battle, but I believe that I got my sense of the rage of conflict on the football field, or else fighting is a hereditary instinct, and I wrote intuitively; for the Cranes were a family of fighters in the old days'".

HOMER IT IS ALLEGED WROTE THE ILIAD ABOUT FOUR-HUNDRED YEARS AFTER THE ACTUAL EVENTS AS RECOUNTED IN THE EPIC.

coolbert.

Memoirs.

This is coolbert:

Still continuing with extracts and commentary: "The Reader's Companion to Military History". More lists, memoirs, non-fiction.

"The picture of the war was sober, gray and red its colors; the battlefield was a desert of madness, in which life was miserably dead underground. At night, tired columns rolled on crumbled roads toward the burning horizon. 'Lights off!' Ruins and crosses lined the way. No song sounded, only soft words and curses interrupted the crunching of the straps, the rattling of rifles and diggers. Blurred shadows dipped from the edges of tattered villages into endless trenches."  - - Ernst Junger.

"The Ten Best War Memoirs."

* "Anabasis".  [Xenephon]

* "Commentaries on the Gallic War
and Commentaries on the Civil War." [Caesar]

* "The Jewish War".  [Josephus]

* "Personal Memoirs".  [U.S. Grant]

* "Storm of Steel: From the Diary of a German Stormtroop Officer on the Western Front". [Junger]

* "A Passionate Prodigality: Fragments of Autobiography".  [Chapman]

* "Somme: Desperate Glory: The Diary of a Young Officer".  [Vaughan]

* "Alamein to Zem-Zem". [Douglas]

* "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa". [Sledge]

* "Dispatches". [Harr]

The Great War [World War One] producing three of the ten memoirs as listed. The British in particular also noted for their War Poets, esteemed and renowned to this very day.

"Ernst Junger served in the German front line, fighting both the British and the French for most of World War I. Young, tough, patriotic but also disturbingly self-aware, he exulted in the war, which he saw not just as a great national struggle but - more importantly - as a unique personal struggle . . . Junger kept testing himself, braced for the death that would mark his failure"

Ernst competes. Who does he compete against? Himself!

coolbert.

Siege.

This is coolbert:

Yet once more a list of interest as seen at the: "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

 “Several dozen people were herded like sheep or goats. Any who lagged were flogged or killed outright. The women were bound together at the necks with a heavy rope—strung one to another like pearls. Stumbling with each step, they were covered with mud. Babies lay everywhere on the ground. The organs of those trampled like turf under horses' hooves or people's feet were smeared in the dirt, and the crying of those still alive filled the whole outdoors. Every gutter or pond we passed was stacked with corpses, pillowing each others arms and legs. Their blood had flowed into the water, and the combination of green and red was producing a spectrum of colors. The canals, too, had been filled to level with dead bodies." - - Wang Xiuchu.

Here with another extract with commentary

"The Ten Greatest Sieges."

As listed by Geoffrey Parker.

* Jericho by the Israelites.

* Troy by the Greeks.

* Constantinople by the Turk.

* Tenochtitlan by the Spanish.

* Yang-chou by the Manchu.

* Vicksburg. [by the Union]

* Verdun. [Germans/French]

* Leningrad. [Soviets/Germans]

* Stalingrad. [Soviets/Germans]

* Dien Bien Phu. [French/Vietnamese]

Wang Xiuchu describing the aftermath and vengeance of the Manchu at Yang-chou. 

Prolonged sieges often resulting in atrocity. Jerusalem, Magdeburg, Nanking. Resistance is futile!! Understand and obey!

coolbert.

Underrated.

This is coolbert:

Still another extract with commentary from: "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

"The Ten Most Underrated Commanders."

* Aetius.  [Roman]

* Saladin.  [Ayyubid dynasty Egypt]

* Suleiman I.  [Ottoman]

* Maurice of Nassau.  [Dutch]

* George Washington.  [American]

* Charles Cornwallis.  [English]

* George Thomas.  [Union]

* Ferdinand Foch.  [WW1]

* K.K. Rokossovsky.  [WW2]

* Mathew Ridgway.  [WW2/Korea]

Mathew Ridgway that only senior American commander that seems to emerged from the Korean War with HIS REPUTATION MORE OR LESS INTACT.

Three Americans among the ten listed! NOT so bad.

NO inclusion of Winfield Scott? His military campaign during the Mexican-American War of 1848 earning the admiration of no less an authority than the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley.

coolbert.

Overrated.

This is coolbert:

Still one more blog entry, a list as extracted from "The Reader's Companion to Military History." with my commentary:

"The Ten Most Overrated Commanders"

* Attila the Hun.  [Hun]

* Joan of Arc.  [French]

* Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.  [French]

* Robert E. Lee.  [American]

* Heinz Guderian.  [German]

* Douglas MacArthur.  [American]

* Bernard Montgomery.  [British]

* George S. Patton, Jr.  [American]

* Vo Nguyen Giap.  [Vietnamese]

* H. Norman Schwarzkopf. [American]

This particular listing I am sure going to create a lot of discussion among the experts. A listing as compiled by who exactly I am not sure. At least SIX OF THOSE TEN commanders usually and generally by reputation seen as military leaders of repute, way beyond average. ICONIC FIGURES AS THEY ARE CALLED!

Joan of Arc I would not consider to be a military commander. Perhaps I am wrong?

FOUR OF THOSE TEN COMMANDERS AS LISTED AN AMERICAN! WHAT DOES THAT SAY?

coolbert.

Disaster.

This is coolbert:

"Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions." - - Caesar Augustus.

Continuing with extracts with commentary: "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

"The Ten Greatest Military Disasters."

* Sicilian Expedition. [Athenians]

* Cannae. [Romans/Carthaginians]

* Teutoburg Forest. [Romans/Germans]

* Kosovo. [Turks/Serbs]

* Mohacs. [Turks/Hungarians]

* Poltava. [Swedes/Russians]

* Sedan. [French/Germans]

* The Somme, First Day.  [English/Germans]

* Singapore. [English/Japanese]

* Stalingrad. [Germans/Soviets]

Carrhae not worthy of inclusion? More Roman legionnaires lost [killed and captured combined] than at Teutoburg Wald!

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Brilliance.

This is coolbert:

Further yet again with extracts and commentary, list from "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

"Ten Examples of Tactical Brilliance."

* Megiddo. [Thuthmose III]

* Cannae. [Hannibal]

* Ramillies. [Marlborough]

* Austerlitz.  [Napoleon]

* Chancellorsville. [Lee]

* Koniggratz.  [Von Moltke]

* Beersheba.  [Allenby]

* Khalkin-Gol  [Zhukov]

* Operation Aida.  [Rommel]

* Inchon. [MacArthur]

COMMANDERS ICONIC. ZHUKOV HIS REPUTATION AS A COMMANDER OF REPUTE BEGAN WITH KHALKIN-GOL. ONLY UPWARD AND ONWARD FROM THERE.

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Sea Battles.

This is coolbert:

Yet another extract with commentary from "The Reader's Companion to Military History". A listing of:

"The Ten Most Important Sea Battles."

* Salamis.  [Athenian/Persian]

* Actium.  [Roman Civil War]

* Defeat of the Spanish Armada.  [English/Spanish]

* Virginia Capes.  [English/French]

* Trafalgar.  [English/Spanish-French]

* Tsushima. [Japan/Russia.]

* Jutland. [WW1]

* Battle of the North Atlantic. [WW2]

* Midway. [WW2]

* Leyte Gulf. [WW2]

American involvement 2 1/2! NOT so bad. The United States normally agreed by the experts is a naval power rather than a land power. Two oceans, global reach and all that.

Personally I would have included Lepanto.

HORATIO NELSON THAT ONLY MAJOR MILITARY COMMANDER OTHER THAN ALEXANDER NEVER TO HAVE BEEN DEFEATED.

coolbert.

Land Battles.

This is coolbert:

Still continuing, one more list, with extracts and commentary from "The Reader's Companion to Military History."

"The Ten Most Important Land Battles."

* Chalons.  [European coalition/Huns]

* Hastings. [Norman/Saxon]

* Yorktown. [American/British]

* Waterloo.  [Seventh Coalition/French]

* Gettysburg.  [Union/Confederate]

* Marne.  [WW1]

* Khalkin-Gol.  [Soviet/Japanese]

* Battle of Britain. [[WW2]

* Stalingrad.  [WW2]

* D-Day.  [WW2]

NO Tours, Carrhae, Teutoburg Forest, Talas, Ain Jalut. Each as normally deemed a high-water mark from the persepective of military and world history both! NONE of which seen as worthy of inclusion?

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Worst.

This is coolbert:

Continuing with lists as extracted from "The Reader's Companion to Military History" with my commentary when warranted.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - - A. Einstein.

"The Ten Worst Generals."

* Aicibiades.  [Athenian]

* Julian.  [Rome]

* Burnside. [Union]

* Sir Douglas Haig. [WW1]

* Nivelle. [WW1]

* Gamelin. [WW2]

* Mark Clark. [WW2/Korea]

* Adolf Hitler. [WW2]

* Chiang Kai-Shek.

* Westmoreland. [Second Indo-China War]

ADOLF HITLER I WOULD CONSIDER TO BE A GENERAL OFFICER AS THAT WORD GENERAL COMMONLY, NORMALLY AND GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD.

Alas, three Americans making the list. Two Frenchmen also.With regard to insanity Ambrose Burnside by the criteria of Einstein perhaps without peer. Marye's Heights. Senseless slaughter without accomplishment and when not needed.

coolbert.

Generals.

This is coolbert:

Here begins a series of blog entries, extracts with commentary from the "The Reader's Companion to Military History".

Lists the subject matter to include but not limited to: "The Ten Greatest Generals", "The Ten Worst Generals", etc.

Lists with only several exceptions as compiled by whom not stated.

Lists without exception sans ranking in any sort of order and as shown in  chronological order from most ancient to most recent, top to bottom respectively.

"The Ten Greatest Generals"

* Alexander the Great.  [Macedonian]

* Hannibal.  [Carthaginian]

* Saladin.  [Ayyubid dynasty Egypt]

* Genghis Khan.  [Mongol]

* Oda Nobunaga. [Japan]

* Helmuth von  Moltke. [Prussian]

* Napoleon. [Bonaparte of course]

* Arthur Wellesley. [Duke of Wellington]

* William T. Sherman. [Union]

* William Slim.  [WW2]

VON MOLTKE BY HIS OWN WORDS AND APPRECIATION WOULD NOT HAVE CONSIDERED HIMSELF TO BE A GREAT GENERAL! ACCORDING TO THE MAN HIMSELF HE HAD NOT COMMANDED DURING A RETREAT!!

See further those previous and most recent blog entries here and here the topic of which was the best general of all time.

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Note.

This is coolbert:

Further introduction!

As extracted from the Editors' Note [Cowley and Parker] to the The Reader's Companion to Military History key items:

* "We believe that The Reader's Companion to Military History is the most accurate reflection available to the current state of the art."

* "The study of military history has undergone drastic changes in recent years."

* "The subject matter of this book ranges from the origins of war to ethnic cleansing, from Thutmose III to H. Norman Schwarzkopf, from the War of the Triple Alliance in Paraguay to the Battle of Khalkin-Gol on the border of Mongolia and Manchuria."

* "Although the Readers's Companion runs to 542 pages, it does not - - cannot - - provide equal coverage for all countries and all centuries."

* "We therefore adopted two working principles in selection entries and allocating relative lengths: 1, given that the Western way of warfare has come to dominate armed conflict all over the globe, we have 'privileged' Western matters, and 2. given that many readers will be more interested in recent wars, we have also given more weight to the conflicts, personalities, and developments that shaped warfare in the twentieth and, to a lesser degree, the nineteenth century."

Thanks again in all instances to Cowley and Parker.

* "'The ordinary theme and argument of all history is war.'" - - Sir Walter Raleigh.

Again, much more to follow!!

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Companion.

This is coolbert:

Concerning:

"The Reader's Companion to Military History" 

By Robert Cowley  (Author),‎ Geoffrey Parker  (Author) [1996].

MATERIAL AS GLEANED FROM READER'S A CONTINUING SOURCE OF MATERIAL FOR FUTURE BLOG ENTRIES!

"THE READER'S COMPANION TO MILITARY HISTORY is the first major reference work on military history to represent a global perspective. More than 150 distinguished military historians, biographers, and journalists contributed nearly 600 articles to this remarkable chronicle of warfare that combines compelling historical narrative with the latest in contemporary scholarship. Here is essential information on major events and battles, commanders, weaponry and technology, and strategy and tactics. Other topics include courage, discipline, the effects of weather on warfare, military justice, the role of propaganda, the evolution of uniforms, psychological warfare, and morale. Filled with surprising anecdotes and little-known facts, THE READER'S COMPANION TO MILITARY HISTORY covers not only European and North American military history but that of Asia, Africa, and South America. Never before has a single volume so eloquently addressed the many intriguing aspects of that most destructive, fascinating, and relentless of human experiences -- war."

"com·pen·di·um - - noun - - a collection of concise but detailed information about a particular subject, especially in a book or other publication."

I recommend this compendium [also might be described as an anthology?] without reservation or qualification. Slightly dated from two decades now but still valid in all instances. From the military perspective and dimension just chock-full of goodness. Indeed!!

One-hundred sixty authors all esteemed and having an authority as an expert in topics of the military dimension. The variety of topics that proverbial soup-to-nuts. NOT however an encyclopedia.

Much more to follow!!

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Success!

This is coolbert:

AE1 found!

"Missing WW1 submarine AE1 found with underwater camera"

From "The Australian " and the article by Stephen Fitzpatrick thanks to Freeper for the tip.

"A bold bid to locate the wreck of Australia’s first submarine has been successful, with the final resting place of 35 World War One servicemen off Papua New Guinea captured on underwater camera. The fate of AE1 has long been a mystery, with a three-day search after it disappeared on patrol in waters between New Ireland and New Britain on September 14, 1914, just seven months into service, proving fruitless. It can now be revealed the boat suffered a catastrophic failure, probably during a practice dive, and struck a hard rocky bottom southeast of the Duke of York islands group"

TOO ALL INVOLVED GOOD JOB! WELL DONE!

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Bataan.

This is coolbert:

Yet one more FEEL GOOD story with a military dimension.

From a recent edition of the WWII magazine.

"BACK TO BATAAN"

"MANY AMERICANS CELEBRATED Memorial Day weekend  By grilling burgers and hoisting col d beers. Four veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan picked another way to remember the fallen: they walked the route of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines, consuming half rations, limiting their intake of water, and sleeping on the ground along the five-day journey."

Josh, Nick, Margaux and Brian give the four of them high-fives and a big thank you. Job well done!!

All four founders of the Mission Memorial Day,. Read of the mission here. Additionally see the embedded video. FIVE DAYS AND SIXTY-SIX MILES!

Read also further about the Bataan Death March.

WITH REGARD TO THE BATAAN DEATH MARCH AS EXPERIENCED BY THE AMERICAN AND FILIPINO TROOPS, THE ENTIRE ORDEAL LASTING ELEVEN DAYS, FIVE OF WHICH THE PRISONERS WITHOUT FOOD!!

This is the type of thing worth doing and much more of the same should be done and we are all the better for it.

coolbert.

Owls.

This is coolbert:

Chemical weapons Umatilla. Owl sanctuary??

Here with the type of FEEL GOOD story you wish there were many more of. A narrative also with a military dimension!

Owls of Umatilla. Burrowing Owls prospering and doing well. Habitat and sanctuary thanks to the remoteness and security of an army chemical weapons depot! Who ever thought a storage area and destruction site for weapons of mass destruction could ever become animal sanctuary.

"Army mobilizes to increase Burrowing Owl habitat in Oregon"

From the article by Bruce Henrickson, US Army Umatilla Chemical Depot Public Affairs

"Umatilla Chemical Depot, Hermiston, Ore. - While the U.S. Army Umatilla Chemical Depot is best known for the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility and its mission to dispose of deadly chemical weapons, life of a different kind thrives in other areas of the depot."

"Not far from the depot chemical weapons storage area containing some of the most deadly substances known to humanity, dozens of pairs of Burrowing Owls . . . have made their homes in abandoned badger dens, old pipes, and other holes dug by small mammals and abandoned. Those burrows are inadvertently protected from human intrusion by the same fences, heavily armed guards and other defensive measures that ensure security of the Umatilla chemical munitions stockpile."

Four nesting pair of owls have now increased their number to sixty nesting pair. Habitation as in some cases through human intervention.

A NATURE PRESERVE AS SO DESIGNATED AND GUARDED!

That particular storage and disposal facility will have to monitored for decades to come. Owls in addition are the proverbial "canary in the coal mine". Those owls if experiencing difficulty of some unknown source surely an advanced warning of some danger. Chemical decontamination and destruction process not 100 % accomplished.

coolbert.

Boko.

This is coolbert:

How fortuitous! Only several day ago I was speaking of Boko Haram and how they had not been heard from recently.

From the "NEWS BRIEFING" of the Chicago Tribune as dated Sunday, 17 December.

"Nigeria raids nab hundreds of Boko Haram fighters, families"

"MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - - Nigerian soldiers have arrested more than 400 people associated with Bolko Haram extremist group hiding on the islands of Lake Chad, including fighters, wives and children, military authorities said."

. . . .

"Among those arrested were 167 Boko Haram fighters, 67 women and 173 children . . . another 57 insurgents were arrested in a separate operation."

The fight continues, the war goes on. Counter-insurgencies can last for many years, decades even! It is hardly over.

coolbert.

GDR.

This is coolbert:

As is germane to the previous blog entry the People's Navy of the German communist regime [GDR] did have a navy with considerable assets!

Hardware, assets it now seems almost if not ALL sold for scrap of just done away with. Thanks to the wiki:

The People's Navy was equipped with:

    Landingcraft
    Minelayers and minesweepers
    Fast torpedo and missile boat
    Coastal defense ships
    Submarine hunters
    Intelligence ships
    Training ships
    Support craft
    Naval Aviation.

BUT NO SUBMARINES!

"The People's Navy was dissolved, like all other branches of the former National People's Army, on 2 October 1990 – the day before the official reunification of Germany. Some of its staff was absorbed into the Bundesmarine . . . Most of the ships and other equipment were scrapped or sold, and few if any former People's Navy vessels remain in service with the modern-day German Navy."

I would assume any of those vessels as were in the inventory of the People's Navy if they still existed FROM ALMOST THIRTY YEARS AGO NOW not even service-able or in any condition to sail, much less perform mission.

Deutsche Marine kaput!

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U-boote.

This is coolbert:

WHO are U?

Status report German submarines. From Sharkhunters and Harry thanks to the tip from Larry:

• U-31 has been out of service since 2014
• U-32 experienced battery damage in July 2017
• U-33 is in dock for maintenance
• U-34 is in dock for repairs until January 2018;
* U-35 is back in the shipyards for repairs
• U-36 was [just recently] commissioned . . . this year

How the mighty have fallen. See the previous blog entry the status of the German armor forces and you have seriously wonder what is going on and what this all about.

And also that question asked in the previous blog entry, did not the German inherit from the East German communist regime large quantities of military hardware, some of which could be still put to use??

coolbert.

Cameroon.

This is coolbert:

An American military presence in Cameroon very novel? Without precedent? That part of Africa associated normally with the French, a legacy of the colonial period.

From Sputnik:

1. "USAFRICOM Investigates US Complicity in Torture at Base in Cameroon"

"The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) will investigate whether US forces knew about allegations of the abuse of prisoners by Cameroonian forces on a military base where US troops were present."

2. "US Extends Drone War Deeper Into Africa With New Base in Cameroon"

"The establishment of the new base is a "dramatic uptick" in Washington's war on terror in Africa, with Boko Haram as one of the enemies"

3. "Long Live Ambazonia? English-Speaking Rebels Want to Create New Nation in Africa"

"In a remote corner of Africa a group of Anglophone [English speakers] rebels want to carve a country out of French-speaking Cameroon. Is there more to the conflict than just language differences?"

AND THIS IS ALL IN RESPONSE TO BOKO HARAM AND THE THREAT AS POSED BY SAME TO THE REGION? HAVE NOT HEARD MUCH FROM BOKO RECENTLY! STILL OUT THERE AND ACTIVE I MIGHT PRESUME.

The French because of the terrorist threat at home no longer having a capability to deploy those necessary combat elements? More French troops now for domestic security than found abroad!

coolbert.

Leopard.

This is coolbert:

The mighty have fallen? The masters of movement and armor warfare no longer have armor? Movement forget about it unless by foot?

As seen and extracted from an article thanks to Strategy Page:
  
"Armor: German Tank Force Barely There"

"The German effort to rebuild some of its Cold War era Leopard-2 tank force has encountered problems. It has gotten so bad that currently Turkey, Chile, Greece, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and Poland each have more operational Leopard-2 tanks than Germany (which had over 2,000 in the early 1990s). This odd situation was revealed in November 2017 when it was discovered that 53 Leopard-2s were unavailable while undergoing upgrades and 86 were inoperable because of spare parts shortages. That meant Germany only had 95 Leopard-2 tanks that were combat ready. That’s 39 percent of the 244 Leopard-2s currently available to the army."

What about the armor [tanks] and other armored [APC/IFV] vehicles the German must have inherited from the East Germans? Soviet gear but still having a lot of potency. That is all gone? Melted down for scrap steel?

Almost three full decades now since the dissolution of the old Soviet Union. The threat of Big Red moving westward thought to have been gone forever. Expenditures for military hardware of the new and best type not allocated and spent.

coolbert.