Vulcans.

This is coolbert:

Nuclear attack USA. Simulated massed manned long-range strategic bomber attack during the era of the Cold War. Code name Sky Shield.

THE ROYAL AIR FORCE [RAF] AS A PARTICIPANT BOMBED THE USA! SIMULATED OF COURSE.

This was Sky Shield. A test of American and North American air defenses reputed and touted as 99 % effective.

Go see the Mark Felton You Tube video and thanks to Mark.

Comments:

* Sky Shield a test of North American air defense against Soviet long-range strategic bomber attack over the Arctic Ocean southward toward the USA. All commercial air traffic grounded. Conditions IDEAL from the air defense standpoint as would not be the case in a real-world crisis.

* The much vaunted and again highly touted air defense [AD]  system defending North America said to be 99 % effective found to be only 25 % EFFECTIVE when tested by Sky Shield!!

* British contingents of RAF Vulcan bomber warplanes participating in the exercise able to penetrate American airspace unscathed. The Vulcan aircrews demonstrating they could have dropped atomic ordnance on American cities and done so with relative ease!!

* The Soviets undoubtedly {??] were cognizant of Sky Shield. Indeed, the Soviets observing the grounding of all commercial air traffic USA might have thought this was all a prelude to an American attack on the Soviet Union?

* The relative INEFFECTIVENESS of North American AD as confirmed by Sky Shield a major factor [?] in the decision to dismantle defense against manned bomber attack beginning with the Kennedy administration.

coolbert.

Breakdown.

This is coolbert:

Consider with the context of previous blog entries here and here the susceptibility of the tank to mechanical breakdown. 

"World War I: The Tech of the Tank"

The article by Ellen Terrell and thanks to same.

MECHANICAL FAILURE FROM THE  INSTANCE OF THE FIRST EMPLOYMENT OF THE TANK IN WARFARE UNDERSTOOD AS A MAJOR PROBLEM. 

"On the morning of September 15th, 1916, the British Army attacked the German trenches just outside the French village of Flers. Forty-nine tanks were dispersed in small groups with the infantry divisions that made the assault. Even before the attack actually began, machines began to break down. More than a third of the tanks failed to reach their starting positions, and once the attacks started, still more broke, were delayed or became stuck, with the result that only nine achieved their goals"

THAT FINAL TALLY OF TANKS REACHING OBJECTIVE [GOAL] ONLY EIGHTEEN PERCENT [18 %] OF THOSE STARTING OUT. ALL FROM MECHANICAL BREAKDOWN? THIS IS NOT SPECIFIED. I MIGHT WELL IMAGINE THE "GOAL" NOT FAR FROM THE STARTING-POINT.

If indeed the "goal" to cross no-man's land in an unscathed matter while remaining operationally functional meaning to cross a stretch of land the width of from a quarter-mile [about 200 meters] to a half-mile [about 800 meters] the mechanical functioning the tank during the period leaving a tremendous lot to be desired.

coolbert.

Omaha.

This is coolbert:

I need help here. Devoted readers to the blog and those merely perusing in a casual manner please assist. I need your comments to clarify the matter.

Courtesy in all cases the Internet web site War History Online and the article by Joris Nieuwint.

"10 Things That Went Badly Wrong on Omaha Beach"

"1. The Beach was perfect for an invasion Omaha_1944_Initial_assault"

As extracted:

"The 7000 yards long crescent shaped beach presented a gently sloping tidal area averaging 300-yards between low and high-water marks . . ."

"The 1st infantry division [1 ID] studied this beach before the operation and considered the shingle and sea wall as the first defensible piece of terrain . . ."

"Last but not least, the beach was first selected in 1943 because it was virtually undefended. Later, when the beach appeared to be well defended, the allies had no choice but to land on Omaha beach or the British beaches would be too far away from the Americans at Utah beach . . ."

Omaha from the perspective of the attacker [American army] very good. The German would have realized this and strengthened their defenses beyond normal accordingly in anticipation of allied invasion.

Intelligence preparation of the battlefield [IPB] can work both ways!! What was so in 1943 was not so in 1944!

coolbert.

Covert-CAS.

This is coolbert:

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Question mark??

Place this one in the strange but true category?

America and the Taliban united?

Thanks to Zero Hedge and the article by Tyler Durden.

"Two Decades After 9/11, Pentagon Is Providing Covert Air Support To The Taliban"

"Nearly two decades following 9/11 and the initial invasion of Afghanistan which ostensibly had as its objective the removal and destruction of the hard-line Islamist Taliban government, the United States military is providing covert support to the same 'outlawed' Taliban with the latest aim of booting ISIS from the country."

Cover support in the form of close-air-support [CAS].

"A report in The Washington Post on Thursday details that this secret assistance focuses on the Pentagon providing air power to the Taliban as the group wars against against ISIS [Islamic State] in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunar Province."

We need to be here absolutely clear as to what is occurring. American close-air-support [CAS] in support of Taliban fighters battling with Islamic State combat units. the latter having fled the ill-fated Caliphate [Syria and Iraq] and attempting to reconstitute themselves using Afghan territory as a base for future operations.

AMERICAN CAS AFGHAN PERHAPS MUCH TO THE SURPRISE OF THE TALIBAN. NOT AGREED TO OR COORDINATED BUT STILL APPRECIATED?

Apparently RADIO INTERCEPTS of Taliban communications vital to the process of CAS. NO American air liaison embedded with Taliban fighters.

See a number of Tweets thanks to the Wesley Morgan account a discussion of CAS Taliban.

AND TO ALL THIS THE TALIBAN ARE GRATEFUL? I HAVE MY DOUBTS.

coolbert.

Slow.

This is coolbert:

SPEED MATTERS!

The "kamikaze drone" as used effectively by the Azerbaijani in their war with Armenia able to defy conventional air defense missiles [SAM].

DRONES it seems fly TOO SLOW!

Thanks to the Internet web site "Anti-Empire"

"Armenians Are Losing the War in Karabakh Because Their Air Defenses Can Not Handle Slow-Flying Drones"

"Hindsight is 20/20 but turns out it was a big mistake not to have had modern drone-killing systems in place"

"Armenian anti-aircraft defenses are not particularly modern or potent, but they are perfectly adequate to keep at bay the modest Azeri airforce,"

"However, the problem for the Armenian side is that the Azeris are instead relying on slow-flying drones that Armenian anti-aircraft systems are ill-equipped to handle, having been developed before the advent of drones and with different roles and capabilities in mind."

See previous blog entry the topic the use of drones in the Armenian/Azerbaijan conflict:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/zero.html

Wage war by "suicide" drone will be now all the rage. Everyone will want a fleet of such weapons now.

coolbert.

COFA.

This is coolbert:

As was foreseen in 1994 now is coming to fruition? Naval base Palau Islands. 

From the Russian media outlet RT.

"New American military base in Pacific would show how US-China cold war is heating up fast"

"The tiny state of Palau has invited the US to build a military base on its territory. It’s a sign of how the Pacific is becoming strategically vital as countries choose to align with either Washington or Beijing."

"Few people in the west are likely to have heard of a nation called Palau, an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. Located close to Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, it boasts a population of only 17,000 people, less than the average small town."

Palau only becoming an independent nation in 1994. Prior to that a Trust Territory under the control and jurisdiction of the USA.

"Palau finally becoming a sovereign state in 1994."

COFA agreement by which Palau attaining independence containing stipulations as regarding USA military bases in the nation-state:

"Under the terms of the COFA [Compact of Free Association], the US provides a package of financial assistance which is administered via the Office of Insular Affairs, and assumes responsibility for national defence and security, in return for the exclusive freedom to operate and base American armed forces across the COFA territory."

Can YOU point to Palau on the map? ASK yourself!

coolbert.

https://on.rt.com/aszw

Zumwalt VLS.

This is coolbert:

The Great White Whale or the Great White Elephant? DDG 1000 Zumwalt back in the news once more.

From Sputnik and thanks to same.

"US Navy’s Zumwalt Stealth Destroyer Will Soon Have Working Weapons"

"The USS Zumwalt stealth destroyer joined the Navy in 2016, but due to budget shifts, it’s never had a working weapons system. However, the final touches on the ship’s conversion into a standard guided missile destroyer will soon be completed."

"The world’s largest destroyer will soon have a working weapons system - four years after being commissioned into the US Navy. A source inside the Zumwalt program told Defense News on Saturday that the final piece of the ship’s new combat system is due to be installed before the month is out."

ADVANCED GUN SYSTEM [AGS] GONE. TOO BAD. ROUNDS THE PRICE $1 MILLION PER SHOT. TOO EXPENSIVE.

AGS to be replaced with Vertical Launch System [VLS]. Missiles rather than naval gunfire.

"Eighty MK57 vertical launch tubes capable of firing a wide array of anti-air, anti-ship and anti-surface missiles." [anti-submarine SUBROC too?]

I would imagine that "mix" of missiles to be task-tailored for the mission. Zumwalt eventually to be equipped with rail-gun electro-magnetic apparatus? Only time will tell.

coolbert.

Pulp.

This is coolbert:

THE BIG BOOM THAT NEVER WAS? FROM ONE YEAR AGO.

Thanks to the Planet Today Internet web site.

“'Underwater Nuclear Explosion' Occurred In The South China Sea?"

Question mark?

"Information about the alleged 'underwater nuclear explosion' that occurred in the South China Sea began to spread a couple of days ago."

"Any sane person having read that 'the explosion occurred at a depth of 50 m and its power was 10 to 20 kilotons of TNT,' would immediately conclude that an explosion of such power at such a shallow depth would certainly cause a crushing tsunami wave, but there are no tsunami reports."

ACCIDENTAL ATOMIC DETONATION OF A CHINESE NUCLEAR WEAPON APPARENTLY DID NOT OCCUR. BUT WAS REPORT BY VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS AS BEING SO OR AT LEAST A POSSIBLE.

Click on all images to see an enlarged view.

This was some sort of "pulp fiction" [fiction dealing with lurid or sensational subjects]  and FAKE news [false news stories, often of a sensational nature, created to be widely shared or distributed]    apparently. NO underwater accidental detonation of an atomic weapon occurred?

IF indeed "fake" news as generated by whom and for WHAT reason?

coolbert.

Mad Jack.

This is coolbert:

The British do so love their eccentrics.

"ec•cen•tric - - adj. Departing from a recognized, conventional, or established norm or pattern."

Thanks to the article from "Coffee or Die" as authored by Matt Fratus. 

"‘MAD JACK’ CHURCHILL: THE OFFICER WHO CARRIED A SWORD, BAGPIPES, AND A LONGBOW INTO BATTLE"

Jack Churchill [no relation to Winston]. Serving British army officer during the Second World War and a man of many talents and abilities.

Archer /swordsman/ romantic /military officer /bagpiper /male model /PoW escapee /motorcyclist.

"ro•man•tic - - adj.  imaginative but impractical; visionary"

Read of additional military men each and everyone a successful battlefield commander the moniker "Mad" bestowed:

* Mad Anthony Wayne.

* Mad Mike Hoare. 

*  Mad Mike Calvert.

* Mad Mitch Colin Mitchell.

Mad but not in a bad way mad.

coolbert.

PLAN.

This is coolbert:

"keep the focus on the PLAN and the Indo-Pacific theater"

PLAN = People's Liberation Army Navy. Red China.

From CDR Salamander and the proceedings of the Naval Institute.

"At Sea, There is Only One Great Power Competition"

"The phrase 'Great Power Competition' is often used as a proxy for 'China and Russia.' That is unquestionably accurate with China, and to a lesser extent Russia, but when you look to the high seas, it really needs to be seen as shorthand for China".

As described by the Commander and in-the-nutshell Russia as a NAVAL THREAT their role as a GREAT POWER should not be over-estimated:

"Simply put, Russia does not have much additional money to spend at sea with her requirements ashore for her land an air forces. Yes, she can produce some regional effects at sea and her submarines could, in spots, create bother … but nothing that her much larger and richer European rivals can’t challenge as needed with a helpful assist by the USA where there are gaps."

According to the Commander the USA should not fear a combined fleet of China and Russia as an adversary. Nor a two-ocean war. Keep your eyes on the prize.

See recent blog entries as applicable:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/long-game.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/two-power-ii.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/two-power-i.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/biggest.html

coolbert.

Tanked.

This is oolbert:

One wee dram too many it seems. 

From the Russian media outlet RT another instance reported of the British nuclear ballistic-missile firing fleet again getting bad press.

"Too tanked for Tridents? Royal Navy officer in charge of nukes reportedly came to work drunk and clutching bag of BBQ chicken"

"tanked - -  adj. Intoxicated; drunk"

"The British nuclear submarine dubbed “HMS Sex and Cocaine” by the tabloids is in trouble again. An officer responsible for its nuclear missiles reportedly showed up for duty drunk during a port call in the US."

"The latest embarrassing incident happened during HMS Vigilant’s stay at the US Navy’s Kings Bay base in Georgia, according to the Sun. Lt. Commander Len Louw came in for his shift just as the crew was preparing to unload Trident II missiles – the primary armament of the submarine. As the weapons engineering officer, Louw was supposed to be in charge of the nuclear weapons."

BACK IN THE DAYS OF THE COLD WAR DURING A FIFTY YEAR PERIOD ABOUT 50,000 AMERICAN SERVICE MEN THEIR DUTY INVOLVING NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN SOME MANNER HAVING THEIR SECURITY CLEARANCES TAKEN AWAY MOSTLY FOR THE OFFENSE RELATED TO THE EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE.

LASH, GROG, SODOMY. A PORTION OF THE ANCIENT ROYAL NAVY [RN] TRADITION CONTINUES?

See recent previous blog entries the British nuclear deterrent personnel flaws made apparent:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/outbreak.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/10/visit-usa.html

coolbert.

Cannon SLRC.

This is coolbert:

From the Russian media outlet Sputnik and the article by Svetlana and thanks to both.

"US Army Reportedly Developing Cannon Touted as Able to Blast Through Air Defences ‘As Far As Moscow’"

"The Strategic Long Range Cannon (SLRC) is touted as potentially being able to strike targets at up to 1,150 miles (1,850 km) away and fire 50 times farther than existing guns."

SLRC as having the topic of a prior blog entry with additional embedded links.

Some clarification from the Internet web site Global Security.regarding the  SLRC:

"It should not be imagined that the SLRC is simply an enlarged version of a regular cannon. It should not be thought that this is a successor to the Paris Gun or Gerald Bull's big guns, in which a large cannon fires a passive projectile some great distance. Rather, the Strategic Long Range Cannon fires a self-propelled projectile, providing the initial boost needed to get the projectile up to multi-Mach speeds where the on-board propulsion system can initiate self-sustained flight. This booster function in other systems in typically performed by a solid-rocket motor booster. Whether the substitution of a large gun for a small rocket motor is a net gain has yet to be established."

CONSIDER NOT SO MUCH THE RANGE OF THE WEAPON BUT THE ACCURACY, RAPIDITY OF FIRE OF THE CANNON AND LETHALITY OF THE ROUND FIRED. DETAILS ON THOSE ASPECTS I IMAGINE  AT THIS STAGE OF  DEVELOPMENT CLASSIFIED.

Mounting of the SLRC [four cannon per battery] on an ocean-going [?] barge also touted as a possible.

coolbert.

Long Game.

This cvoolbert:

Consider this graphic very apropos within the context of a prior blog entry.

Thanks to the outstanding Internet blog of Commander Salamander.

"Keeping an Eye on the Long Game: Part LXXXVI"

Click on image to see a larger view. Chinese naval "platforms" versus allied naval "platforms" as estimated by the year 2025. Allies to include the USA, Japan, Australia and Republic of Korea [ROK]. "Platforms" as in the vicinity of the western Pacific during a time of PEACE. Allied forces during a time of crisis obviously their reinforcement to be MARKED. Platforms [Chinese and allied both] to include: 1, Satellites with a military or quasi-military capability. 2. Fighter planes. 3. Multi-engine jet bombers. 4. Naval patrol aircraft. 5. Aircraft carriers. 5. Amphibious landing warships. 6. Conventional surface warships. 7. Submarines. 8. Ballistic missiles of the long/medium/short range variety. The aggregate quite impressive. War-making naval stuff soup to nuts.

Once more naval assets the western Pacific during a time of peace! Imagine that one aircraft carrier [USA] that scant number to be increased quickly by at least four additional carriers during a time of crisis. Amphibious landing warships [USA] their mission sea control and carrying F-35B warplanes more aerial assets with significant capacity. Graphic not including tanker aircraft with the USA possessing an overwhelming number of such warplanes to be deployed forward if and when needed. China their resources in this vital category slim. 

As to the quality versus quantity issue consider:

"QUANTITY has a QUALITY all of it's own". - - J.Stalin.

coolbert.

Two-Power II.

This is coolbert:

"Our supremacy on the sea must, after all, be measured by the number of battleships we can put into line. It is further our duty, as we find other nations pushing forward this particular class of ship, to do the same." - -  Lord George Hamilton 

Conclusion.

That previous blog entry the size of the American naval force seen as being paramount with regard to national defense. American naval force must be able to fight [and presumably defeat] the navies of Russia and China.

DEFEAT THE NAVAL FORCES OF RUSSIA OR CHINA, EITHER INDIVIDUALLY OR COMBINED [?].

Similar to British naval doctrine as it was in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century. Established and agreed doctrine as became institutionalized.

"The Naval Defence Act 1889 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It received the Royal Assent on 31 May 1889 and formally adopted 'two-power standard' and increased the United Kingdom's naval strength. The standard called for the Royal Navy to maintain a number of battleships at least equal to the combined strength of the next two largest navies in the world"

"This demand, then only in the mouth of English naval experts, had now become a national shibboleth [a widely held belief], and every cabinet since, no matter what its other creed, has practically lived up to this program. In 1889 there advened [to come to or reach], under strong public pressure, the passage of the Naval Defense Act, which enabled the British Admiralty to begin the five years' program of shipbuilding, with the immediate construction of 10 large battleships, 42 cruisers, and 18 torpedo destroyers."

THE ROYAL NAVY [RN] REQUIRING AN AGGREGATE OF CAPITAL SHIPS [BATTLESHIPS] ABLE TO ESTABLISH NAVAL SUPERIORITY/SUPREMACY/DOMINATION ENGAGING IN BATTLE [AND DEFEATING] THE CONCENTRATED  AND COMBINED NAVAL MIGHT  OF FRANCE AND RUSSIA [THE DUAL ALLIANCE].

coolbert.

Two-Power I.

This is coolbert:

As it was for the British in the Nineteenth Century so it is now for the USA in the Twenty-First Century??

Thanks to the outstanding Internet web site War is Boring.

"US Navy needs to have more than 500 ships by 2045 to have edge against China and Russia"

AMERICAN NAVY WITH THE COMBINED FLEETS OF CHINA AND RUSSIA AS THE ADVERSARY? THAT IS WHAT WE ARE SPEAKING OF?

"WASHINGTON — The Navy wants to double its number of submarines as part of a modernization plan to build more than 500 ships by 2045 to maintain a competitive edge against other naval powers such as China and Russia, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday."

THAT NUMBER OF FIVE-HUNDRED WARSHIPS INCLUDES ALL VESSELS MANNED AND UNMANNED!! A FIVE-HUNDRED SHIP FLEET ABOUT A TWO-THIRDS INCREASE OVER WHAT CURRENTLY EXISTS. AN AMERICAN FLEET ABLE TO FIGHT THE COMBINED FLEETS OF RUSSIA AND CHINA COMBINED? A TWO-OCEAN WAR.

And how is this all going to be paid for??

coolbert.

Outbreak.

This is coolbert:

Bars and restaurants! No brothels however!

Damned shore leave always a problem!

"HMS Vigilant Submarine Coronavirus Outbreak Reported on UK's HMS Vigilant Stationed in US"

From the Russian media Sputnik and the article by Evgenia Filimianova.

THE ROYAL NAVY'S FINEST DONE IN BY THE VIRUS!

"The submarine crew reportedly left the vessel to go to bars and restaurants in Georgia, United States, where the Kings Bay US base is located."

Lots of restaurants and bars. Close quarters on the submarine with the confinement the WORST for the spreading of a contagious ailment. Young men stationed on the submarine I would think almost all in excellent health their chances of dying from the corona virus slim to none.

See previous blog entry with a number of embedded links troubles as encountered by the British strategic deterrent missile-firing submarine fleet:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/10/visit-usa.html

Indeed. Better to keep the crew of a submarine while on patrol uninformed and "in the dark" about a perilous situation [pestilence] ashore? That is ze' French way!

coolbert.

Malaya.

This is coolbert:

I recommend this You Tube video without qualification or reservation.

The Malaya Campaign. WW2. British and Japanese.

"Generals at War (National Geographic) - The Battle of Singapore"

My comments:

* General Yamashita [Ya-mah-shee-ta] his ground combat force only ONE-THIRD the size of the combat units available to Percival. Yamashita not even for a moment hesitant to assume the offensive and maintain the initiative.

* Yamashita  eschewing the presence of two additional divisions for the Malay Campaign. Doubling the size of the Japanese army tasked for Malaya would create too great of a logistical problem?

[lieutenants think tactics, generals think logistics!]

* Japanese Chief of Staff serving Yamashita the famous/infamous Colonel Tsuji. Of Tsuji we will hear more later.

* Capture of British airfields intact a prime objective of the Japanese. Total Japanese air domination plus the presence of two-hundred Japanese tanks crucial. Japanese naval assets in the area also dominant.

* The use of bicycles by the Japanese often commented upon. A measure not solely for speed of advance. The individual Japanese soldier able to carry a greater existence load for self-sufficiency.

* Axis of the main Japanese attack on the western side of the Malay Peninsula very constricted without much possibility for maneuver [other than amphibious end-run] not seeming to pose any difficulty for the Japanese. 

*The British General Percival apparently rather dull, plodding, unimaginative and uninspiring. Prior to Singapore his reputation however relatively good. Percival having served as Chief of Staff for the British garrison Singapore prior to the war I would have thought the man the ideal candidate as in command of British forces.

* Percival having to command a multi-nation army. This created conflict? Decision making complicated as a result?

* Treachery on the part of a serving British officer part and parcel of Japanese success in Malaya.

* Percival on the defensive prior to the climactic ground assault on Singapore Island his force spread out, too thin. Attempt to guard everything meant nothing was guarded.

* Repeated and almost frenzied entreaties from Churchill to defend Singapore to the last man, the last rifle round of ammunition going more or less unheeded by Percival. 

 Thanks once more to You Tube and as extracted from Japanese archival military film footage. The advance [600 miles/1,000 kilo-meters] on Singapore requiring the crossing of over two-hundred fifty rivers. Bridges as destroyed  by the retreating British repaired by Japanese combat engineers using basic field expedient measures, hard pick and shovel type labor. Forward movement of the Japanese greatly facilitated, impediment removed. Combat engineers vital.

IT IS NOT THE BRITISH WERE SO BAD BUT THAT THE JAPANESE WERE SO GOOD? THIS  MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE ACCOUNTS FOR BRITISH DEFEAT?

coolbert.

Green & W.

This is coolbert:

Never heard of either of these before.

Ireland a declared neutral during the Second World War. Ireland hardly taking sides. 

Ireland not interested in participating but WAR interested in Ireland participating.

The Irish Free State [Republic] of course not including Northern Ireland [British].

Thank here to the wiki:

1. Plan W. British. WW2.

"Plan W, during World War II, was a plan of joint military operations between the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom devised between 1940 and 1942, to be executed in the event of an invasion of Ireland by Nazi Germany."

BRITISH TO INVADE THE IRISH FREE STATE [REPUBLIC] BUT ONLY IF THE GERMANS INVADED FIRST.

2. Operation Green. German. WW2.

"Operation Green (German: Unternehmen Grün) often also referred to as Case Green (Fall Grün) or Plan Green (Plan Grün), was a full-scale operations plan for a Nazi German invasion of Ireland in support of Operation Sea Lion (Unternehmen Seelöwe), the invasion of the United Kingdom, during World War II."

GERMAN PLANNING AND INTENTIONS TO INVADE THE IRISH FREE STATE ONLY IN SUPPORT OF SEA LION [INVASION OF ENGLAND].

About 50,000 Irish volunteers serving in the British military during WW2. Not counting those 5,000 deserters from the Irish Army.

Irish strict neutrality sometimes in a very tepid manner violated. Neutrality in the main adhered to.

coolbert.

Libraries II.

This is coolbert:

Alexander the Great! Alexander the Bad?

As extracted from an Internet web site atrocity as perpetrated by the conquering army of Alexander the Great of Macedon. More exactly so the burning of Persepolis library folios and archives priceless knowledge from antiquity as lost forever.

"Alexander the Great & the Burning of Persepolis"

"The destruction of Persepolis was an immense loss of the accumulated learning, art, and culture of ancient Persia. The religious works of early Zoroastrianism, written on goat-skin parchment, were destroyed along with artworks, tapestries, and other priceless cultural artifacts. The administrative records of the city, written in cuneiform tablets of clay, were hard-baked by the fire and buried under rubble, surviving to the present day and providing archaeologists with vital information on how the Persian Empire operated and what the people valued. Even so, what was lost in the fire has long been recognized as irreplaceable, and whatever motivated the destruction of Persepolis cannot finally matter."  

ALEXANDER NORMALLY THOUGHT AS A LEARNED AND SOPHISTICATED MAN GREATLY APPRECIATING CLASSICAL THOUGHT AS UNDERSTOOD AT THE TIME. THIS OCCASION MACEDONIAN TROOPS DRUNK AND OUT OF CONTROL, NOT RESTRAINED.

Read further the destruction of renowned libraries through military action:

* The Great Library of Alexandria.

* The Great Library of Baghdad.

* The Great Library of Louvain.

coolbert.

Irish WW2.

This is coolbert:

Blacklisted! Barred! Refused! Amnesty! Pardon!

An article thanks to the tabloid Daily Mail from 2013.

"Irish soldiers branded deserters for fighting alongside Britain in WWII are finally pardoned"

"A pardon for thousands of Irish soldiers who joined the British to fight Nazi Germany will help make amends for the shameful way they were treated after the Second World War, Ireland's Justice Minister has said. 

"The Irish Government has enacted legislation to grant an amnesty to the former troops - who were blacklisted and branded deserters at home."

Seventy-five years later! And we have to be clear here what this is all about. Soldiers on active duty in the Irish army deserting and joining the British army during the Second World War.

IRELAND A DECLARED NEUTRAL DURING THE CONFLICT. IRISH SOLDIERS DESERTING TO ENLIST IN THE BRITISH ARMY FOR THE DURATION OF THE WAR NOT SEEN AS HEROES!

Justice has been done? You the devoted reader to the blog have to decide for yourselves.

coolbert.

Biggest.

This is coolbert:

China the largest navy? China? Does this surprise anybody?

As extracted from the outstanding Internet web site Strategy Page 

"Winning: Chinese Fleet Is The Biggest"

"October 4, 2020: American intel estimates of Chinese naval power believe the Chinese fleet is now larger than the United States fleet of 293 major warships. The U.S. Navy still has a considerable edge in tonnage, manpower, firepower and experience. China plans to close all those gaps by mid-century. China is doing this by building modern ships faster and in larger quantities than the U.S. is capable of. Moreover, the Chinese build them on time and apparently under budget. China also sends those ships to sea frequently in an effort to close the crew skill gap."

ADDITIONALLY CONSIDER THE CHINESE LAND-BASED DF-21D ANTI-SHIP BALLISTIC MISSILE. REPUTED TO BE THE ONLY BALLISTIC ANTI-SHIP MISSILE IN EXISTENCE. ENABLES THE CHINESE TO TARGET AMERICAN AIRCRAFT CARRIER BATTLE GROUPS AT EXTREME RANGE.

"Chinese sources claim that the DF-21D is an anti-ship ballistic missile. Furthermore that it is the first dedicated anti-ship ballistic missile in the world and the DF-21D is intended to engage large surface ships, such as US Navy's aircraft carriers and their battle groups."

Click on image to see an enlarged view. Area in orange the range of the DF-21. DF-21 even with conventional explosive warhead containing some large amount of bang-stuff a direct hit might even sink an American aircraft carrier. DF-21 additionally mobile.

coolbert.

Hiwi.

This is coolbert:

"It is disturbing that we are forced to strengthen our fighting troops with Russian prisoners of war, who are already being turned into gunners. It's an odd state of affairs that the 'Beasts' we have been fighting against are now living with us in closest harmony." - - German Colonel Helmuth Groscurth, WW2.

All thanks here to Mark Felton and his You Tube video: "Stalingrad Holdouts - German Resistance After the Surrender"

German army troops at Stalingrad but NOT necessarily Germans? 

Think rather Hiwi. Soviet citizens and volunteers for the German army?

"Hiwi the German abbreviation of the word Hilfswilliger or, in English, auxiliary volunteer, designated, during World War II, the member of different kinds of voluntary auxiliary forces made up of recruits indigenous to the territories of Eastern Europe occupied by Nazi Germany."

Rather extraordinary numbers of Hiwi embedded within the 6th Army.

“'Russian units' [6th Army at Stalingrad] of the Wehrmacht . . . In some divisions the number of Hiwi reached 27%. Soviet historiography preferred to keep silent about it."

Holdouts at Stalingrad as deemed by Mark Felton perhaps better understood as mix of German and Hiwi. The latter being predominant I might think!

"Hiwi along with the Nazis continued to carry out guerrilla war in a network of [the] Stalingrad dungeon. The most significant was in the area of [the] Confectionery factory, where on the eve of the surrender of the Germans with the involvement of prisoners of war and civilians built a underground city."

BY SOME ESTIMATES ABOUT ONE MILLION HIWI SERVED IN GERMAN ARMY IN SOME CAPACITY DURING THE WAR.

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sUAS.

This is coolbert:

Drone carrying a drone. Air-launched drone and then RECOVERABLE.

The parasitic warplane. Nothing of this sort seen in almost seventy years.

Has been proposed many decades during the era of FLIGHT but never found to be feasible.

As seen at The Aviationist web site and thanks to same.

"Let’s Talk About The First Captive Test Of First Air-Launched and Air-Retrievable Unmanned Aerial System"

"the expendable sUAS will enable EW/SIGINT (Electronic warfare/SIGnals INTelligence) and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) missions in a contested environment, which may be challenging for the launcher aircraft that can maintain this way a standoff distance, identifying and reporting on mobile targets while flying also below adverse weather. The new system could allow also swarming tactics with reduced visual and acoustic signature."

"GA-ASI @GenAtomics_ASI #Sparrowhawk is a recoverable #SUAS that enables EW/SIGINT missions that are challenging from standoff platforms. With AttritableONE technology that is survivable and precise...a true game changer." 

Again, a mini-drone both expendable and recoverable? Will be able to dock with the "mother ship" while the UAV in flight?

YOU GO FIRST LITTLE FELLOW. THEN I WILL FOLLOW IF THE COAST IS  CLEAR.

coolbert.

Wreckers.

This is coolbert:

"That preponderance of tanks found on the battlefield in the aftermath of Brody [1941] not destroyed by enemy weapons fire. Mechanical breakdown the primary reason for tanks being abandoned and out of action!"

See previous blog entry the Battle of Brody. Largest armor battle in history in terms of tanks involved.

Soviet armor during the Second World War the breakdown on the battlefield quite common. 

MORE TANKS OUT OF ACTION FROM MECHANICAL FAILURE THAN AS A RESULT OF ENEMY WEAPONS FIRE.

Slightly more than one year later [1942] Soviet tanks out-of-action from "mechanical breakdown" continuing and the subject of a much feared Stalin Order. An edict directly from the BOSS himself.

"Our armored forces and their units frequently suffer greater losses through mechanical breakdowns than they do in battle. For example, at Stalingrad Front in six days twelve of our tank brigades lost 326 [82 %] out of their 400 tanks. Of those, about 260 [80 %] owed to mechanical problems. Many of the tanks were abandoned on the battlefield. Similar instances can be observed on other fronts."

"Since such a high incidence of mechanical defects is implausible, the Supreme Headquarters sees in it covert sabotage and wrecking by certain elements in the tank crews who try to exploit small mechanical troubles to avoid battle." - - Stalin Order, August 1942.

Wreckers those individuals in a deliberate and malicious manner doing damage to sabotage a machine or process vital to the war effort.

Being deemed a wrecker the punishment swift and severe. Execution on-the-spot or duty in a penal battalion for which the Red Army during the period of WW2 famous/infamous.

coolbert.

Christmas.

This is a coolbert:

From seventy years ago history repeats itself? Not in a bad way I hope.

Thanks to Twitter from only several days ago:

"Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump · Oct 7 We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!"

And as it was seventy years ago during the Korean War:

"If everything goes according to plan, some of the boys might be home for Christmas - - D. Mac Arthur.

IF. EVERYTHING. SOME. MIGHT BE! QUALIFIERS BY THE SCORE!

Of course it was not to be and the Chinese Communist Korean War Offensive Phase Two of 1950 saw to that.

THAT STATEMENT OF MAC ARTHUR PREDICATED ON THE ASSUMPTION CHINESE COMMUNIST TROOPS WOULD NOT INTERVENE IN KOREA IN SUCH A MASSIVE MANNER  AS THEY DID!

Read here however of a Korean War miracle that did occur. Evacuation of Korean civilians from the port of Hungnam Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1950! Indeed a miracle.

The United States and Great Britain the only [?] two nations in the history of warfare able to conduct successfully a REVERSE amphibious operation under pressure.

AND HOORAY FOR THAT!

coolbert.

Hex i9.

This is coolbert:

Have you ever did it the British way? More armed UAV small-scale. The Chinese have one. So do the English!

Thanks to Popular Mechanics and the article by KYLE MIZOKAMI.

"New Urban Combat Drone Is a Shotgun Toting Hexacopter"

"The United Kingdom [U.K.]has developed a new drone devoted strictly to battlefield combat. The drone uses sensors and machine vision technology to detect targets."

"The U.K. has developed a new fighting drone designed to help soldiers breach urban defenses. The i9 un-crewed aerial vehicle can navigate indoors, locate and identify targets, and then open fire with not one but two shotgun barrels. Like all weaponized drones, a human operator must make the decision to shoot or not shoot."

Military operations urban terrain [MOUT] by room-clearing drone. Drone with a kinetic-kill capability. A human in the decision-loop but almost does sound as Skynet type of technology.

YES, BUT DOES IT HAVE A BAYONET LUG?

coolbert.

Zogg.

This is coolbert:

Military/law enforcement/firefighter.

From the Internet web site Black Rifle Coffee and the article by Joshua Skovlund.

FOREST FIRE FIGHTING. THE CLOSEST YOU CAN GET TO WAR  WITHOUT HAVING A HUMAN ADVERSARY SHOOTING AT YOU!!

"INSIDE THE ZOGG FIRE WITH ONE OF THE FIREFIGHTERS ON THE GROUND"

Devoted readers to the blog will want to watch the embedded video. 

"The California wildfires are raging throughout the state, with four of the most recent totaling 119,775 acres burned, according to Cal Fire. With dry conditions and high winds over the week, the wildfires are growing more rapidly than ever."

"Since as early as June, more than 3.7 million acres have burned in California alone, not including the wildfires in Oregon and Washington. There have been 26 associated fatalities and 5,352 structures damaged or destroyed." 

Again, fighting one of these forest fires for the men on the ground [and in the air in some instances] as close as you can get to war without having an adversary trying to kill you. 

Over three million acres [one and one-half million hectares] burned. That is a lot of landscape and the worst not over yet. The Great fire of 1910 usually the standard by which destructive forest fires measured at that time in one catastrophic event also about three million acres also burned.

See prior blog entries that the quasi-military nature of the forest fighter as understood and appreciated:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/08/firestorm.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/03/cal-fire.html

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Imbecile.

This is coolbert:

Have you ever done it ze' French way?

From over eleven years ago another instance of the forest-fire within the military dimension. Originally posted in 2009 this story edited and re-posted.

"Foreign Legion shooting practice triggers huge wildfire in France"

Thanks to the British Guardian and the article as originally by Angelique Chrisafis.

"Drill instructor suspended after blaze forces evacuations in Marseille"

"A French Foreign Legion drill instructor was suspended today amid political fury over an 'imbecilic' shooting practice that started one of France's biggest wildfires in recent years."

"The fire broke out during a shooting exercise by the First Foreign Legion Regiment on their base outside Marseille yesterday after soldiers fired non-regulation tracer bullets that caught fire on scrub-land in summer temperatures."

Scrub-land [shrub-land] as described the maquis. Also referred to as the garrigue. Extremely susceptible to fire. A flora not really natural either as that term understood. 

"Deforestation of the indigenous oak forest since the Late Bronze Age, for cultivation of olives, vines and grain, the introduction of sheep and especially goats and charcoal-making for heat and iron-working, exposed the land surface to weathering and resulted in erosion of the topsoil. The wild garrigue, then, is a man-formed landscape."

WOODED AREAS [OAK FOREST] FROM PRE-HISTORIC TIMES LEVELED FOR A VARIETY OF PURPOSES. TIMBER QUITE OFTEN FELLED [AND NOT REPLACED] AND USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WARSHIPS.

Not only France but the entire Mediterranean area the flora consisting of a maquis or garrigue scrub-land. IN LARGE MEASURE AS A RESULT OF WARFARE.

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Explain.

This is coolbert:

"Thoughts on the military and military activities of a diverse nature. Free-ranging and eclectic"

AND INTENDED FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND THOSE WITH MORE THAN A PASSING FANCY OR INTEREST IN THE MILITARY OR GLOBAL CONFLICTS.

Thanks to the BBC herewith the background info regarding the on-going and escalating conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"Explained: Armenia and Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh conflict"

*** A warning, this film contains language and scenes that some people may find upsetting. ***

"Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus region, has flared up in recent days. But what is behind the current outbreak and who stands to gain?"

Prior blog entries, here, here, here and here I am assuming the devoted reader to the blog and that person merely passing through and perusing in a casual manner having a familiarity with Nargorno-Karabakh land dispute. Obviously that is not so in all cases. I have been remiss and now make amends.

ONCE MORE THANKS TO THE BBC AND THE EMBEDDED VIDEO FOR BRINGING READERS TO THE BLOG UP-TO-DATE.

coolbert.

War Ax.

This is coolbert

EVERYBODY MUST HAVE ONE. THE MINI-COMBAT DRONE. WITH KINETIC-KILL CAPABILITY.

"China's latest military drone that can strike targets with grenades"

Thanks in all cases to the British tabloid Daily Mail, MSN and the tip from Freeper.

"China has shown off a new military drone that carries two grenade launchers."

"The weapon appeared during a recent combat exercise in southern China, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

"The rotary-wing aircraft is also capable of firing guided munitions "

Grenades presumably of the 35 mm variety. The Chinese have adopted the grenade launcher apparently with great enthusiasm. And combat tested. Read from the Strategy Page Internet web site an entire article devoted to the 35 mm grenade [called the Little Wonder].

CONSIDER THE "LITTLE WONDER" WAY BEYOND THE AMERICAN SINGLE-SHOT 40MM M79 GRENADE LAUNCHER FROM THE VIETNAM WAR ERA.

coolbert.

Saltpeter.

This is coolbert:

From the Internet web site Snopes and thanks to same.

True or false? A long-standing question that my American soldiers have asked themselves for decades.

"The U.S. Army secretly feeds new recruits saltpeter in order to suppress their sexual urges."

"A common report by male recruits undergoing basic training is their inability to troop the morning colors, so to speak. Erections that came so easily before boot camp become few and far between. This surprising downturn of events is frequently attributed to the presence of saltpeter in the chow [food] rather than to the powerful combination of anxiety to succeed, physical exhaustion, and a radical change of lifestyle. Barracks life also contributes to this suppression, with the knowledge of the close proximity of many others subconsciously working to inhibit that aspect of an individual’s expression."

Saltpeter [potassium nitrate] said to be added to the  diet of the U.S. Army recruit during basic training. Causes impotence and lack of any normal sexual desire. So is the rumor and has been so for many decades.

According to Snopes this is just not so. Personally I stay away from the mashed potatoes.

coolbert.

Hand.

This is coolbert:

As described by the analysis of the outstanding Internet web site South Front the situation for the Armenian not good conflict with Azerbaijan as previously mentioned escalating and to the detriment of Armenia.

"AZERBAIJANI-TURKISH ALLIANCE IS TAKING UPPER HAND IN WAR WITH ARMENIA"

"Azerbaijan is slowly but steadily gaining an upper hand in the war with Armenia for the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region."

"Stepanakert, the capital of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, other populated areas and civilian targets in the region have become a target of regular rocket, artillery and drone strikes. The Azerbaijani military extensively uses cluster munitions, heavy artillery, rocket launchers and even Israeli LORA theater quasi-ballistic missiles while simultaneously accusing Armenia of intentionally striking civilian targets in Azerbaijan."

See previous blog entries the topic the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/baku.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/sultan-murad.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/10/zero.html

coolbert.

Zero.

This is coolbert:

"increasingly heavy and advanced military hardware"

Escalation most troubling. Armenia and Azerbaijan. The conflict worsens? 

"Watch: Armenia's S-300 Missiles [Grumble] Active Over Yerevan As Azerbaijan Steps Up 'Suicide Drone' Use"

DEVOTED READERS TO THE BLOG I RECOMMEND THE EMBEDDED VIDEOS.

"The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh border region appears to be spinning out into a broader conflict as footage of increasingly heavy and advanced military hardware is appearing. As of late Thursday there are reports that Armenia's Russia-supplied S-300 systems are active near the capital of Yerevan. New viral video circulating on military channels purports to show S-300 missiles intercepting a possible enemy drone or inbound rocket in the vicinity of Yerevan."

Additionally:

You Tube video in the Turkish language only. To give you some sense of the size of the Harop "suicide drone" so-called. Primarily [?] an ISR drone [intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance] but also having an on-call kinetic-kill mission.

Thanks to Zero Hedge and the article by Tyler Durden.

In some quarters the Zero Hedge Internet web site described as: "Zero Hedge or ZeroHedge is a far-right libertarian financial blog, presenting staff-written articles and aggregating news and opinions from external sources."

Devoted readers to the blog take it from there. It is your decision. Zero Hedge or no Zero hedge.

coolbert.

 

Mercury.

This is coolbert:

HONESTLY, THIS DOES SURPRISE ME!

Once more thanks to Freeper.

"Two Boeing E-6B Mercury Aircraft Known as 'Doomsday Planes' were launched Moments After News of President Trump's Positive Covid Diagnosis Revealed"

"Two Boeing E-6B Mercury aircraft, also referred to as ‘Doomsday Planes’, went off both the US coasts for a brief span of time after the news of President Donald Trump contracting COVID-19 infection was confirmed. Experts observing this defense exercise view it as a 'warning' for the nations marked as United States’ adversaries."

THE LAST TIME SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENED WAS JUST PRIOR TO THE ELECTION IN 2016. AIR FORCE ONE, AIR FORCE TWO AND SAMS [SPECIAL AIR MISSIONS] FLIGHTS CARRYING CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATIONS ALL IN THE AIR AT ONE TIME. RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE EVIDENTLY HAVING OBSERVED AND ACCORDINGLY BECAME ALARMED.

TACAMO in case of global thermonuclear war able to send the "go-codes" to ballistic-missile firing submarines if the President USA incapacitated.

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Murad II.

This is coolbert:

NOT HARDLY THE THREE-HUNDRED SPARTANS.

Thanks to Freeper and Sky News Arabia an update, the presence of  Syrian mercenaries in Azerbaijan. The conflict between Armenia and  Azerbaijan intensifies.

According to this  report, all is not well!

"The high death toll of Turkish mercenaries in the battles of Nagorny Karabakh (Azerbaijan)"

"The Syrian mercenaries, along with the Azeri forces, are taking part in the fighting that raged a week ago against the regional forces and Armenia, after they were brought in by Ankara, Baku's ally in the conflict."

"The Syrian Observatory said that the new death toll from mercenaries reached 72 dead. And a previous toll published by the observatory, on Saturday, had reported 64 people dead.

. . . . 

"The number of Syrian mercenaries sent to Azerbaijan reached about 1,200 militants, most of them were from the Syrian Turkmen component, and they belonged to the 'Sultan Murad' and 'Al-Amshat' factions."

Mercenaries belonging to the Turkmen ethnic group and indebted to the Turkish government, veterans of the Syrian Civil War and now the debt being paid in full.

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Machababos.

This is coolbert:

Yet one more Mozambique insurrection item jihad style

From the British tabloid The Daily Sun and thanks to same.

"Inside ISIS' new capital as terrorists carry out beheadings and take sex slaves"

"ISIS: Mozambique President calls for EU aid to stop attacks"

"The terrorists captured a strategic port town in Mozambique earlier this year – telling locals it would be their new stronghold – and have killed thousands in the African country"

"Mozambique’s President, Filipe Nyusi, calls for aid from the European Union for help to stop attacks by ISIL-linked groups in its northern region."

"The terrorists have killed more than 1,500 people in northern Mozambique and displaced more than a quarter of a million since 2017."

THIS LATEST JIHADI INSURRECTION BY A GROUP PREFERRING TO CALL THEMSELVES  AL-SUNNAH WA JAMA'AH.

See all recent blog entries the topic jihadi insurrection Mozambique:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/09/hell.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/08/ansar.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2020/07/wagner-pmc.html

MOZAMBIQUE! Jihadi insurrection. Who would ever thought it?

coolbert.

Cold & Damp.

This is coolbert:

From the American Geophysical Union the article by Anthony Watts and thanks to same.

"Colder 'climate change' blamed for excess deaths in World War I"

"WASHINGTON—Scientists have spotted a once-in-a-century climate anomaly during World War I that likely increased mortality during the war and the influenza pandemic in the years that followed."

"Well-documented torrential rains and unusually cold temperatures affected the outcomes of many major battles on the Western Front during the war years of 1914 to 1918. Most notably, the poor conditions played a role in the battles of Verdun and the Somme, during which more than one million soldiers were killed or wounded."

Troops stressed by physical and mental demands without a whole lot of amelioration and exacerbated by harsh cold and damp conditions their immune systems compromised severely. Too susceptible to illness. Pathogens of all sorts present in the trenches and dugouts of the Great War this without questions.

Spanish/Swine flu epidemic of 1918 killing about 50 million civilians world-wide. Contrast that figure with military battlefield casualties during WW1 of 10 million soldiers dead!!

I ALSO HAVE OFTEN WONDERED IF THE CONSTANT AND OFTEN PROLONGED WEARING OF GAS MASKS BY COMBATANTS DURING THE CONFLICT CONTRIBUTED IN SOME MEASURE TO THE SPREADING OF PULMONARY ILLNESS SUCH AS THE SPANISH/SWINE FLU!

coolbert.

Baku.

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"I can confirm that, according to our data, 300 militants have left Syria to arrive in Baku via Gaziantep. These militants have been identified, they are members of a jihadist group that is operating near Aleppo" - - President Macron.

THE PROXIES OF FOREIGN INTERVENTIONISTS IN THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR ONCE MORE INVOLVED IN COMBAT FAR FROM SYRIA?

From the Russian Internet media Sputnik:

"French President Macron Says 300 Syrian Militants Sent to Baku"

"Earlier, the Turkish government rejected allegations of mercenaries from Syria being present in the Karabakh region, where Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have engaged in intense fighting for several days already."

"300 Syrian militants have been sent to Baku via the Turkish city of Gaziantep to fight in Karabakh, French President Emmanuel Macron said at the EU summit on Friday.

Proxies as resembling the Three-hundred Spartans I doubt.

Turkish proxies combat-experienced from the Syrian Civil War yet one more time as foreign mercenaries/interventionists in a conflict beyond the Syrian borders.

See this item from earlier this year the presence of  Turkish proxies in the Libyan Civil War.

The OTTOMAN EMPIRE resurrected? The devoted reader to the blog will have to decide.

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Hotline.

This is coolbert:

I heard it on the hotline!

"hotline - -  n.  A direct and immediate telephone linkup, especially between heads of government, as for use in a crisis."

From the BBC and thanks to same.

"Turkey and Greece set up military hotline amid energy tensions"

"Tensions rose after Turkey sent this exploration vessel to waters near Greek islands"

"Turkey and Greece have set up a military hotline to try to reduce the risk of clashes in the Mediterranean, where the two are locked in a row over energy resources and maritime borders."

RESOURCES AT STAKE. UNDERSEA NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS EXISTING IN ABUNDANCE.

NATIONS HISTORICALLY GOING TO WAR OVER ACCESS TO OR CONTROL OF  VITAL RESOURCES.

Click on image [image courtesy the BBC] to see an enlarged view. One player missing from the game. Israel. Israel making claims in the are that I believe overlap with Cyprus and Turkey both. Libya and Egypt additionally seeking "a piece of the action"?

See this Internet item the air forces of Greece and Turkey in a most recent "dogfight" a show-of-force muscle display. War games as deemed that almost went way beyond games.

P.S.: Need I say that Greece and Turkey members of NATO?

coolbert.