Matchboxes.

This is coolbert:

Continuing and concluding extracts from a Twitter thread the subject the Ukraine Conflict from the perspective of a most accomplished and esteemed American General officer now retired.

My comments in brackets [...].

RU = Russian. UKR = Ukrainian.

Gen. Mark Hertling [Ret.] is a man with some real KNOW!

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

Now, I share all this to say:

"RU tanks are matchboxes."

"-crews have a hard time seeing attacking infantry"

"-there is no reactive armor on top (where Javelins strike)"

"-if hit, they'll burn, with secondary explosions"

"-if hit, the crew will have a tough time getting out."

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

"BMPs/BRDMs/BTRs are actually worse." [armored personnel carriers]

"In Desert Storm, we saw these vehicles after they were hit, and most were destroyed by smaller caliber weapons....and all burned.  Their fuel tanks are in the back doors...so they burn, fast and hot, and crews can't get out."

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

"Russian Fuel, Ammo, and supply (medical, parts, etc) trucks are all the same design."

"And from what I saw on exercises, RU troops pack as much as they can in each truck, sometimes mixing cargo."

"Not good for crew survivability, if the truck is hit." 

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

"Now, back to the UKR infantryman with a Javelin versus a RU tank...or BMP...or truck. It's easy to see who has the advantage in a Javelin fight.

"Especially when the RUs are road-bound, not being able to maneuver due to the UKR weather & 'rasputitsa' (mud...like a bog)."

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

"Add to all this UKR's ability to block roads and create ambushes."

"That 40 mile [sixty-four kilometers] column everyone was hyped about?  Vehicles couldn't go forward due to a lack of success by the RU force & it couldn't go back because UKR forces blocked the roads."

"UKR got around to it."

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

"BTW, in that column were medical supplies.  And medical trucks with other types of supplies."

"Losing those put a damper on treating & evacuating the RU wounded."

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

Summary:

"In this thread I've not mentioned # of RU casualties.  There are many estimates, but I'll just say...I suspect they're higher than any estimates."  

"I've also not mentioned the 5 RU generals reportedly killed...I believe that happened, but not all are confirmed."

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

"I've also not mentioned the UKR casualties, because there's been no release of numbers." 

"I'm sure they're high, but also likely significantly less than the RU #."

"As UKR soldiers have been taught first aid, Combat Lifesaver techniques & the importance of medical evacuation." 

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

"One last thing;"

"Casualties in war are gory. Deaths affect soldiers & units in ways most can't imagine."

"Combat deaths are ugly. Those killed are mostly 18-24 yr olds who had an entire life in front of them. Their bodies are savaged or burned beyond recognition." 

A unit with 10 % casualties in short order becomes ineffective. A unit with 40 % casualties over a long period can still be effective.

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* Mark Hertling

@MarkHertling

·Mar 21

"That's why most soldiers who have seen war never want to see it again."

"And why some professional soldiers do all they can to prevent wars in the future, with an understanding of what is at stake."

"And why Putin's illegal & criminal war in Ukraine is such an abomination."

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Inference: Russian armored combat vehicles too susceptible to damage. Flammable when hit and crew often perishing in an unnecessary manner. As to medical care for Russian wounded and dying no real analysis can be done but suspected that life-saving-measures scant to poor. Ukrainian medical care for wounded and severely injured troops markedly better by comparison, more in line with NATO standards.

BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle [IFV] at the time when it entered the old Soviet Union arsenal the reputation was that of an IFV head-and-shoulders better than and above-and-beyond what any other army in the world possessed. That perception has proven to have been with much hindsight badly wrong!

coolbert.