It is too early for a real "lessons learned," but this latest Russian invasion of Ukraine has shown a lot of things which impact the modeling & design of post-WW2 mechanized combat wargames, thread🧵
The three things that have jumped out for me are the following:
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The three things that have jumped out for me are the following:
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1. The complete lack of mechanized logistics in the Russian Army
2. The horrible vulnerability of Russian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles compared to equivalent Western vehicles
3. The arrival of small drones in the artillery spotting role as armored vehicle killers
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2. The horrible vulnerability of Russian tanks and infantry fighting vehicles compared to equivalent Western vehicles
3. The arrival of small drones in the artillery spotting role as armored vehicle killers
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...in the 21st century.
The Russian Army's complete lack of forklifts, pallets, and containerized logistics is an 80 odd year, class based, complete miss by Western intelligence that impacts the designs of all Cold War era war games because of the mirror imaging of Western
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The Russian Army's complete lack of forklifts, pallets, and containerized logistics is an 80 odd year, class based, complete miss by Western intelligence that impacts the designs of all Cold War era war games because of the mirror imaging of Western
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...mechanized logistics upon all the Soviet invasion of Europe war games.
They are all wrong because they greatly overestimate the ability of the Russian Army to move the tonnages of artillery ammunition built into the combat ratings of Soviet/Russian Army units. You
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They are all wrong because they greatly overestimate the ability of the Russian Army to move the tonnages of artillery ammunition built into the combat ratings of Soviet/Russian Army units. You
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...would need some sort of logistical modifier of every Soviet & Russian combat unit in every military scenario to reflect this.
Regards the 2nd point, the Soviet/Russian vehicles don't seem to have gotten the "1973 Arab-Israeli War AFV design memo."
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Regards the 2nd point, the Soviet/Russian vehicles don't seem to have gotten the "1973 Arab-Israeli War AFV design memo."
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The design feedback from the 1973 war has dominated US & other Western tank/AFV designs in the decades after with ammo stowed behind armored doors and blow out panels to vent explosions.
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https://twitter.com/TrentTelenko/status/1520885528379412485
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The Bradley and other Western infantry fighting vehicles are much more heavily armored than the BMD/BMP/BTR designs because of the 1973 war and loose far fewer soldier per fair hit than Russian IFV's.
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The two parts of this seems to be the Arabs didn't own the battlefields for the Russians to examine their vehicles and Russian racism against Arabs while using their kit.
See the link & meme:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation…
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See the link & meme:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation…
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It really wasn't until 1982 that the Russians had enough input from destroyed vehicles in
Afghanistan to begin the '1973 redesign' cycle, and the Soviet collapse of 1989-1991 aborted this effort. All Russia had was its existing AFV fleet to update.
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Afghanistan to begin the '1973 redesign' cycle, and the Soviet collapse of 1989-1991 aborted this effort. All Russia had was its existing AFV fleet to update.
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There hasn't been enough income for a completely new Tank/AFV design until the Armata, which finally separated the tank main gun ammo from the crew.
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Last, the use of small drones with global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) has humbugged a lot of the predictions of GPS jamming because the Ukrainians take their artillery gun and target reference point locations prior to the arrival of Russian armored columns with
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...GNSS jammers. The drones call off "Vehicles at TRP #1, fire now" and 120mm Mortar and 122mm/152mm gun shells land on top of road bound Russian AFV's in the pre-arranged kills zones.
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https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1501873146818969610
Additionally, small drone observed counter-battery fire means "artillery batteries that fire together, die together."
The only truly survivable artillery pieces are the MLRS M270/HIMARS launchers and the Pzh 2000. The latter is the
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The only truly survivable artillery pieces are the MLRS M270/HIMARS launchers and the Pzh 2000. The latter is the
https://twitter.com/Iranshahr8/status/1523001759001886721
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German implementation of the cancelled US Army Crusader SP gun specifications.
The Ukraine War has demonstrated the utter military bankruptcy of the Crusader's cancellation by Sec. Def. Rumsfeld.
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The Ukraine War has demonstrated the utter military bankruptcy of the Crusader's cancellation by Sec. Def. Rumsfeld.
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We have not seen enough actions by loitering drones in the Ukraine war to draw any real conclusions, but I think the 2020 Azeri-Armenian War need to be examined more closely from the air defense point of view.
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https://twitter.com/ELINTNews/status/1325822046463463424
Beyond the now infamous US Defense Department "Ukraine will fall in 72-to-96 hours" wargame simulation.
We can see how this new data affects recent commercial wargames.
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We can see how this new data affects recent commercial wargames.
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Ty Bomba 2016-17 design modern wargame PUTIN'S NORTHERN WAR about Finland being invaded by Russia now looks horribly dated.
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boardgamegeek.com/image/6725668/…
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boardgamegeek.com/image/6725668/…
In particular the Russian strengths look wrong given what we have now "learned" in Ukraine.
Russian divisional unit counters that have spent a turn or two not moving get their full strength side. Otherwise they get their weaker side.
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Russian divisional unit counters that have spent a turn or two not moving get their full strength side. Otherwise they get their weaker side.
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These counters could shoot, then move, reflecting a set piece attack.
However, they could not move, then shoot.
That is, moving to engage in combat results in the lower flipped side combat strengths as you move into combat because of the lack of artillery ammo.
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However, they could not move, then shoot.
That is, moving to engage in combat results in the lower flipped side combat strengths as you move into combat because of the lack of artillery ammo.
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A Russian division on it's lower side is eliminated from play at the first casualty.
Smaller Russian tactical units would be one sided & also eliminated at the first casualty.
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Smaller Russian tactical units would be one sided & also eliminated at the first casualty.
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Because NATO logistical advantages were growing over the Cold War because its mechanized logistics were getting better with computer inventory software.
NATO units would have their full value shooting or moving, and only taking casualties will see counters
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NATO units would have their full value shooting or moving, and only taking casualties will see counters
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...flipped to show step losses.
And NATO tactical units, of which there would be more & smaller units, would be two sided.
Let's see what the Twitter wargaming community thinks of this.
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And NATO tactical units, of which there would be more & smaller units, would be two sided.
Let's see what the Twitter wargaming community thinks of this.
23/End
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