Thomas C. Theiner Profile picture
Sep 2, 2022 10 tweets 2 min read Read on X
This video was released by the Armenian Ministry of Defense on the first day of the 2020 Azerbaijan-Armenia war.

The Armenians released half a dozen of such gloating videos in the first three days of the war... and then none, because after three days
1/n
Azerbaijan had broken through Armenian minefields and defense lines and began to run circles around the hapless, incompetently led, shoddily equipped Armenians.

The reason I am showing you this video is to make everyone realize that the first days of an offensive are ALWAYS
2/n
the most difficult for an attacker.

In the first days defenders sit in their prepared positions behind by minefields, and still have all their tanks & artillery, still have ample ammunition, still have all their troops, still have functioning logistics, still have reserves.
3/n
An offensive needs to grind down these resources of the defender, before a breakthrough can be accomplished and exploited.

There are various ways to do this and all of them take time: the 1991 Gulf War ground campaign lasted just four days, because before its start coalition
4/n
aircraft had subjected Iraq for 38 days and nights to one of the most intensive air bombardments in military history.

We can't judge the success of the Kherson offensive now. The Second Battle of El Alamein looked like a disaster for the British for its first twelve days,
5/n
the Battle of Waterloo shaped up to be a disastrous British defeat until 4 pm in the afternoon. In Normandy the allies failed to achieve any of their goals on the first day and it took them 55 days to finally exhaust the Germans and break out from Normandy.

Every day now

6/n
Ukrainian troops degrade russian manpower, equipment, and logistics. We will know the outcome of the battle in a few days... when one side will run out of troops, ammo, logistics, and reserves.

The russians, whose supply lines run over the Dnipro bridges, which are pounded
7/n
relentlessly by HIMARS strikes, are likely to be exhausted first... but until then Ukraine will lose many troops, tanks and vehicles... but these losses tell us nothing about the success or failure of the Ukrainian offensive.
At this point no one can make an assessment about
8/n
the success or failure of the offensive - not even the russian general staff, not even the Ukrainian general staff.

So be patient. For now fighting rages and we don't know, which side has the upper hand in manpower and materiel.

I believe it to be the Ukrainians, because
9/n
they have more and better trained troops, Western precision weapons, higher morale, ample ammo supplies, and now also air support (thanks to American HARM missiles and Turkish TB2).

Once Ukrainian troops reach the Dnipro, we will now for sure. Until then: Слава Україні!
10/end

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More from @noclador

Jan 20
The 11th Airborne Division is the least likely to be used to invade #Greenland.
The division's deputy commander is Canadian. He is responsible for Operations. The 11th would have to arrest part of their own officers, before being able to plan a Greenland invasion.
Also
1/6
there are just 8 C-17 Globemaster aircraft at Elmendorf Air Force Base. The USAF would need to fly a dozen more up to Alaska, which of course Canada would notice. Then to reach Greenland the C-17 would have to cross Canada's North, which NORAD's Canadian officers would report
2/6
to the Canadian and Danish governments.

It is much more likely the US will inform allies that a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg will fly to the Middle East, which means the air route will take them right over Greenland. And at Fort Bragg you also have the
3/6
Read 6 tweets
Jan 2
This is a typical clown tweet by someone, who knows nothing about WWII.

3 years before D-Day, the Soviets & nazis were in a love-feast, while the US had not entered the war; & when it did it had to cross an ocean full of nazi submarines to stage troops & materiel for D-Day.
1/14
And unlike the warmongering Soviets, which in June 1941 fielded 304 divisions, the US Army fielded just 37 divisions when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (+ two Marine Corps divisions).
Before any D-Day the US Army had to start forming new divisions (38 in 1942 and 17 in 1943) &
2/n
then ship those divisions across the Atlantic, which was teeming with German subs, while the Soviets just used trains to bring troops and materiel to the front (& if the Soviet had had to ship troops across an ocean, they would have just accepted that a third of their troops
3/n
Read 14 tweets
Dec 5, 2025
The @RoyalAirForce - once the strongest air force in Western Europe... but now...

7 Eurofighter Typhoon squadrons are expected to fulfill the tasks, for which 35 years ago the RAF fielded 40 squadrons (31 active & 4 reserve + 5 shadow squadrons, which would have been formed
1/27 Image
from the personnel & fighters of the RAF's operational conversion units).

At the end of the Cold War these 40 squadrons were assigned to 4 commands, each with a specific mission & enough aircraft to fulfill their mission.

No. 1 Group was tasked with striking Soviet forces
2/27 Image
in Northern Germany, including with WE.177 tactical nukes.

The Group fielded 8 active, 4 reserve and 2 shadow squadrons, which flew Tornado GR1, Jaguar GR1A, and Harrier GR5 fighters (the reserve squadrons flew Hawk T1A). The group also included the RAF's 3 aerial
3/27 Image
Read 27 tweets
Nov 13, 2025
I was asked to talk about Austria's Armed Forces... which is a bit boring, because surprisingly their armed forces get so much right.

Yes, the Austrians are some of the worst sanctions ignorers when it comes to russia, and they host the biggest russian signals intelligence
1/22 Image
station outside of russia, and are home to the largest number of russian intelligence operators after London, but when it comes to the Austrian Army and Austrian Air Force procurement there is little to criticize... except of course that many of their officers are compromised
2/n Image
by the russians and the austrian defence ministry leaks every bit of intelligence to moscow...

Anyway, unlike the other neutral EU member (an island that spends GDP-wise less on its armed forces than the Vatican), Austria has a proper air force and a proper army; both of
3/n Image
Read 22 tweets
Nov 7, 2025
Italy has ordered its first KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles... but there is a twist.

As the Italian Army is in a rush to ready its forces to battle invading russians in the Baltics (& Finland), the first 5 × KF41 will arrive within weeks in the Hungarian configuration.
1/8 Image
That means there won't be any Italianization of the first 5 × KF41. The Italian Army feels that it can't wait for that. Training has to start ASAP.

Therefore these 5 × KF41 will come with Rheinmetall's Lance Turret with 30mm MK30-2/ABM autocannon. Along with these KF41 Italy
2/8 Image
will receive training and simulation systems to begin training troops ASAP.

This order also includes 16 × KF41 in a hybrid version: the chassis will come from the Hungarian production line, but these KF41 will receive Leonardo's Hitfist turret with Leonardo's 30mm X-Gun.
3/8 Image
Read 8 tweets
Oct 30, 2025
I am relaxed about the US ending the rotation of a light brigade through Romania.

Yes, it is bad optics and russia will use it for its propaganda, BUT two armored brigades, a combat aviation brigade, a division artillery, a division sustainment brigade, and a division HQ
1/4 Image
continue to rotate to Poland and the Baltics.

Right now the:
• 3rd Infantry Division HQ (arrived in Poland 4 days ago - photo)
• 1st Armored Brigade, 1st Infantry Division
• 3rd Armored Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
• 3rd Division Artillery
• 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade
2/4 Image
are in Poland and the Baltics.

Ending the rotation of a light brigade to Romania is a far less bad than ending the rotation of the armored brigades. It is also understandable as the US Army's light divisions (10th Mountain, 25th Infantry, 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne) are
3/4
Read 4 tweets

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