1/6
Short🧵

Good for a chuckle.

"As we were walking out, we received some more fire. And, here we are, really have no water, haven't really ate, and we had ice cream cones. We don't wanna let go of our ice cream cones, so, like, we stick the ice cream cones in our mouth. 2/6
We're just kinda holdin' them in our mouths as we're opening fire back. And we're running down the alleyways, take big ol' bites outta the ice cream cones, sat there, chew it."

1/8
Short🧵

"Lessons Learned:
- Good, well-trained men will die in combat. NOTHING REPLICATES THIS.
- 'Team' must be solid BEFORE deploying.
- Inside (buildings) is better than outside (buildings). 2/8
- Live fire exercises build cohesion and confidence. This took away the initial fright of enemy fire.
- Warrior mentality is CRITICAL!! TRAIN FOR WAR, NOT NTC, JRTC, etc.
- Everything must be related to combat.

🇬🇧
1/9
Short🧵

Good for a chuckle.

During the Peninsular War (1808-1814) Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington allegedly wrote a letter to the British War Office after he/his staff were consistently pestered by staff officers wanting administrative details. 🇬🇧
2/9

"Gentlemen:
Whilst marching to Portugal to a position which commands the approach to Madrid and the French forces, my officers have been diligently complying with your request which has been sent to H.M. (His Majesty's) ship from London to Lisbon and then...

🇺🇸
1/12
Medium🧵

Good for a chuckle.

During the Battle of Okinawa (01 April-22 June 1945) in the Second World War (1939-1945) the Japanese sensed an opportunity when on 12 April 1945 (79 years ago today) the President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt (below) died.

🇺🇸
2/12

"AMERICAN SOLDIERS AND MARINES!
We express our regret over the death of President Roosevelt. We know how this must hurt you. What do you think was the true cause of his death? It was the great American Tragedy now being played on Okinawa.

🇦🇺🇳🇿
1/16
Medium🧵

Good for a chuckle (if you're a Colonial).

A bit lengthy but a story that occurred 10 April 1941 (83 years ago today) during the Battle of Tobruk, North Africa in the Second World War (1939-1945).

Context: Australian soldiers are digging trenches. 🇦🇺🇳🇿
2/16
"So it was late on the afternoon of 10 April, the 2/24th's second day in Tobruk, an extremely pukka British Artillery officer, a Captain, turned up on the front lines with his batman in tow, looking every inch the part of a great military commander surveying the...

🇬🇧
1/5
Short🧵

Good for a chuckle.

Private Arthur Poulter was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for his actions on 10 April 1918 (106 years ago today) during The Great War (1914-1918). The citation & the humorous episode that occurred afterwards: 🇬🇧
2/5
"'POULTER, Arthur, Private, 1/4th Bn., Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment - 10 April 1918
- At Lys, France, he carried 10 badly wounded men, one after the other, through heavy machine-gun and artillery fire. Two of the men were again shot whilst on his back.

🇨🇦🇬🇧
1/16
Medium🧵

The Battle of Vimy Ridge (09 April-03 May 1917) began 107 years ago today during The Great War (1914-1918).

Some facts & figures that I have gathered from a number of resources over the years: 🇨🇦🇬🇧
2/16

Number of French, British & German casualties fighting for Vimy Ridge in the previous three years of fighting, before the task was given to the Canadians: 300,000;

Number of Canadian divisions that fought at Vimy Ridge: 4;

1/6
Short🧵

"Politicians may...pretend that the soldier is ethically in no different position than any other professional. He is. He serves under an unlimited liability, and it is the unlimited liability which lends dignity to the military profession. 2/6
There's also the fact that military action is group action, particularly in armies...The success of armies depends to a very high degree on the coherence of the group, and the coherence of the group depends on the degree of trust and confidence of its members in each other.

1/4
Short🧵

"You're in the Princess Patricia's now. You are hard! You drink hard! You play hard! You love hard! You hate hard! You can decide what you drink, how you play, who you love. We'll decide who you hate and who you fight."





2/4
- Sergeant Thomas ("Tommy") Prince of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) stating the above to recruits.
From "Intrepid Warriors: Perspectives on Canadian Military Leaders," edited by Colonel Bernd Horn.
Happy Regimental day today to the PPCLI. VP!

1/13
Medium🧵to complement yesterday's🧵below.

"I learned 70% of my leadership lessons from bad leaders. Use them, look at how they're behaving, and tell yourself you will never do that."

– Canadian General (Retired) Rick Hillier.

https://twitter.com/JaysonGeroux/status/1763928948633637108

2/13

"The 10 Diseases of Leadership:

1. Lack of moral courage.

Leaders fail to act and do the right thing even when they know they should.

2. Failure to recognize that opposition can be loyal.

Leaders that have an inability to recognize the moral...

🇬🇧
1/7
Short🧵

A sobering eyewitness account of what occurred at the battle of Meiktila, Burma, 28 February 1945 (79 years ago today) during the Second World War (1939-1945).

"In harvest time I had seen a rabbit, shaken out of a corn stalk, turn suddenly on its pursuers... 🇬🇧
2/7
I couldn't have been more surprised than I was at the sudden appearance of these Japanese soldiers, with their anguished look of determination and despair, pitting their puny strength against such tremendous force.

1/21
Long🧵

Photo essay: two years of urban warfare from the Russo-Ukrainian War (24 February 2022-Present).

🇺🇦Slava Ukraini🌻

Kyiv: 2/21

1/4
Short🧵*
*Intent of this repost is to use this video for training purposes; it is not meant as a political statement.

From an urban operations instructor's perspective some of the factors I noticed:
1. The pros/cons of smoke (0:00-0:08);
(🧵continues below)

https://twitter.com/idfonline/status/1756619544502694370

2/4
2. Excessive collateral damage which slows down dismounted personnel (0:09-0:14);
3. The need for dismounts to practice stair drills (0:15-0:19);
4. The need for dismounts to ensure spacing between individuals (0:20-0:25);
⬇️

🇨🇦🇺🇸
1/4
Short🧵

"Claude Weaver III. His Brother David Was Killed Iwo Jima 5.3.45, Age 20 Years."

– The statement written on the tombstone by the family of Pilot Officer Claude Weaver III, DFC, DFM & Bar, Royal Canadian Air Force, killed in action (KIA)... 🇺🇸🇨🇦
2/4
...28 January 1944 (80 years ago today) age 19 during the Second World War (1939-1945).

Pilot Officer Weaver was one of 9,000 Americans who enrolled in the RCAF during the war, a majority of whom (approximately 6,000) enlisted between the war's opening days...

1/21
Long, complex🧵
Small mortars as a critical weapons system in urban warfare.
With thanks to @Stu_Lyle for reposting this @ArmyinScotland post below.
1. Artillery must be used in urban operations but they do have some challenges when used in the urban environment.

https://twitter.com/ArmyinScotland/status/1743245294987260162

2/21
If there is a lack of precision guided munitions large artillery shells, rockets, bombs & missiles are not entirely accurate & can cause extensive collateral damage. Of course, the Russians have demonstrated this time & again in the Russo-Ukrainian War:

1/12
Medium🧵with an engaging Christmas war story immediately below.
Also, a (typically fantastic) historical podcast from @BattleguideVT / @DanHillHistory / @historian1914 & a wonderful video at the end produced by @sainsburys & @PoppyLegion. 2/12
Setting: Somewhere in Northwest Europe, December 1914, The Great War (1914-1918).

"By Christmas of 1914, only six months into the war, there were already over a million dead, and the men in the trenches had seen them die – had killed them, in fact.

🇨🇦
1/18
Medium🧵

11 November. Remembrance Day. Lest We Forget / N'oublions pas.

Although the narrative below focuses on the Canadian soldier I will suggest it applies equally to our sailors & aviators, male & female throughout the @CanadianForces. 🇨🇦
2/18

You can debate how accurate it is; perhaps it is a little preachy at the end.

With a special thank you to Lieutenant-Colonel Troy Leifso of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry for finding the quotation many years ago & whose author remains anonymous.

1/21
Long🧵

I know what you've been thinking: "Darn it all. You know what has been missing from X or Twitter or whatever he is calling it this year? A🧵on bulldozers & how important their use has become in urban operations." Weeeeeeeell, you, my friends, are in luck. 2/21
Combat engineers have used bulldozers & similar variants including dozer tanks in many environments but they have been particularly important in the urban environment for a few decades:
Left: Battle of Manila, Philippines;
Right: Battle of Seoul, South Korea.

🇺🇦
1/12
Medium🧵
1. If you wish, please review the video immediately below that features President @ZelenskyyUa; and
2. If you want to know how the Babyn Yar Massacre occurred during the Second World War (1939-1945) please continue reading below.
Warning: graphic photos included.

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1707701522463588452

2/12
Please note that the spellings of "Kiev" vice "Kyiv" & "Babi Yar" vice "Babyn Yar" have been done given that the quotation comes from an older resource & because that is how the place names were spelled when Ukraine was still a republic of the Soviet Union during the war.

🇨🇦
1/13
Medium🧵

A military history story that demonstrates why you can almost trust Canadians. Almost.

In 1936, 5,200 Canadian veterans of The Great War (1914-1918) with their family members were travelling to France to participate in the Vimy Ridge Memorial’s unveiling. 🇨🇦🇬🇧
2/13
While stopped over in London, England they were directed to participate in a celebratory garden party at Buckingham Palace on one particular day between 4-to-6pm. A very classy affair, for obvious reasons.

1/11
Short🧵
Good for a chuckle.

"Back in the mid-fifties, the British army was wrestling with the question of how to give British troops time to retreat if the Soviet hordes broke through their defences in Germany.

You generally lay mines as you retreat, if you have… 2/11
…time, in order to slow down the pursuit - and now we are living in the atomic age. Perhaps we should look into the notion of nuclear land mines?

And so they got on with it, taking the standard British free-fall nuclear bomb of the time, the fetchingly named…