Well
The training is pretty grueling.
That's about all that I can say.
The FFL hasn't done a hell of a lot of import since Vietnam (and there they did some pretty heroic stuff.)
ITT: I will answer questions about military equipment/history.
- Thread starter Kurayami
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The training is pretty grueling.
That's about all that I can say.
The FFL hasn't done a hell of a lot of import since Vietnam (and there they did some pretty heroic stuff.)
I don't believe we'll ever see a stand up fight ever again. That era closed with the 1st gulf war, at least as far as the US being involved is concerned. We were just too dominant. No country in their right mind would pitt their military against ours. The navy can control any sea. Our airforce is completely dominant. The ground troops are our achilles heel, and even then we are more technologically advaned and better trained than MOST standard armies.
There's no way somebody could stand with us toe to toe in a set piece battle and win. They have to rely on insurgency and breaking the will of the populace. Since around '86, there has been nobody we can't defeat in a conventional war. Including the Soviets in western Europe(Kura). Our nation's main military weakness is letting the populace determine where, when, and how long we are deployed. If there were no restrictions, planet earth could be the new United States.
What should I expect at OSUT at Ft. Knox starting Jan 6th, Cav Scout?
And hi Kura
And hi Kura
They didn't. The Soviets won the Winter War (they got Viipuri/Vyborg and a shitload of Lapland. And a peninsula that I forget the name of.)
In the Winter War, the Finns were on their own. The Swedes wouldn't help them. Their armor consisted of whatever they could get their hands on (largely antiquated Russian shit.) Their Navy was non-existent.
Their air force was also pretty sorry. They had about a dozen Bulldogs from the UK (the Bulldog lost to the Gladiator in the design competition,) a few dozen Gladiators, a handful of Fiat G.50s from Italy, and about 40 Fokker D.XXIs (most license built.) Eventually they got some M.S. 406s from the French and built some Blenheims under license from the British, but their entire air force numbered less than 150 aircraft. The Soviets threw over 2,000 aircraft at them.
That said.
The Mannerheim Line held strong on the ground. The Finns dug in and made the Soviets pay for every inch of land with a lot of blood. It's really one of the most interesting conflicts in history. In the air, the Finns fought against overwhelming odds and actually did well.
But they still lost. Eventually they realized that if things kept up, the Soviets would take the country. So they agreed to a bitter peace, giving the Russians Vyborg and a shitload of Lapland.
However
When the Continuation War broke out in '41 (after Barbarossa,) the Finns fared much better. They had managed to get a lot more equipment from abroad (the US sent B-239s, the limes sent Hurricanes, the Germans sent a lot of captured French shit (including P-36s, which the Finns loved.) They also managed to capture a lot of Soviet gear early on.
Their alliance with Germany also helped. The Germans sold them aircraft (109Gs and Ju-88As) as well as armor. The Germans also stationed a number of divisions in Finland.
With the added support and experience, the Finns basically kicked the Soviets' asses. They pushed beyond the 1939 borders and basically held easily defensible positions in Russia. They only drew back when it became clear that Germany was going to lose the war and that, once the Germans were dealt with, the Soviets were going to focus their massively modernized and improved military on Finland.
And so began the Lapland War to drive the Germans out of Finland and preserve Finnish independence in the face of a modernized USSR. In short, they basically gave the Soviets back everything they took in the CW as well as everything the Soviets took in '39. It was a shitty deal, but it kept Stalin from running a steamroller through Scandinavia.
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I'm going to disagree with your assessment of the Finnish forces and their performance.
While they did end up 'losing', their resistance was formidable and they inflicted extreme, humiliating loses on the Soviets.
Some believe that the Soviets poor performance encouraged Hitler's plans for Barbarossa as he thought the Soviets would fall quickly to the Soviet advance and he could drive right over Moscow and Stalingrad.
While they did end up 'losing', their resistance was formidable and they inflicted extreme, humiliating loses on the Soviets.
Some believe that the Soviets poor performance encouraged Hitler's plans for Barbarossa as he thought the Soviets would fall quickly to the Soviet advance and he could drive right over Moscow and Stalingrad.
No argument there. The '80s definitely marked the shift in power in Europe.
However, I would argue that a war before the 80s probably would have ended with a Soviet victory.
Not really.
The people that wanted independence were basically rabble rousers.
But it's just as well that it happened.
I'm not arguing that at all.
Stalin's "purges" of the Red Army were directly influenced by the Winter War. And those purges continued affecting the USSR until 1944 or so--had the trained officer corps not been executed/sent to gulags, the Soviets might've done better during Barbarossa.
The Winter War directly influenced Hilter's opinion of the Finns.
Prior, Hitler considered them to be backwards Slavs. Molotov-Ribbentrop specially gave Finland to the Soviets. However, after Finland gave the Soviets a bloody nose, Hitler viewed them as a very useful ally. Hence the reason that Germany allied with Finland before Barbarossa and maintained that alliance through '44.
None of that changes the fact that there is no way that the Finns could have sustained victory in '39, though.
yea they got 300 max hp with 285 continuous
um the hairiest was actually in a twin, casa 212 went into a short and narrow strip middle of winter with a 50 knot straight across crosswind with poor ground viability due to blowing snow lined up had about a 45-50 degree crab angle, kicked it straight but didn't look good so went around and tried again. made it that time but started skidding towards the side with no breaking action and differential power was no good. should have never made it in there but did, i thought that was it for a few sec. then had to take off a few thousand pounds light that sucked as well. done alot of off airport work for mines which was pretty cool, not to hairy but fun. nothing to bad single engine yet.
What should I expect at OSUT at Ft. Knox starting Jan 6th, Cav Scout?
And hi Kura
I addressed this in the last random kura military thread. It sucks, you're gonna walk many random hills, be cold, tired, and not able to contact your family. You're gonna question why you joined in the 1st place.
When it's over in 6 months, you'll still be on those hills, but you'll be REAL hot, tired and not able to contact your family. There is nothing good to be said about training at the Knox.
After you get to your unit, you'll find that the training regulations no longer apply. You can be a super trooper, or get the shit kicked out of you on a regular basis. The 1st hint I had that it was a different culture from training to active duty station was when I had to fight a guy for posession of one of the few M203 grenade launchers available. Whoever won the fight gets the equiptment.
Take everything you learn in basic/ait with a grain of salt. They teach you what is required by army standards. In a regular unit, it's not nearly enough. I learned more in my 1st 2 weeks at my duty station than I did in 6 months of training.
Missed the answer and didn't want to search the other thread. Just saw you randomly here and figured I'd go again.
Edit: That's what I've been hearing for the most part as well from others that I have talked too. Pretty excited to go as it stands and I'm expecting it to suck completely. Appreciate the heads up.
Edit: That's what I've been hearing for the most part as well from others that I have talked too. Pretty excited to go as it stands and I'm expecting it to suck completely. Appreciate the heads up.
Who won?
Kurayami, though most of your answers here seem pretty well informed, I must disagree with your assertions on Rommel.
You say that he did well in Africa despite making a bunch of mistakes, and are fair enough to say that not all are attributed to him - but if you take the time to read a few biographies on the guy (and on the AK front as a whole), you'll realize that he made almost no mistakes.
Rommel was an absolute genius with what he had, which continually grew to be less and less. imo the pervasive opinion on him seems to be that the man rarely made a single mistake, aside from ones he was more or less completely forced into making. Had he had free reign without Hitler and co. breathing down his back, and sufficient supply (neglecting even a fair numbers match), mistakes probably never would've been made. To attribute even one of the fuck-ups on the African front to him is just unfair.
You say that he did well in Africa despite making a bunch of mistakes, and are fair enough to say that not all are attributed to him - but if you take the time to read a few biographies on the guy (and on the AK front as a whole), you'll realize that he made almost no mistakes.
Rommel was an absolute genius with what he had, which continually grew to be less and less. imo the pervasive opinion on him seems to be that the man rarely made a single mistake, aside from ones he was more or less completely forced into making. Had he had free reign without Hitler and co. breathing down his back, and sufficient supply (neglecting even a fair numbers match), mistakes probably never would've been made. To attribute even one of the fuck-ups on the African front to him is just unfair.
