"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (9 Viewers)

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Admiral Beez said:
Looks like UAF MiG-29s, possibly armed with AIM-7 Sparrows ambushed the four Russians lost yesterday.


View: https://twitter.com/ralee85/status/1657502865286471680?s=61&t=bmtNxWabcsIKJ6TkHkd-SA

Nice work. It's amazing that after fifteen months of fighting that Russia still have no air supremancy. Given the low TBO and total life of Soviet-era engines, it's also a testament to the MiG-29's reliability and/or to the heroic determination of its Ukrainian mechanics.

Question, where are Russia's MiG-29s? Did they replace them all with Sukhois and scrap the MiGs?
Click to expand...

This are the 2 plausible versions: an ambush by Ukranian planes and friendly fire. Some sources discard manpads because they consider the explosions too big for manpads.


View: https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1657728073624608772
 
Glider said:
Things may be starting to go wrong with Russia, as two more senior officers were killed in the front lines.

Reuters
(Reuters) -Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that two of its military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv's forces renewed efforts to break through Russian defences in the embattled city of Bakhmut.

In a daily briefing, the ministry said that Commander Vyacheslav Makarov of the 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade and Deputy Commander Yevgeny Brovko from a separate unit were killed trying to repel Ukrainian attacks.

It said that Makarov had been leading troops from the front line, and that Brovko "died heroically, suffering multiple shrapnel wounds". The defence ministry rarely announces the deaths of military command in its daily briefings.
Click to expand...
www.politico.eu

Russia says 2 commanders killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine

The town of Bakhmut has been fiercely fought over in recent days, with the head of Russia’s Wagner Group saying troops had faced a ‘rout.’
www.politico.eu www.politico.eu
 
buffnut453 said:
A colonel leading from the front does not mean he is necessarily doing the job of a captain or a lieutenant. Sometimes the colonel, with his greater experience and wider battlefield responsibilities, may see an opportunity that his subordinates can't see and it's simply more expeditious for the colonel to provide direct control. The captains and lieutenants will still be leading their companies and platoons. There are plenty of examples of senior leaders leading from the front...and it can pay off, providing the leader isn't killed.
Click to expand...

Colonel's are BN and Brigade commanders. They are never too far from the front anyhow.
 
buffnut453 said:
Having a colonel lead his unit from the front is an admirable trait to encourage subordinates and urge them on to greater achievements. Men will follow a leader that they see as indestructible. The problems come when that leader gets killed...and the myth of indestructibility is exposed. The impact on unit cohesion can be far worse than if the colonel had remained further to the rear to direct the forces.
Click to expand...

That's always a chance a leader takes with that approach. But without guys like like Cols Edson at Guadalcanal, Shoup at Tarawa, and Col Canham and BGen Cota at Normandy, those battles would be very different. Personal leadership matters. You're right in that the fact they survived helped matters.

Just as important, the leaders have to be of a quality that they have not only courage, but competence. That seems to be a problem with the Russians. I think the Russians have this problem not only in field-grade officers, but the NCO corps (such as it is) as well. Bravery alone is not enough.
 
buffnut453 said:
Having a colonel lead his unit from the front is an admirable trait to encourage subordinates and urge them on to greater achievements.
Click to expand...
That kind of reminds me of Curtis LeMay: He generally did lead from the front until he was no longer allowed to. While he made very harsh demands of his men, he did everything he made his men do.
Men will follow a leader that they see as indestructible. The problems come when that leader gets killed...and the myth of indestructibility is exposed. The impact on unit cohesion can be far worse than if the colonel had remained further to the rear to direct the forces.
Click to expand...
Potentially, but there's also something to be said about a leader who had the guts to do everything he made his men do -- he didn't have to, but did it anyway.

Regardless, I would say that morale would fail if the leader was seen as indispensable more than indestructible

Frog said:
If the colonel has to perform the job of captains or lieutenants, there is a problem relating to the captains or lieutenants formation.
Click to expand...
Well, it can be particularly if it leads to micromanaging or positions that should be held by junior officers being held by senior officers. We would see these problems become a major issue with the USAF (particularly under LeMay after he took command of SAC).
 
Last edited:
GrauGeist said:
It also helps to have disciplined troops, too.

Both Rommel and Patton had excellent results not only because they often led from the front, but because they had the confidence of the troops under their command.
Click to expand...

It helps they weren't leading 1-yr draftees who wanted to be anywhere but where they were. Russian leaders, such as they are, are nowadays tasked with leading soldiers who have relatively little training before being thrown into the meatgrinder. A soldier, I think, must first have confidence in himself, and only then does leadership have a chance of playing an effective role.
 
GrauGeist said:
When Patton took charge of the US II Corps in Tunesia, he turned it around and created a force to be reconed with.

Before that, the II Corps had been roughed up by Rommel at Kasserine Pass and moral amongst the rank and file was not all that great.
Click to expand...

Might have something to do with Fredendall hunkering down in an underground bunker 80 miles in the rear. They all knew he was a shitwit, from my reading.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

  • ... and 1 more.
    • Total: 10 (members: 2, guests: 8)

    Similar threads

    M
    Horizon Continues Development of Hybrid VTOL
    Replies
    0
    Views
    245
    MIflyer
    M
    N
    JF-17 are they worth it and can they hold their own?
    Replies
    4
    Views
    1K
    RogerdeLluria
    R
    A
    The coming $26 billion windfall for the Canadian Armed Forces. What to buy?
    6 7 8
    Replies
    141
    Views
    17K
    swampyankee
    swampyankee
    syscom3
    Bust The Dragons Jaw! An interesting read on the development and use of the first laser guided bombs in Vietnam.
    Replies
    7
    Views
    2K
    syscom3
    syscom3
    T
    Asking help in determining year of Chinese military video
    Replies
    4
    Views
    1K
    Weizenbrot
    W
    Back