Of Rulers, Men And Rifles
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 10 months ago
This is a blog that covers rulers, weapons and warfare. This is a picture of modern warfare.
⚠️🇺🇦🇷🇺 #Russian APCs attacked with molotovs by Ukrainian civilians at homemade road blockade-#Ukraine#War#Kiev pic.twitter.com/afCRo8cALS
— Joshua L (@jlee2733) February 26, 2022
It looks much like ancient warfare. This isn’t a commentary on Russia or Ukraine or the machinations of who is doing what or why. What I’m saying has nothing to do with international politics.
The requests for rifles prior to the invasion have been so ubiquitous that it stands as commonly assumed knowledge. Everyone was training with a rifle, including little old ladies.
This shows what gasoline and bottles will do. Observation: Men with rifles, who are willing to use them, cannot be dominated by any ruler.
On February 26, 2022 at 10:44 am, George Patton said:
Cave men with rifles ran the USSR out of Afgh, and then ran out the Americans. With no navy, no airforce, no army and no intelligence services.
On February 26, 2022 at 10:55 am, Chris Mallory said:
After Chechnya, you would have thought the Russians would have learned that armor in a urban area only works with massive infantry support.
On February 26, 2022 at 11:00 am, Herschel Smith said:
Ground pounders can be killed with gasoline just like armor.
The key here is willingness to use it. The heart is the “heart of the issue,” not the machines.
On February 26, 2022 at 11:14 am, The Old Freedom Fighter said:
Herschel is right! Keep this in mind when it’s now your own neighborhood to defend. By the way, never say never, in any context, i.e. it’ll NEVER happen here. Famous, but very tragic last words. History says so.
On February 26, 2022 at 11:19 am, Bill Buppert said:
I highly suggest everyone go to a “range” one day and test the flammability of many oils from gas to diesel to avocado oil; avocado oil is especially interesting and an ironic use of a soi-boi favorite for use against communists.
On February 26, 2022 at 1:17 pm, ExpatNJ said:
This video helps Patriots understand why Globalists want to mandate EV’s (Electric Vehicles), and outlaw internal combustion engines:
No Petrol (or similar flammable fluids), No MTov’s. Stock-up now on gasoline.
On February 26, 2022 at 1:47 pm, Bradlley A Graham said:
” Will is the decisive element. With it the fight can start with a rock or a piece of rebar.
Without it an atom bomb will not suffice.”
WRSA 2021
On February 26, 2022 at 2:12 pm, Red Man said:
“And remember to add soap powder or other like ingredient to the mix so it will stick and burn” said the Green Beanie SFC at Platoon Confidence Training in Bad Tolz Germany decades ago.
On February 26, 2022 at 3:42 pm, lesh said:
“An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep.” ― Alexander the Great
On February 26, 2022 at 3:47 pm, Fred said:
Now is good time again to relate a simple conversation I had with a man. It was during Hussein Obama and there was zero ammo to be had. I asked the man if he had enough ammo. He said that he had a pallet but none was for sale. I said; “That’s a lot of ammo.” His reply; “Not if someone is shooting at you.”
End of lesson. Carry on.
On February 26, 2022 at 6:17 pm, blake said:
Putin rolled the dice, attacked Ukraine, thinking Ukraine would welcome Russians back into their nation.
Zelensky rolled the dice, armed the citizens, with the expectation that many people under arms would make a difference.
So far, it appears Zelensky has the better take on the mettle of citizens of Ukraine.
On February 26, 2022 at 9:16 pm, Pathfinder said:
That video is not from the current party being thrown.
It is from the riots in Ukraine in 2014.
On February 26, 2022 at 10:11 pm, Herschel Smith said:
I’ll have an update tomorrow with better researched information as well as observations on TTPs and the psychology of the Ukrainians that Putin failed to understand.
I’ll post it tomorrow. It’s be interesting to see what the comments say, and what can be added to the discussion.
I want it to be entirely strategy and TTPs, not geopolitical.
On February 27, 2022 at 12:39 am, George 1 said:
There is a lot propaganda going around. Hard to know what is really happening. I believe they call it the Fog of War. Most of the more believable sources are saying that the Russians are being slowed down both by resistance in the Ukraine and by their supply lines being stretched thin. You would think that the Russians would understand logistics. Maybe not?
S2 Underground describes the situation as comparable (if not exactly the same ) to the Germans in the Stalingrad campaign. The Ukrainians are no doubt being significantly helped by MANPADS and Javelin missiles that have been made available to them. S2 Underground is also reporting that Russia has not yet gained full air superiority in Ukraine airspace. That is kind of surprising. Perhaps Ukraine is getting some tracking and vectoring assistance from NATO with that but who knows. If they have some fighter aircraft they are able to deploy, the planes are probably retreating to Poland or elsewhere for rearming/refueling.
The whole thing is very sad. As usual the common people will pay the greatest price.
On February 27, 2022 at 1:01 am, Herschel Smith said:
@George 1,
I will have a full update tomorrow evening on what I know, including Putin’s original plan. He intended to drive his heavy tanks into locations near and around Kiev, surround the city, and then land around 5000 paratroopers into Kiev to arrest the president and install a puppet regime.
The plan is so bad that it sounds like a Jack Bauer movie. Tanks are running out of gas and the entire plan is in shambles.
He is now trying to mobilize the troops he has not yet committed to the fight.
The Russians are badly lacking in an understanding of what this sort of warfare entails (I’ve been talking to my son about this). The worst failure is that Putin badly misunderstood Ukraine. His intention, if we get it right based on multiple reports, was to roll heavy armor in, rely on single tanks of gas and refuel inside the war zone, surround Kiev and the land paratroopers to arrest the president and his folks and install a puppet regime.
It’s so bad it sounds like a Jack Bauer movie. But he didn’t understand the psychology of the people. Here in America we teach children to hate their elders, and education at Marxist universities is the icing on the cake. We know people from this region, and it’s profoundly untrue there.
They almost worship their elders. Little old ladies remember what it was like under Soviet rule, and don’t want any more of it. They have taught their children and the children listened. That is so deeply burned into their spirit that it cannot be undone. Modern geopolitics doesn’t matter. Their hatred for the old Soviet empire is what’s spurring them on.
Regardless of whether he wins a temporary victory, Putin will leave. His troops cannot stay. They will be spit upon, burned with gasoline, shot at, and hated. They will go home in body bags, and Putin will lose support at home.
This is the way of things. War is expensive, disastrous, deadly, and awful. Vlad hasn’t exactly won hearts and minds with this, and no occupation could ever work.
As I’ve said, I have no dog in this fight. This is purely a TTP study. It’s necessary for us to understand what works and what doesn’t.
Putin is corrupt, the president of Ukraine is likely corrupt, the U.S. president and the U.S. senate is corrupt, and all world leaders are corrupt.
I want to understand the TTPs and the psychology.
A good psychologist could have warned Putin not to try this.
Thus far, if reports are correct, he has lost 3500 men. That’s 70% of what the U.S. lost in a ten year occupation of Iraq.
The losses, the lack of understanding of logistics, the lack of proper TTPs and training, is appalling.
Ukrainians could be doing better themselves too, although one has to remark on the resilience of the president. He could have run. He didn’t. He will endear himself to the people for that.
On February 27, 2022 at 1:18 am, Miles said:
To George Patton:
“ no intelligence services.
The Pathan have some of the best ‘intelligence’ operations going. The techniques and training go back to the ‘Great Game’ of the 1800s and were passed down generation to generation (don’t ask how I know). Any movement of anyone seen as ‘opposition’ (and anyone not of the immediate tribe is considered such) is known and accounted for within hours, if not minutes. Failing to take that into consideration is folly and got a lot of people in ‘trouble’.
To Fred:
There’s only two times when you have too much ammo.
1 When you’re over nose deep in water
2 When you’re on fire.
A Master Gunnery Sergeant of the Saigon Embassy guard once related how they – literally – had ‘Dipsty Dumpsters’ full of ammo on the roof of the building during the evacuation and were still concerned they might run short.
On February 27, 2022 at 2:38 am, Fergus said:
All the news we get now is at best is unreliable and distorted. If you doubt this read the news from WWII to see the gross distortions. What is incredible is the failure of Western deterence, sanctions, and the West’s pitiful ability to lend aid to the Ukraine in any meaningful way.
I am also reminded again by those who have never served, that bean counters are impressed by numbers, not be spirit, the cause, or the forces involved. History has demonstrated in many instances that a seemingly hopelessly outnumbered and equipped force has not only triumphed but slaughtered a larger. better equipped and trained force that was over confident, badly led, and ignorant of the terrain and of its enemy. Putin seems to have blundered just as the US blundered into the Middle East with delusions of fostering democracy in a medieval society that is opposed to the very concepts of equality, tolerance, and justice or in other words much like the atmosphere one finds in most US universities today.
The greater problem is how China will respond to the amazing spinelessness of the USG. I doubt the PRC will invade, it simply lacks the resources to successfully invade, but it can attempt a bluff, and Taiwan can rest assured that senile Joe will do nothing to assist them. If Taiwan folds what will Japan and the ROK do? And before you say they will remain steadfast, look at Germany, Australia, NZ, Canada.
On February 27, 2022 at 3:05 am, Red Man said:
7 minutes of Putin’s response at an international press conference.
Some valid points maybe? At least from the horses mouth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOkl2XgZlw0
On February 27, 2022 at 6:11 am, Wes said:
Regardless of the video’s year, from a TTP perspective, it’s noted that this is not one (romantic) wine bottle tossed from the balcony, ala Hollywood. This is quickly an incendiary swarm by multiple throwers. The tactic itself becomes a crew-served belt-fed.
On February 27, 2022 at 8:49 am, Fred said:
@miles, that got a chuckle. Thanks.
@Fergus. The japs hate the chink’s. The same way the Ukrainians hate the Russians but it’s 5000 years of oral history of hate between china, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. Not a one of them cares for the other. You made the classic white man mistake thinking all east Asians can be friends.
On February 27, 2022 at 9:05 am, SamlAdams said:
I’m reminded of the answer to a question posed to the professor during a course I took back around 1981 on American Conflicts in the 20th Century about why the syllabus stopped at the initial MACV commitment in Vietnam. The answer? All we have are journalist accounts and these, while interesting, are generally wrong and biased.
On February 27, 2022 at 10:10 am, JoeFour said:
@ SamlAdams “All we have are journalist accounts and these, while interesting, are generally wrong and biased.”
Yep! I’d suggest turning off the TV and searching for non-MSM sources of information. Here are three I’ve found (the YouTube link is to an interview of Scott Ritter):
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/
https://thesaker.is/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GkmdCaBECs&t=9s&ab_channel=RichardMedhurst
On February 27, 2022 at 10:14 am, conner said:
When Putin starts playing hard ball, this will be over.
On February 27, 2022 at 10:23 am, JoeFour said:
….and here’s a fourth:
https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/did-nato-just-declare-war-on-russia/
On February 27, 2022 at 10:27 am, 41mag said:
Long lines exfiltrating the big cities could be the women and children leaving. My initial thought was they must have been in denial, but the number of folks that seem to be willing to fight back tells me otherwise.
On February 27, 2022 at 11:37 am, I R A Darth Aggie said:
I seem to remember Sun Tzu having an entire chapter on the use fire in warfare.
On February 27, 2022 at 11:48 am, billrla said:
Russia and Ukraine are the Hatfields and the McCoys. They’ll always be at each other’s throats over something. Ukraine has been a part of Russia for much of its history, and Urkaine, especially the southern part, by the Black Sea, has been an international crossroads; multi-cultural (in the historical sense, not the leftist sense), multi-lingual. Trade and export oriented (grain, especially).
Putin does understand Ukraine. He knows his Russian history and literature. Nikolay Gogol, one of Russia’s revered classical authors, was from Ukraine, but wrote only in Russia.
This conflict is for Russia and Ukraine to sort out. Not NATO. Not the EU. Not the U.S. And China is most certainly absolutely clueless about Ukraine’s culture and its relationship with Mother Russia.
On February 27, 2022 at 12:08 pm, Arthur Sido said:
FWIW that video is old and not from the current conflict: https://westernrifleshooters.us/2022/02/27/correction/
This is true of most of what you are seeing on TV and social media.
On February 27, 2022 at 12:41 pm, Herschel Smith said:
Sigh …
Yes, that’s already been pointed out.
As I said above, I have a collection of video that HAS been verified (or at least, an analysis and compilation of sources that is coming in a new post tonight).
On February 27, 2022 at 6:37 pm, The Wretched Dog said:
Re: TTP’s
Doesn’t matter if the video clip is 2014 or 2022, the lesson is the same. Guts and firebombs in an urban environment are deadly to unescorted, buttoned-up armored or mechanized units.
And while the propaganda and misinformation is currently impossible to wade through, I do get the impression that Russian forces are trying not to deliberately cause civilian casualties or to damage purely civilian infrastructure. Mistakes and emotions will happen, of course.
Enough Molotoved BMP’s, however, and the gloves will come off. See: Grozny, battles of.
Re: Logistics Preparation
I would have expected the Russian Army to have been better prepared, logistically. It isn’t as if Vlad the Putin and his generals didn’t know this was coming.
But I am reading “Stalin’s War: a New History of World War II”, by Sean McKeekin, and it is shocking the amount of lend lease equipment, food and fuel the United States gifted the Soviet Union during the war. Simply astonishing. You rarely see the US trucks, aircraft or tanks in war-time footage, and of course Stalin never thanked or credited Great Britain and the US for their massive assistance, but I seriously doubt the great Soviet offensives of ’42-’45 could have been conducted at all without the fuel and trucks we sent.
Perhaps there is a legacy of inadequate appreciation for logistics?
TWD
On February 27, 2022 at 8:25 pm, George 1 said:
@The Wretched Dog,
I would have to agree that the Russians seem to be trying to limit civilian casualties. They haven’t used many of their high order weapons. Whatever the corruption of Putin he clearly understands 4th Generation War.