Unease over US exit in Afghan valley where Soviets were routed

The only way to win a guerilla war is basically by wholesale slaughter, something the West doesn't have the stomach for. You can't "win the hearts and minds" of savages.

 

I was thinking the same thing. If I was soviet I would have brought up CORP ARTY backed by Army ARTY level groups with Fireblow doctrine to essentially lay waste to every single building above ground level in enemy land. Then tactical nuclear strikes to burn the rest.

It would probably be called a war crime but if I was the Soviet General, I would do everything I can to lay absolute waste to the enemy battle area without any regard for military or civilian losses of those too stupid to flee before hand.

In Bastogne the Germans were investing in 88mm rounds against individual American solders caught by spotters in the open.

We firebombed tokyo to burn out the 20 or so vital war targeted factories and industry in one night followed by a week long firestorm. Losses are not countable but estimated to be at least 60,000 I could be wrong. Losses are irrelevant in war when you are intent on turning a enemy City into a moonscape with no life. Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the ultimate expression of intent to save lives from potential losses from the November Operation Olympic which had 1 million American solders and Marines that would have invaded the Japanese home land proper. They had 5 million on hand drawing if necessary from a defeated Germany and european forces to be shipped to the USA, trains west to shipping to japan.

We are still handing out purple hearts made in 1945 against potentially a million casualties and about half that dead.

Afghanistan is a place where world powers including the USA has made war for over perhaps a thousand years. But have not been successful since the days of Alexander the Great. I remember very clearly a platoon leader who managed to land in Afghanistan on our FM radio in trucking saying we now own a piece of Afghanistan.

I thought ok, that's wonderful but it's temporary. When they are out of ammunition they will be slaughtered and buried in it there.

What worries me is this.

Our enemies have studied us these last ... 30 years since Desert Storm. We are sorely in need of replacing our worn out artillery, tanks and everything that we built in the 70's and 80's China is pending 4 aircraft carriers of the smaller type able to be fielded in large numbers sufficient to overhwelm one of our very large carrier groups. When China has say 10 carriers and send the whole shebang with a hundred surface warships against one US Carrier and her 9 escorts, once the entire US Task Group is out of ammunition they will be sunk with a approximately loss of about roughly 12000 sailors. The rest of the carriers are still in both coasts. They need three to four days to get to sea. Maybe more. Then 10 days to sail to the battle area. If they can make it that far.

I hate to be negative. I have carried ideas about how our Navy should fight and equipt for such a fight. For example the US Carrier with it's Rolling airframe and a few dozen short range defense missiles will be overwhelmed. What we did not do yet is put two or three arsenal ships with that battle group so we can use several thousand air defense missiles in a networked layer from surface to space. Even worse recently the USA removed hard torpedo kill tools from some of our carriers, deeming it unnecessary. I tell you what, China sub drivers will be getting in close to sink them if possible.

We are a world power. But we are a rotting paper tiger with no resolve among the people to fight. When I talk about this stuff, I am very properly jeered, laughed out of the room and so on by a people that refuses to consider that we will lose our #### fighting a peer world power like China or Russia intent on making sure that they will win, because we are not doing what it needs doing to maintain victory in battle.

 

Panjshir ain’t shht compared to Helmand these days....

 

I was a baby and we didnt know anything about vietnam until decades later. However Washington had to send three divisons to invade and subdue the violent mobs along N. Ave and points south and west during the '68 baltimore riots. It took a week to subdue the people. It would not be the first time in history either. I remember we kids were removed from downtown to a safer location out of caution by the parents Even then we still maintained our tavern hospitality where possible. I reckon because we were in a area with good people of all stripes there was no problem thankfully.

 

Afghanistan has always been a literal hole of death for would be conquerers.

 

You wanna win a war. Let the 2 biggest dogs fight over the yard. Then when decimated roll in afterwards with heavy armour.