2/12 Weather Conditions not optimal for Russian action

[Gunner98]

This is not the 1940s where Panzerkampwagen III with narrow tracks and even worse, trucks and horses that were supposed to draw two-wheeled field guns through mud got stuck on every smallish road beucause the passage of just two hundred vehicle's before had turned it into at least knee-deep mud, because the road surface was just flattened dirt.
Nowadays the same road would be paved and even the 1940s Wehrmacht would have had little problem with mud on the eastern front these days.

No, my impressions come from standing on a paved road between the Oder River and Seelow heights where approximately 2000 wide tracked Russian T-34 and other wide-tracked vehicles were stuck in the mud getting shot at - because you cannot fight from a road. Roads are great for traveling with one huge disadvantage - everyone knows where they are. The paved roads are critical for sustainment/logistics which is what killed the Wehrmacht, also good for pursuit or quick withdrawal. Anyone who fights on roads dies quickly.

This video was from a few days ago - I think what it really shows is inexperienced drivers but it is an example of what the mud can do to a company of modern wide tracked tanks. https://twitter.com/StephVisual/status/ ... iNa8lRi2Rg

[BeirutDude]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Javelins are all in a single warehouse somewhere to please the End-User Monitoring program.

Wouldn't surprise me in the least bit either. Thus my wording. [8D]

[BeirutDude]

This video was from a few days ago - I think what it really shows is inexperienced drivers but it is an example of what the mud can do to a company of modern wide tracked tanks. https://twitter.com/StephVisual/status/ ... iNa8lRi2Rg

That's four dead tank crews if that was for keeps.

[thewood1]

"Russian MBTs are light and have wide tracks and low ground pressure"

Ground pressure from wiki, FAS, and a few other sites...

T-72B - 0.85 kg/cm2
T-80 - .92 kg/cm2, not sure which variant
Panzer III - 0.62 kg/cm2
M1A2 - 1.0 to 1.1 kg/cm2 depending on armor layout

Ground pressure isn't the final say in operating in muddy condition. Torque, track design, experience, etc. play a role, but a Panzer III has a big advantage over a modern tank in actual contact with the ground.

[BeirutDude]

And then there is this analysis from the AP...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/in ... ar-AATP04h

[tiag]

Meanwhile the USAF continues collecting info on the EOB of Russia. The Rivet Joints, RQ-4s, UH-60M, the F-16 from Spangdahlem, etc...have been very active. It is amazing how long the RQ-4s keep monitoring the border region.

[Gunner98]

RQ-4s keep monitoring the border region

The USAF Fact sheet says the have an endurance of 34 hrs - in the DB at a med alt cruse speed of 200kts and a range of 4350 it gives them ~21.5 hrs but their ferry range is double that so....

But they are slooooowwww.