1/ I was raised in Western Australia by a family with conservative values. From a very young age I knew the importance of our alliance with America. Since WW1 we have stood with our American brothers and sisters to fight against those that wish to do us harm. As an 11yo I was...

So some dude who clearly knows nothing about the military in the comment section claims i am dancing to the drum of my paymaster. The Nigerian army uses T-34 tanks made during World war two he claims. I wont bother replying comments like of this natur, but after seeing nearly

ten lines of replies of which nobody challenges or corrects such a ridiculous claim its only fair i point out his falacy. As of December 23 2020 these are the main battle tanks fielded by the Nigerian army.

VT-4 Main Battle Tank (Frontline tank of the Nigerian army). Arguably the most sophisticated Main Battle Tank in Africa today.

T-72 M Main Battle Tank.

Vickers Mk.3 Eagle Main Battle Tank

So how easy was it for British & Canadian soldiers to keep clean and healthy in Normandy?

Couldn't be too hard, right? /1
#WW2 #SWW #History

You're an front line infantryman in a two man covered slit trench. Maybe 100m from the enemy

From dawn to dusk you're hunched underground, making the best of things in a covered trench 6' long, 3' deep and 2 1/2' wide or so.

With your mate crammed in there with you. /2

You know you're under constant observation by enemy observers and marksmen, who scan the ground looking to punish any foolish or unlucky opportunity target.

They may not get you, but their rounds may well kill or maim your friends. /3

Night offers a modicum of respite.

In darkness fresh, hot grub is bought up in large thermos flasks from the cooks in B Echelon. It's good hearty stuff.

The problem is the closer you are to the enemy, the more likely it'll be delayed or obliterated by an errant 155mm shell. /4

You can always tuck into food from your compo crates, which is fine, or 24 hour ration pack... or the famed emergency ration in a sticky spot.

The latter is really nice.

Chocolate laced with amphetamine or high dose of caffeine.

Yum. /5

A few thoughts on belly loading. No, not our collective plans for the xmas period, a primer on the science behind allowing the belly of a vehicle to contact the terrain, and the implications therein to mobility (spoiler: its always bad) #AFVaDay #miltwitter #tanktwitter

Usual disclaimer - this is Twitter, I don’t have much space and so some things are simplified or omitted for simplicity. This is a hugely complex science; I’m just giving a flavour of the considerations inherent in AFV design. With that out the way…

Another outwardly unexciting concept, but actually quite critical to off road performance. Belly loading is the condition where the tracks have sunk in terrain to the extent that the belly of the vehicle is now partially or fully resting on the terrain

Belly loading is a cascade situation. With the belly only contacting terrain in a situation where mobility is already challenging and ground pressure/grip maybe be failing, contact of the belly begins to transfer load from tracks to hull, further reducing the tractive performance

Eventually, a vehicle can become entirely stuck where weight is fully loaded on the belly, or so much so that the tracks are fully unloaded and can gain no traction any longer. At this point there is little that can be done and it may need recovery or digging out by hand

1 of 19: TANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

You crazy for this one, #TankTwitter

The Battle of the Bulge was among the largest tank battles in US history.

[If you are here seeking something other than straightforward analysis of a historical event, please look elsewhere]

2 of 19:

After the war, a narrative developed that American tank units (7th, 9th, 10th Armored Divisions, in particular) overcame a German tank superiority in the Battle of the Battle.

[3 of 19] We'd like to put that idea to the test.

We've discussed Kampfgruppe Peiper outmaneuvering our tanks early on with the newest German tank, the 70-ton Tiger II.

The remaining German forces had the Tiger I and Panzers.

[4 of 19]

Lt. Colonel Robert Erlenbusch commanded company A, 31st Tank Battalion in St. Vith during the fighting. After the war, he wrote a paper for III Corps in which he stated that German Panther and Tiger tanks were far superior to the American Sherman and Stuart tanks.

[5 of 19]

American tanks had success in Ardennes only if they hit "lucky shots" according to Erlenbusch. Many historians still reference Erlenbusch's findings.

A thread on S.L.A. Marshall & the Ratio of Fire.

Marshall is controversial.

His central claim is that only 25% of soldiers in the line fired their weapons.

Several military historians have disputed this.

My own views on Marshall are framed by my work on Small Arms.

1/

If you've ever had anything to do with Knowledge Management then you'll know that Marshall gave us the After Action Review.

This method facilitated group discussion with a view to identifying what happened and how to do better.

It has shaped business & military practices.

2/

In Marshall's case this created a feedback loop between inputs and outputs in which the soldier's (& not just the commander's) experience was also put at the centre of winning the battle [more on tech & OODA loops later].

Source: Army of None @paul_scharre

3/

But the extent to which he systematically applied this new method has been repeatedly criticised.

By Roger Spiller

By Harold P. “Bud” Leinbaugh