African Fighting(from the battle for Monrovia)

[Last Conformist]

One'd think it would be easy to train gov'tal forces to a level to outclass these hippies, but of West Africa's history over the last couple decades is any guide, it isn't.

[VetLegion]

Great stuff Lonestar

Though, pics are a little too professional, perhaps it wasn't all that near the frontline, or the guy behind the camera is a real pro.

Btw., am I the only one thinking about their logistics? What do they do when night falls? Where do they eat?

[Pekka]

VetLegion, prolly you are.. those basic questions seems to be the wrong question to ask. We should start from more basics, like is anyone in control? Is anyone sober? Does anyone know how to use the weapon?

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by VetLegion

Btw., am I the only one thinking about their logistics? What do they do when night falls? Where do they eat?

At a guess, they throw some locals out of their houses, sleep in their beds and eat their food.

The daughters may be "allowed" to stay.

[JimmyCracksCorn]

Originally posted by Bosh


Definately. The 19th century equivalents of ROTC kiddies annihilated plenty of African armies who had "known nothing but war their whole lives" even in battles in which Africans had comparable weapondry. The African standards of marksmanship were godawful and they'd fire whole slavos without hitting anything.

Yeah, and the soldiers going to Mogadishu thought the same thing, and looked what happened to them.

Plus, you're comparing 19th century warriors with spears to modern urban militias. COmpletely different. ROTC would get smoked today.

[JimmyCracksCorn]

As well, you may have heard of this country called Iraq...

[Bosh]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn


Yeah, and the soldiers going to Mogadishu thought the same thing, and looked what happened to them.

Plus, you're comparing 19th century warriors with spears to modern urban militias. COmpletely different. ROTC would get smoked today.

Actually there was a number of cases in which French armies smoked much larger African armies with SUPERIOR German weapondry.

If you make things guerilla warfare in one country's home turf that changes things a lot, but if you had ROTC weenies vs. those african militia members in some kind of nuetral territory, I have no doubt that the ROTC weenies would smoke the African militia due to superior marksmanship.

[Pekka]

Jimmy, from fighting point of view, I disagree. How many men did US lose again in Mogadishu?

The loss was not military one, it was political one.

ROTC would smoke'em. If they would be allowed to stay in and fight, and not get politics mixed up.

Of course I'm only speculating, but that's where I'd put my money.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn


Yeah, and the soldiers going to Mogadishu thought the same thing, and looked what happened to them

What, that 40 or 50 soldiers kicked the **** out of 4000 OpFor, getting a kill ratio of something like 60 to 1?

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn
As well, you may have heard of this country called Iraq...

The opposition in Iraq controls no territory, and is limited to small-scale ambushes. In any military sense they're roundly defeated every time they engage Coalition forces. Their goal is not to win any military engagement, but simply to knock off the kaffirs one or two at a time, no matter what the cost to them.

Plus, Iraqi insurgents fight a hell of a lot smarter than the people pictured there do.

[KrazyHorse]

How long did large scale opposition last in the Ivory Coast once the French landed again? 12 hours?

It's called asymmetric warfare for a reason. How many troops has the US lost in Iraq, over 2.5 years of fighting?

2100

How many Americans were lost in the 3.5 years of WWII?

450 000

Where are the insurgents holding territory, Jimmy? Where are the stories about them wiping out American patrols? Taking down an Army base?

[Colonâ„¢]

Many of those Iraqi insurgents are former members of the military, and the Iraq army did used to be quite skilled.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Last Conformist
One'd think it would be easy to train gov'tal forces to a level to outclass these hippies, but of West Africa's history over the last couple decades is any guide, it isn't.

Corruption and poverty often make the governments unable to train and pay their armies. Instability breeds disrespect for the government and an unwillingness to actually do any fighting or dying.

When some of the African countries who have got their **** together send in troops to restore stability in a neighbouring State, the results are pretty much what you'd expect.

[Pekka]

Right, I think the real answer is that these dudes in pictures didn't have real training, and today don't have real organized .. thing going on for them, and no discipline known in traditional armies. More like individual boasting, rather than unified action. Trying to be seen as tough and heroic rather than submitting to leadership that has only one goal in mind and is educated and experienced.

These dudes could make good fighters, if they went through training and had the things we have.

But as it is now, I see them losing to any army and fast. Even reserve forces of weaker nations. Certainly the Iraqi insurgents can't be even compared, many of them trained at some point, plus even though random action, they still are more organized and disciplined.

[Arrian]

Depressing as hell, and yet funny, thanks to Lonestar. I choose not to feel bad that I laughed.

-Arrian