Why no thread on the French military intervention in Mali?

[MichaeltheGreat]

Hmmm, well I thought it was a case of the French using their tanks as infantry support and not in actual armoured units, crap tactics in general and the fact that most/a large number of them lacked radio communication, that was their main downfall.

I always thought that the Somua S35 in 1940 was the best tank on either side during the Battle of France. Remember that they were up against PZ IIs and early variant PZ IIIs - not Tigers and Panthers etc...

Actually, they were up against a fair number of Pz. Is, too. Pz. Is were used in most Panzer battalions as roundout units to get closer to TO&E strength. There were about as many Pz. I in the invasion of France as Pz. III and IV combined, The Pz. IIIs used in France were equipped with the 37mm/46.5 gun which the Panzertrüppen affectionately nicknamed the "doorknocker"

[MichaeltheGreat]

The invasion plan wouldn't have happened at all if he hadn't already been on the bandwagon. He kept slowing them down because he was afraid they were pushing too fast and risking getting cut off and encircled, which wasn't a particularly unreasonable concern.

Considering how insanely confident his major strategic moves were, I don't think we can make too much out of him showing a little caution with some of the smaller ones.

Both of which due to the Bohemian Gefreiter having an understanding of doctrine and operational art consistent with hispaygrade and the war he fought in.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Rather surprisingly, the Germans used a huge amount of horses in the attack on France. Possibly as potentially edible distractions....

They did througout the war. The Germans were chronically short of motor vehicle transport, since they couldn't keep up with the demand for fighting vehicles.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

They did througout the war. The Germans were chronically short of motor vehicle transport, since they couldn't keep up with the demand for fighting vehicles.

Nor the ability to keep them in Petrol. Fischer Tropsch only got them so far.

[Alexander's Horse]

Len Deighton wrote an excellent book called "Blitzkrieg" which includes all that comparative data for the 1940 battles. I highly recommend it, a great read if you like that sort of thing.

[DaShi]

So my point about the Maginot Line being outflanked still stands...

It is high school textbook stuff.

[Alexander's Horse]

The collapse in 1940 was quite unexpected and has coloured perceptions of the French military ever since.

[Fake Boris]

... My (limited) understanding of coup is that (so far) the leads weren't a bunch of power-hungry thugs a la Chavez, ...

So you're one of those who kept predicting that Chavez was a tinpot dictator in the making? 3 fair elections later, Venezuela is doing just fine.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Yes, very fair elections. State controlled media, harassment of opposition parties, etc. The difference is that he has oil money to piss away on bread and circuses while throwing in a little populism and nationalism to entertain the peasantry, er. proletariat.

[Fake Boris]

Yes, very fair elections. State controlled media, harassment of opposition parties, etc. The difference is that he has oil money to piss away on bread and circuses while throwing in a little populism and nationalism to entertain the peasantry, er. proletariat.

1) Venezuela has never had a perfectly "fair" election in its history
2) At least oil money is helping the poor

All the doomsday predictions about Chavez turned out wrong.

[Fake Boris]

Yes, very fair elections. State controlled media, harassment of opposition parties, etc. The difference is that he has oil money to piss away on bread and circuses while throwing in a little populism and nationalism to entertain the peasantry, er. proletariat.

1) Venezuela has never had a perfectly "fair" election in its history
2) At least oil money is helping the poor

All the doomsday predictions about Chavez turned out wrong.

[PLATO]

1) Venezuela has never had a perfectly "fair" election in its history
2) At least oil money is helping the poor

All the doomsday predictions about Chavez turned out wrong.

Yep...all that oil money in Chavez's hands is working out "just fine"...

EL UNIVERSAL

Wednesday November 30, 2011 12:57 PM


Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, and Panama City are the Latin American cities with the highest quality of living in the region, according to a ranking released by consulting firm Mercer. Vienna has the best living standard in the world, followed by Zurich and Auckland.

The "2011 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey" prepared by Mercer, a human resource consulting, outsourcing and investment service firm, reported that Caracas ranks 164th out of the 211 cities included in the survey.

The survey also measures the level of personal safety and security in each city and takes into account factors such as crime rate, internal stability, law enforcement effectiveness, and host country international relations of the corresponding country.

Caracas (205) is at the lowest end on the personal-safety scale in the region, Efe reported.

(Bolding is mine)

http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/111130/caracas-among-the-cities-with-the-worst-standard-of-living

[Fake Boris]

Hey, here's this unsupported link that agrees with my world view!

[Sava]

WW2... bah
I know how it ends
Have French troops surrendered in Mali yet?

[kentonio]

No, they're waiting to see if Italy swaps sides first.