NS Military Realism Consultancy Thread Mark IX Spitfire

[The United Remnants of America]

It's a 100 retarded idea.

My question, or Transwannabe's idea?

[Beefmerica]

If my military was in a strategic position like Alaska, what should my military mainly focused on, Air, Naval, Ground?

Is it unrealistic, or at least not practical, to have an infantry rifle squad have this type of organization?

9 members:

Sergeant
Role: Team Leader, carries Designated Marksmen Rifle similar to M14 Battle Rifle

Fireteam 1:

Corporal
Role: Rifleman

Private First Class
Role: Grenadier

Private
Role: Auto Rifleman (Machine Gunner)

Private
Role: Marksmen

Fireteam 2:

Corporal
Role: Rifleman/Medic

Private First Class
Role:Grenadier

Private
Role: Auto Rifleman (Machine Gunner)

Private
Role: Marksmen

Would it make sense to have an assault rifle platform, akin to the design of the Steyr AUG, that serves as the base weapon system for general infantry? This means that the Rifleman would have his variant host a 4x times scope with possibly a foregrip. The Auto Rifleman's weapon would host a drum magazine and with a bipod or bipod grip. The Grendadier would have an under slung grenade lauhcer and the Marksmen would have an extended barrel and bipod along with a 6x scope.

Would Penal Battalions be viable? Troops recruit from the nation's prisons with the incentive of cutting their sentence in half in exchange for that reduced sentence being military service.

I know its currently unfeasible but would airlifting in armor (MBT's or APC's) be in anyway helpful?

What makes a better grenade launcher? A GP-25 type system or a M203 type system?

It is a poor decision or good decision to have the military adhere to caliber protocols? All Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles, Machine Guns, Designated Marksmen Rifles are chambered in 7.62x52mm. Anti-material rifles and Heavy Machine Guns are chambered in .50 BMG. Sub-machine Guns and pistols are chambered in .40 S&W.

[Allanea]

Would Penal Battalions be viable? Troops recruit from the nation's prisons with the incentive of cutting their sentence in half in exchange for that reduced sentence being military service.

That's not what penal battalions are.

[Beefmerica]

Would Penal Battalions be viable? Troops recruit from the nation's prisons with the incentive of cutting their sentence in half in exchange for that reduced sentence being military service.

That's not what penal battalions are.

I know. I just wasn't sure what to call them. The closest thing I think that is historically comparable is the Ottoman troops that were recruited criminals who had little training and were often use as intimidation or to raze enemy cities. I forget the name which is why I am not able to link to them. Essentially, they are the format opposite to what I'd present. The criminals in the proposed army would be separate from all other groups in the military. They would be a strictly light infantry force and would trained to the same standards as the regular troops but with an additional focus on rehabilitation to turn them into being professional soldiers, living by the military's core values.

[Questers]

I think the closest modern equivalent to what you're talking about is the SS-Dirlewanger brigade, tbh

[Questers]

It's a 100 retarded idea.

My question, or Transwannabe's idea?

please explain what possible benefit intentionally exposing your rear would have?

[Korva]

That's not what penal battalions are.

I know. I just wasn't sure what to call them. The closest thing I think that is historically comparable is the Ottoman troops that were recruited criminals who had little training and were often use as intimidation or to raze enemy cities. I forget the name which is why I am not able to link to them. Essentially, they are the format opposite to what I'd present. The criminals in the proposed army would be separate from all other groups in the military. They would be a strictly light infantry force and would trained to the same standards as the regular troops but with an additional focus on rehabilitation to turn them into being professional soldiers, living by the military's core values.

You should put them into your army corp of engineers.

But even more civilian.

And just have them do light labor like cleaning up roadsides. Call it community service or something.

[Lyras]

Odd though it may sound, withdrawing under fire in armoured units is common.

But achieved by reversing. Hence the earlier point about similar numbers of forward and reverse gears. To enable rapid withdrawal and relocation. Not to run around in circles, Parthian style, per se. At least, not as I envisage it.

[Questers]

Odd though it may sound, withdrawing under fire in armoured units is common.

But achieved by reversing. Hence the earlier point about similar numbers of forward and reverse gears. To enable rapid withdrawal and relocation. Not to run around in circles, Parthian style, per se. At least, not as I envisage it.

Reversing is not the same as turning around.

If the ability to rapidly withdraw is required a tank can be fitted with a continuous variable transmission which is probably less complex than 6fwd 6reverse transmission and allows the tank to go as fast backwards as it does forwards.

[Lyras]

Odd though it may sound, withdrawing under fire in armoured units is common.

But achieved by reversing. Hence the earlier point about similar numbers of forward and reverse gears. To enable rapid withdrawal and relocation. Not to run around in circles, Parthian style, per se. At least, not as I envisage it.

Reversing is not the same as turning around.

If the ability to rapidly withdraw is required a tank can be fitted with a continuous variable transmission which is probably less complex than 6fwd 6reverse transmission and allows the tank to go as fast backwards as it does forwards.

This is so. Deliberately exposing your rear is a curious tactical option.

[Gallia-]

If my military was in a strategic position like Alaska, what should my military mainly focused on, Air, Naval, Ground?

Is it unrealistic, or at least not practical, to have an infantry rifle squad have this type of organization?

9 members:

Sergeant
Role: Team Leader, carries Designated Marksmen Rifle similar to M14 Battle Rifle

Fireteam 1:

Corporal
Role: Rifleman

Private First Class
Role: Grenadier

Private
Role: Auto Rifleman (Machine Gunner)

Private
Role: Marksmen

Fireteam 2:

Corporal
Role: Rifleman/Medic

Private First Class
Role:Grenadier

Private
Role: Auto Rifleman (Machine Gunner)

Private
Role: Marksmen

Would it make sense to have an assault rifle platform, akin to the design of the Steyr AUG, that serves as the base weapon system for general infantry? This means that the Rifleman would have his variant host a 4x times scope with possibly a foregrip. The Auto Rifleman's weapon would host a drum magazine and with a bipod or bipod grip. The Grendadier would have an under slung grenade lauhcer and the Marksmen would have an extended barrel and bipod along with a 6x scope.

Would Penal Battalions be viable? Troops recruit from the nation's prisons with the incentive of cutting their sentence in half in exchange for that reduced sentence being military service.

I know its currently unfeasible but would airlifting in armor (MBT's or APC's) be in anyway helpful?

What makes a better grenade launcher? A GP-25 type system or a M203 type system?

It is a poor decision or good decision to have the military adhere to caliber protocols? All Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles, Machine Guns, Designated Marksmen Rifles are chambered in 7.62x52mm. Anti-material rifles and Heavy Machine Guns are chambered in .50 BMG. Sub-machine Guns and pistols are chambered in .40 S&W.

Alaska isn't really in a "strategic position" in that it's threatened by invasion, even during the Cold War, except as a turnaround point for Soviet cruise missile trucks and SAC tankers maybe, so it's a great place to station interceptors to cover the DEW Line.

Unfortunately deciding that depends on who/what your major threats or foes are, and whether they will be likely to attack you by sea, air, or land, or all three methods.

The rifle section looks fine, but IRL militaries tend to train everyone in very basic first aid. Medics in the US Army normally live in platoon HQs or company medical sections, when they're attached (i.e. placed under the command of) to those units by the battalion HQ from its medical platoon. Suffice to say, everyone in the section should be capable of at least stabilizing a casualty and prepare him for evacuation. I guess that means splints, Asherman seals, and OPAs at minimum. If you're really daring you can give them morphine autoinjectors in the IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) too.

Yes, the modular/platform rifle idea makes sense. Plenty of armies IRL have done this, it's generally sound. There exists already versions of the AUG designed specifically for light support weapon/machine gun and the designated marksman. However, AFAIK the AUG LSW makes use of standard 30-round magazines. Drums are awkward to handle with bullpup layouts, unless it's a snail drum (AKA offset to one side usually left side), but that would still be awkward for non-right-handed shooters.

The most modern approach appears to be using quadruple stacked "casket magazines" which can typically double the amount of ammunition (60 rounds v. 30) but iirc tend to be unreliable and jam a lot; or simply long magazines (40-round STANAG for an LSW M16 presumably) in the vein of RPK-74's 45-rounder.

If you were me, I would go for a longer magazine, in the 40-45 round range.

Grenadier and Marksman rifles are fine.

Penal battalions are politically unreliable, and typically they composed of soldiers who have previously deserted or been convicted of crimes while serving in the military, not your typical murderer or drug dealer you might think of as "prisoner". You would require "blocking detachments" (basically, military police shoot people who run away) to keep them from simply deserting, and it would be hard to convince them to fight the enemy rather than immediately surrender, unless you're fighting literal genocidal Nazis or something I suppose where surrender just means death. Suffice to say, it's not a good idea.

Airlifting heavy armour would probably take too long for any sizeable amount of tanks unless you were prepositioning them there I suppose, but even then you're better off moving them by railway or boat.

I don't know enough about the differences between the two launchers and how they're used to provide an accurate opinion. My intuitive feeling is that either is fine, but AUG has mountings IRL for M203 already. Not to say it's technically difficult to fit a GP-25 to an AUG or anything, you'd need a new adapter for the barrel but that's about it I'd think.

One major difference I can think of is GP-25 has a shorter barrel, which, don't quote me on this it's just speculation, potential limits the types of grenades you can use with it; while M203's longer barrel lets you use interesting grenades like thermobarics/novel explosive and flares/starshells. On the other hand, the GP-25 is muzzle loaded, and caseless, which might make it be able to be fired faster than M203, but I doubt it's hugely better in that regard.

Really it probably just depends on what you want to use the grenade launcher for.

7.62mm NATO is a bit heavy for an infantry rifle. 5.56mm would provide the same amount of ammunition for less weight, and arguably be just as effective as far as the infantrymen are concerned. If I were you, I'd have the assault/battle rifles and light machine guns in 5.56mm NATO, like AUG IRL. 7.62mm can also be used with the DMRs if you feel the need for the extra range, which I suppose would make it analogous to Dragunov rifles in Soviet/Russian sections/platoons. Something like M240B/L would be useful to fill the gap between .50 caliber and 5.56mm machine guns.

.40 S&W is a great cartridge, perfectly fine for SMGs and pistols.

That's not what penal battalions are.

I know. I just wasn't sure what to call them. The closest thing I think that is historically comparable is the Ottoman troops that were recruited criminals who had little training and were often use as intimidation or to raze enemy cities. I forget the name which is why I am not able to link to them. Essentially, they are the format opposite to what I'd present. The criminals in the proposed army would be separate from all other groups in the military. They would be a strictly light infantry force and would trained to the same standards as the regular troops but with an additional focus on rehabilitation to turn them into being professional soldiers, living by the military's core values.

Questers' is closer with his analogy I think, although the Dirlewanger Brigade was used for counter-guerrilla/partisan roles, not actually fighting the Red Army on the frontlines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/36th_Waff ... _of_the_SS

[Questers]

Until 1945 anyway

More proof that the german earth should have been salted tbh

[Gallia-]

[The United Remnants of America]

Time to develop a Parthian tank.

[The Akasha Colony]

Time to develop a Parthian tank.

Don't.

[The United Remnants of America]

Time to develop a Parthian tank.

Don't.

You say no. I say lucrative venture.

[The Akasha Colony]

Don't.

You say no. I say lucrative venture.

I say worthless. As has everyone else in this thread.

[The United Remnants of America]

You say no. I say lucrative venture.

I say worthless. As has everyone else in this thread.

Someone would buy them.

And then when I've made my money back selling them, I invade the country that has a new armor unit and grind them to the dirt, enslave their people.

Profit.

[The Akasha Colony]

I say worthless. As has everyone else in this thread.

Someone would buy them.

And then when I've made my money back selling them, I invade the country that has a new armor unit and grind them to the dirt, enslave their people.

Profit.

Preying on the clear irrationality of NS players is hardly good form.

It seems you're trying to be clever by trying to find alternative means to continue discussing the topic. But it isn't working.

[The United Remnants of America]

Someone would buy them.

And then when I've made my money back selling them, I invade the country that has a new armor unit and grind them to the dirt, enslave their people.

Profit.

Preying on the clear irrationality of NS players is hardly good form.

It seems you're trying to be clever by trying to find alternative means to continue discussing the topic. But it isn't working.

No, not really. I'm just hoping a new idea comes to mind while brain crushing on this idea.

It's not working. And I'm saddened by this.

[The Akasha Colony]

Preying on the clear irrationality of NS players is hardly good form.

It seems you're trying to be clever by trying to find alternative means to continue discussing the topic. But it isn't working.

No, not really. I'm just hoping a new idea comes to mind while brain crushing on this idea.

It's not working. And I'm saddened by this.

How about... a regular tank? Don't see too many of those these days.

[United Earthlings]

AAA is ineffective against maneuvering targets, period.

That's why you have missiles.

If that were true, World War I, World War II, Korea and other mid-twentieth century wars would really be into some weird alt-history like for example Manfred von Richthofen probably surviving to see service in World War II.

Hint: Your fire is ineffective probably because your making the rookie mistake most first-timers do in not adding a enough deflection in regards to the target.

That or someone's been messing with your radar calibration.

I have just finished reading David M. Glantz's "The Great Patriotic War and the Maturation of Soviet Operational Art 1941-1945".
It is a short book - about 150 pages long. While there are some drawbacks (the quality of the illustrations in the Kindle Edition is *extremely low*), it is actually a very informative book, superior in my view to many accounts of the Soviet fronts of the Second World War.

While the book does require some familiarity with military terminology, it is easily readable and accessible to those readers with an interest in military affairs. It's well worth the $5 you'll spend buying it on Kindle.

God have mercy on your soul when you attempt to tackle his other works like "Colossus Reborn: The Red Army at War, 1941-1943". It is neither a short book, nor easily readable, but well worth the $ should you ever desire to know almost everything possible there is about the Red Army during World War II.

Bonus Points if you get the "Companion to Colossus Reborn: Key Documents and Statistics" with it.

Can't go wrong with Glantz, I've got four of his books logged and properly placed in my personal library.

Once your done with Glantz, then we can move on the related material which itself covers between 6 to 8 books I would recommend.

---

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[The United Remnants of America]

No, not really. I'm just hoping a new idea comes to mind while brain crushing on this idea.

It's not working. And I'm saddened by this.

How about... a regular tank? Don't see too many of those these days.

Can we remove the barrel of the tank in favor of a chaingun?

[Spirit of Hope]

How about... a regular tank? Don't see too many of those these days.

Can we remove the barrel of the tank in favor of a chaingun?

For what purpose? The MBT's main gun is going to be better in just about every way.

[The United Remnants of America]

Can we remove the barrel of the tank in favor of a chaingun?

For what purpose? The MBT's main gun is going to be better in just about every way.

For... For anti aircraft and anti infantry capability?