January 18, 20233 yr 2 hours ago, birdguy said: It doesn't take long for well trained soldiers to get back to their normal duties. The can be called up to go right into action if required, And indeed they were for Desert Storm. Hi Noel. If you recall, the Iraqis invaded Kuwait at the beginning of the first week of August. The first National Guardsmen arrived in Saudi Arabia at the end of the second week in August. They then spent the following six months building up their forces, training and rehearsing before going into action in the third week of February the following year..... 52 minutes ago, martin-w said: Is it a year though? I've no idea. I don't see it as a serious issue. Until you consider the plight of the Welsh Guards in the Falklands. They were just finishing their tour of ceremonial duties when for reasons that are still unexplained, they were sent on a three-week battle course in the Brecon Beacons before embarking on the QE2 and rushed southwards. They were not in any state of battle readiness. Unlike the commandos, the paratroopers, the Scots Guards and the Gurkhas. the Welsh Guards were unable to yomp or tab their way across the Falklands. They had to be put on a ship to take them round the coast to Bluff Cove..... As something of a diversion; the last British cavalry charge was sooooo long ago that this guy took part in it. Today, one hundred and twenty five years later, the British army still looks after nearly five hundred horses.
January 18, 20233 yr 2 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said: They then spent the following six months building up their forces, training and rehearsing before going into action in the third week of February the following year..... And so did the regular Army units. 39 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said: Today, one hundred and twenty five years later, the British army still looks after nearly five hundred horses. The Charge of the Light Brigade..."Into the valley of death rode the 400..." Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
January 18, 20233 yr 1 hour ago, birdguy said: ."Into the valley of death rode the 400..." They may have ended up with 400 but they started with 600. Winston Churchill's military career started about 50 years later. Edited January 18, 20233 yr by dmwalker Dugald Walker
January 18, 20233 yr 1 hour ago, dmwalker said: They may have ended up with 400 but they started with 600. You're right. It was about 670. The brigade was not completely destroyed, but did suffer terribly, with 118 men killed, 127 wounded, and about 60 taken prisoner. After regrouping, only 195 men were still with horses. The heavy brigade which was to follow them did not. Their commander, General Lucan, decided the Russians were too strong.Lucan and his troops of the Heavy Brigade failed to provide any support for the Light Brigade; they entered the mouth of the valley, but did not advance further. Lucan's explanation was that he saw no point in having a second brigade mown down, and he was best positioned to render assistance to survivors returning from the charge. The French light cavalry, the Chasseurs d'Afrique, was of more assistance, clearing the Fedyukhin Heights of the two half-batteries of guns, two infantry battalions, and Cossacks to ensure that the Light Brigade would not be fired upon from that flank, and it provided cover for the remaining elements of the Light Brigade as they withdrew. Excerpted from Wiki Noel Edited January 18, 20233 yr by birdguy The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
January 18, 20233 yr 3 hours ago, DD_Arthur said: Hi Noel. If you recall, the Iraqis invaded Kuwait at the beginning of the first week of August. The first National Guardsmen arrived in Saudi Arabia at the end of the second week in August. They then spent the following six months building up their forces, training and rehearsing before going into action in the third week of February the following year..... Until you consider the plight of the Welsh Guards in the Falklands. They were just finishing their tour of ceremonial duties when for reasons that are still unexplained, they were sent on a three-week battle course in the Brecon Beacons before embarking on the QE2 and rushed southwards. They were not in any state of battle readiness. Unlike the commandos, the paratroopers, the Scots Guards and the Gurkhas. the Welsh Guards were unable to yomp or tab their way across the Falklands. They had to be put on a ship to take them round the coast to Bluff Cove..... As something of a diversion; the last British cavalry charge was sooooo long ago that this guy took part in it. Today, one hundred and twenty five years later, the British army still looks after nearly five hundred horses. So few? Such a shame it's not more... 5800X3D, RTX4070, 600 Watt, one or two 1440p 32" screens, 64 GB RAM, 4 TB PCle 3 NVMe, Warthog throttle, VKB NXT EVO stick, Honeycomb Alpha yoke, CH quad, 3 Logitech panels, 2 StreamDecks, Desktop Aviator Trim Panel. Crystal Light VR.
January 19, 20233 yr 3 hours ago, birdguy said: You're right. It was about 670. "Lucan instructed Cardigan to lead his command of about 670 troopers of the Light Brigade straight into the valley between the Fedyukhin Heights and the Causeway Heights. (Russell's report in The Times recorded that just short of 200 men were sick or for other reasons left behind in camp on the day, leaving '607 sabres' to take part in the charge.) Dugald Walker
January 19, 20233 yr 7 hours ago, birdguy said: And so did the regular Army units. The Charge of the Light Brigade..."Into the valley of death rode the 400..." Noel Wrong war! Not Crimean but Boer. Intel i7 6700K @4.3. 32gb Gskill 3200 RAM. Z170x Gigabyte m/b. 28" LG HD monitor. Win 10 Home. 500g Samsung 960 as Windows home. 1 Gb Mushkin SSD for P3D. GTX 1080 8gb.
January 19, 20233 yr 2 hours ago, IanHarrison said: Wrong war! Not Crimean but Boer. The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The Boer war was 50 years later. Noel Edited January 19, 20233 yr by birdguy The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
January 19, 20233 yr Hi Noel. The last charge of British cavalry took place at Omdurman in the Sudan in September 1898. We fought and defeated a kind of late Victorian version of Islamic State. A very young Winston Churchill took part in this charge.
January 19, 20233 yr Author 16 hours ago, DD_Arthur said: Until you consider the plight of the Welsh Guards in the Falklands. They were just finishing their tour of ceremonial duties when for reasons that are still unexplained, they were sent on a three-week battle course in the Brecon Beacons before embarking on the QE2 and rushed southwards. They were not in any state of battle readiness. Unlike the commandos, the paratroopers, the Scots Guards and the Gurkhas. the Welsh Guards were unable to yomp or tab their way across the Falklands. They had to be put on a ship to take them round the coast to Bluff Cove..... That doesn't seem to be accurate. The Welsh Guards had actually began their march across the Falklands Sussex Mountains to take up their positions, with all their equipment. After they had gone 5 miles, they were ordered to return. It was decided that they wouldn't be at their objective in time. It was impossible to do it because of the weather conditions and he amount of kit and equipment they had. 10:07 In the video below. 11:09 in the video regarding the battalion being criticized for not being able to make it over the mountains. He goes on the say... "I can assure you most emphatically that my battalion was as fit as any battalion that fought in the Falklands war, that I can assure you" So it seems, that rather than "not being in any state of battle reediness" it was simply the time constraints and weather that meant that it would have been impossible for any battalion to have arrived in time, hence, traveling by HMS Fearless.
January 19, 20233 yr 50 minutes ago, martin-w said: it was simply the time constraints and weather that meant that it would have been impossible for any battalion to have arrived in time We did….
January 19, 20233 yr Author 2 hours ago, DD_Arthur said: We did…. Others did under different circumstances, It wasn't possible for the Welsh Guards given the weather, kit carried, and time constraints. Clear from the video, that the issues they had were not related to "not battle ready". Edited January 19, 20233 yr by martin-w
January 19, 20233 yr A question here. Of what value are the Falklands to the British Empire? Economic? Strategic? I figure they were a good place to refit and replenish sailing ships before rounding the Horn. I also wonder what economic or strategic value Pago-Pago is to the United States. I understand the strategic value of Guam. But Pago-Pago? Is it that the inhabitants of Falklands identify with Great Britain and the inhabitants of Pago-Pago identify with the United States and want to remain tied to them? Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
January 19, 20233 yr 1 hour ago, martin-w said: Clear from the video, that the issues they had were not related to "not battle ready". Oh course Martin. After all, it’s on YouTube….
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