Category Archives: Military

Na Zapad vs. Drang Nach Osten*

Posted on February 6, 2023 by davidsberry

(*To the West (Rus) vs. Urge to the East (Ger)) There has been much wringing of hands on both sides of the Ukraine war over the matter of the West supplying modern battle tanks to Ukraine. These are to offset … Continue reading →

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Ivan to Go Home—V

Posted on September 18, 2022 by davidsberry

“The Russian Army is a boxer who has a great right hook and a glass jaw.” —Phillips O’Brien, Prof. of Strategic Studies, St Andrews University The Ukrainian offensive that began around Kherson in the South at the end of August … Continue reading →

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Ivan to Go Home—IV

Posted on September 17, 2022 by davidsberry

By April, it was clear that, despite bumptious pronouncements on Russian TV that “The Ukraine Special Operation” against the fascists in Kiev was going to plan”, somebody in the Kremlin worked out they were getting nowhere. Casualties were far higher … Continue reading →

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Ivan to Go Home—III

Posted on September 16, 2022 by davidsberry

A five-part article on Russian military misjudgements in Ukraine “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” ­ —Otto von Clausewitz Although the Russians stoically denied it, there was a blatant amount of warning before the attack on Ukraine actually happened … Continue reading →

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Ivan to Go Home—II

Posted on September 15, 2022 by davidsberry

A five-part article on Russian military misjudgements in Ukraine “Confusion amongst Russian soldiers over their mission and poor morale due to inadequate training and uneven leadership explains their poor performance.” — Curtis Scaparrotti, US four-star general (rtd) Put simply, modern … Continue reading →

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Ivan to Go Home—I

Posted on September 14, 2022 by davidsberry

A five-part article on Russian military misjudgements in Ukraine “Our country is officially and directly declared the main threat to North Atlantic security. And Ukraine will serve as a forward springboard for the strike.” —Vladimir Putin, February 24th 2022 The … Continue reading →

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Leadership vs Tyranny

Posted on September 5, 2022 by davidsberry

The remains of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev were taken from Moscow’s Hall of Columns, where all Soviet leaders had once lain in state after their death. But all were buried with a State Funeral. Gorbachev was not. This, and Putin’s diary … Continue reading →

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Some War Is More Tragic

Posted on March 23, 2022 by davidsberry

After decades of prosperity and relative peace, for the last month, the Western world has suddenly had to adjust to being shocked by the brutality and horror of full-scale war between two modern armies amidst the cities and citizens of … Continue reading →

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This Fratricidal War

Posted on March 17, 2022 by davidsberry

After three weeks of the most brutal and extensive war we have witnessed since World War 2, Western media has been reporting extensively on human tragedies behind the lines in Ukraine and Russian state media has been spinning fake news … Continue reading →

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Alea Jacta Est

Posted on February 24, 2022 by davidsberry

This blog takes no pleasure in vindication of earlier posts that Putin was serious about engulfing Ukraine “heim ins Reich” (see: Na Zapad—Westward Ho!) or the limp attempts to curb the sewer of Russian kleptocrat money sloshing around London (see … Continue reading →

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