Thunder Run 10

A quick word from t War often brings out the most heated and polarising perspectives, and the news we read and the news we miss heavily influences our outlook on those types of issues. They're an app and website that gather related news articles from around the world and political spectr For example, let's take a look at t I can instantly access all 340 articles Ground News has found reporting on it, and see most of t Comparing coverage is interesting. The bias comparison shows that left-leaning sources, including t It's interesting to read the news in t Check it out at ground. news. com forward slash operations room to make sure you're getting all sides of every story. They're giving my viewers 40% off their vantage subscription, the same plan I use for unlimited access. Ground News is doing important work, and I hope you'll check them out. On the 5th of April 2003, Colonel David Perkins' second Brigade Combat Team launched an armoured raid deep into the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The raid, nicknamed the Thunder Run, was the first of two attacks w But what exactly is a Thunder Run, and how effective is t Cutting through the semantics of what constitutes a Thunder Run is key to understanding what there is some disagreement on where the name Thunder Run in military terminology originated. However, David Zucc According to them, the term originated in the Vietnam War to describe resupply missions to forward artillery bases, codenamed Thunder 1, 2, and so on. The authors explain the Viet Cong attempting to disrupt US supply convoys sent out guerrilla teams at night to cut the roads and set up ambushes. To keep the arteries secure, American commanders dispatched col The col In fact, the 1993 botched raid into Mogadishu, w However, other nations have used different terminology for armored thrusts as well as using the term Thunder Run to describe similar but militarily different actions. As one example, the 2022 Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region made extensive use of surprise attacks be These attacks have been described by journalists and military figures as both Thunder Runs and other tactics such as life strike or reconnaissance in force. Furthermore, many of these attacks by Ukrainian forces did not involve large n Semantically speaking, these terms describe different things but have been l Alternatively, reconnaissance in force has been defined by the United States Army Command and General Staff College as a means for gathering information and influencing the enemy's capability to fight. The other interchangeable term for Thunder Run, light strike, has been defined by military reporter Tom Sables as punc Simply put, Thunder Run has come to mean many different t In Iraq, Thunder Runs were utilised as a means to avoid costly urban combat where the enemy would be overwhelmed by superior firepower before they could set up an effective defence. The Baghdad Thunder Runs in 2003 were well defined by the commanders who carried out the attacks. The overall commander of the invasion, General Tommy Franks, wrote in fact, my intent was to probe the enemy defences to see if any cohesive Republican Guard units had escaped into the city after the pounding they'd taken south of Baghdad. Colonel David Perkins commanded the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the US 3rd Infantry Division and directly planned the Baghdad Thunder Run. When issuing The two attacks had different goals. The 1st Thunder Run on the 5th of April was intended to probe Iraqi defences inside the capital and the armoured col The 2nd Assault was deceptively described by Perkins to The Baghdad Thunder Runs were successful. The 1st arrived at the airport mostly unscathed, w These attacks worked thanks to coalition air supremacy, superior American technology and effective leaders All of the skies was critical. American helicopters and ground attack aircraft suppressed Iraqi defences during the attack, which lessened the vol Furthermore, coalition aircraft scouted the main route ahead of the col The excellent quality of American armour gave ample protection and firepower to the soldiers running the gauntlet. However, decisively in t Leadership on the ground kept the col There were multiple occasions when the armoured col Despite the precarious situation, Colonel Perkins and Critical was the lack of quality and the old age of Iraqi infantry anti-tank weapons. Compare these actions in Iraq to the Russian attempted Thunder Runs during the Battle of Kiev in 2022, where the defending infantry had If we expand the definition of a Thunder Run to Ukraine's counter-offensive actions in 2023, we can see how t As mentioned earlier, the attacks by Ukraine in Harkiv did not involve large n T According to Carson Tusha's article, Ukraine's Thunder Runs, deception was an added bonus of these surprise assaults, w As such, tusha also notes that t Referencing the LRDG, he writes, most would have felt right at home with modern Ukrainian soldiers, firing RPGs from the back of haphazardly armoured 4x4s, lurc The American attacks into Baghdad, and Ukraine'stunning counter-offensive demonstrates perhaps the most important aspect of Thunder Runs, the immense psychological shock w However, there are drawbacks to Thunder Runs, w Over extension can endanger a successful Thunder Run w Resupply became a major issue following the second attack, when carved a path through Iraqi defences, US Army forces then had to fight intense battles to defend the fragile supply route into the capital. Although American forces held onto their positions, these costly battles demonstrated the danger of advancing too deep into enemy territory on such a narrow front. Launching a Thunder Run is also ass Perhaps the best example of a failed Thunder Run was the Russian assault in Grozny during the First Chechen War on New Year's Eve 1994. The Russian Army sought to quickly subdue the Chechen defences following a bloody two-week campaign to reach the separatist capital. Their plan was to send four armoured col The Russian Defence Minister, General Pavel Grachev, was so confident in success that he boasted he could seize the city with just one airborne regiment if he wanted. In many ways, the attacking force would strike into the heart of the enemy capital and cause the psychological collapse of the defenders. However, there were several elements working against the Russians w First, the poor winter weather removed a vital aspect of successful Thunder Run, as Russian aviation could not use precision weaponry to attack Chechen positions. Attack helicopters and combat air support were mostly unavailable, and thus unable to suppress enemy defences during the assault. Second, the Russian ground forces were incompetently led, poorly trained, and suffered from low morale. The main striking force for the attack was the 131st Mycop Motor Rifle Brigade, w Drunkenness was an epidemic that infected lower level commanders and NCOs, as most men opposed the war on principle. To make matters worse, orders from The situation was also far different for the defenders, especially compared to the 2003 Baghdad Thunder Runs. The Chechen soldiers defending Grozny were Whereas most Iraqi forces had been demoralised after weeks of fruitless fighting against the coalition, the Chechens fought with Another key difference was the command structure. The Chechens fought as independent groups rather than as an organised force. T Contrast t With communication nearly impossible, Saddam was unable to coordinate Chechens could also fight the Russians on relatively equal terms, considering that both sides were using standard Soviet equipment. The end result was one of the worst military defeats in modern Russian The Russian col The attackers found that their tanks could not elevate their turrets These confused battles soon turned into bloodbaths for the attackers, as most Russian tanks ran out of fuel and had to be abandoned. As a result, the infantry suffered an 80% casualty rate and many Russian conscripts wandered around the city aimlessly until they were taken prisoner. The 131st Maikop Brigade was completely destroyed, losing 864 men killed or captured out of the 1,000 men including almost all of the officers. Additionally, 20 of the 26 tanks and 102 of the 120 other armoured ve The failed assault on Grozny is the perfect example of how a thunderrun can go completely wrong. In conclusion, Thunderrun tactics can encompass many different military actions or definitions. There is no doubt these attacks can be immensely successful, We can also see how a poorly supported thunderrun, Regardless, the 2003 Thunderruns in Baghdad provided the climax for the coalition invasion of Iraq and demonstrated the usefulness of such aggressive tactics in modern warfare. Thanks to our amazing patrons whose generous support enables us to make these videos. Thank you to all our new patrons t Each week we choose our favourite Patreon comments to shout out. That's not always known ahead of time. 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