Comments on: The fatal decision can be 10 decisions back

By: Phileas_Frogg

Phileas_Frogg — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:21:43 +0000

Isegoria,

Ha! That’s hilarious since I also struggled with what to do with the Boer’s and black Africans. It actually consumed far more time/mental energy than it should have.

If I remember, my first solution, I ended up essentially kidnapping the women under the pretense of keeping them safe, while using any anticipated protestations about protecting their property to then call the matter settled: The Menfolk will remain at home to keep the farm safe, and the women will come to the camp with the youngest boy for their own protection.

As for the technical knowledge, that’s exactly the sort of gap that I had trouble with. I chose not to look up the answers at the time (I did afterward) to add a bit of challenge to it.

By: Isegoria

Isegoria — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 14:27:31 +0000

When I first read the Duffer’s Drift scenario and saw that the enemy had guns (field artillery), I immediately wondered, do I have to take the high ground?

A little research shows that the Krupps 7.5 cm field gun had a maximum range of 4,600 m, while the smaller pom-pom one-pounder had a similar maximum range. So, either piece could shell the drift from (3) Regret Table Mountain or (5) Incidentambia. It looks like riflemen could cover the way to the drift from the table mountain or the sugar-loaf, but they couldn’t cover the drift itself, or alternate approaches. It’s definitely not clear (yet) how one is expected — or allowed — to handle local Boer farmers or black Africans.

By: Isegoria

Isegoria — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 14:22:10 +0000

Major K.A. Nette of the Canadian Army wrote about The Rise, Fall, & Rebirth of the ‘Emma Gees’ — machine-gunners — in the style of The Defence of Duffer’s Drift, to explain proper tactics to a modern officer who hadn’t yet faced the “Fantasians” (Soviets). If Moses had been a machine-gunner, there would have been eight commandments instead of ten.

By: Isegoria

Isegoria — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 12:53:17 +0000

I discussed The Defence of Duffer’s Drift ten years ago and recommend looking at the scenario and then stepping through the first “dream,” its outcome, the second dream, the third dream, its outcome, the fourth dream, its outcome, the fifth dream, its outcome, the sixth dream, and its outcome.

By: Isegoria

Isegoria — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 12:42:54 +0000

I might have to pick up The Portable Pat Lang.

By: Phileas Frogg

Phileas Frogg — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 12:31:46 +0000

My brother in law bought me a copy of Duffer’s Drift a few years ago (He’s currently serving as a Major in the US Army and has a love affair with military theory and strategy in his off time and thought I’d like it).

I treated it as a game and went through and wrote out my own responses and decisions, with explanations, in each section before reading more. I realized that while I had good grasp of some fundamentals, and my strategy could have worked, I had too many gaps in my understanding of the technical limitations of the weaponry of the time to optimize my decisions. I was treating everything with my practical understanding of mid 20th century weaponry and tactics.

This made me start paying closer attention to the sort of warfare taking place in Ukraine and Yemen, which is even more alien in some ways.

The recommendations are appreciated.

By: Gaikokumaniakku

Gaikokumaniakku — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 05:52:14 +0000

Many years ago I (who have never been any kind of warfighter) tried to retrace classic old training manuals of warfare. Antal's books, including Armor Attacks were the first on my list. Others included: Message to Garcia Defence of Duffer's Drift Small Unit Leadership by Malone I got lost in the weeds when I tried to read more deeply, but I was quite impressed by Hackworth's books and website. William S. Lind commanded my attention for years, but the greatest teacher was W. "Pat" Lang, who sadly went to his eternal reward because he was given a faulty COVID shot some years ago.