Know Your WW1 Weapon’s History: The Flammenwerfer

January 20, 2023 by The Tactical Hermit in Firearms History, Historical Study, History of Weapons, History Remembered, History Roundup, Know your History, Know Your Weapons, Military History, Military News, Military Weapons from the Past, Military Weapons History, Strategy, Studies in Warfare, Tactics, Tales from the Battlefield, Tank Warfare, Warfare, Weapons & Ammo, World War I History, WW1 Era Weapons and tagged Battlefield Tactics, Flamethrowers in WW1, Flammenwerfer, German Weapons in WW1, Historical Study, Know your History, Strategy, Tactics, Warfare, Weapons History, WW1 History

Flammenwefer — World War I German Flamethrowers

It appears the first flamethrower of modern design was patented in Germany by Richard Fiedler in 1901. During the same year, the German army funded his continued work on flamethrower designs. Fiedler, a private citizen, designed several flamethrowers models and presented a working product to the German army in 1905. Based on the feedback he received, two versions of the flammenwerfer were delivered to the army in 1908.

Around the same time, a multi-talented man by the name of Bernhard Reddemann began his own experiments in designing flamethrowers. Reddeman was an officer in a German Pioneer battalion until 1903. At that time, he transitioned to a reserve officer and stayed in a Pioneer unit. Pioneers were specialist troops frequently responsible for the demolition of fortifications, engineering strong points and using specialized weapons.

Why Russian Tanks Explode When Hit

January 8, 2023 by The Tactical Hermit in Military History, Military News, Military Tech, Military Weapons History, Russia, Russian Corner, Soviet Military history, Tank Warfare, War Machines, Warfare, Warrior Tech, Weapons & Ammo and tagged Military History, Russian Corner, Russian Military History, Tank Warfare, Tanks, Warrior Tech

History and War

Russian tanks used in modern conflicts have had very bad tendency of suffering catastrophic explosions. When penetrated into the magazine (“ammoracked” for gamers), Russian designs (particularly T-72 and its derivatives) tend to be violently relieved of their turret, which can fly off even some dozens of meters away.

The reason for this tendency towards turret throwing championship is their design decision – but not the one that is typically blamed for it.

Usual answer for why Russian tanks tend to explode is their use of the autoloader. Decision for using the autoloader is a logical one for the Soviet tank doctrine. It makes the tank much smaller, especially the turret – T-72 is almost a foot shorter than the M1 Abrams, allowing it to take cover more easily. Smaller profile also helps make the tank more mobile, as the same amount of armor can be had at the lower…

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The Minuteman’s Guide to Countering Armored Vehicles (For Educational Purposes Only)

October 27, 2022 by The Tactical Hermit in 4GW, Another Reason to Be Armed, Armed Citizen Corner, Asymmetrical Warfare, Cartel Corner, Cartel Corner History, Cartel Tactics, Citizen Action Groups, Civilian Operator 101, Cold War Era Weapons, Cold War History, Counter-Insurgency, Examining GW Tactics, Examining Terrorist Tactics, explosives, Fighting in and Around Vehicles, Fourth Gen Warfare, Future Warfare, Guerilla Warfare, Guerilla Warfare History, History of Weapons, Hybrid Warfare, ISIS, ISIS Corner, Know Your Enemy, Know Your Weapons, Learning from Terrorist Tactics, Military History, Military Tech, Military Weapons from the Past, Military Weapons History, Modern War, Practical Skill Sets, Practical Solutions to Serious Problems, Reality Check, Reference Materials, Russia, Russian Corner, Small Unit Tactics, Soviet History, Soviet Military history, Studies in Warfare, Tactics, Tales from the Battlefield, Tank Warfare, Technology, Tradecraft, Ukraine Civil War, Urban Skill Sets, Urban Warfare, Vehicles as Weapons, War Machines, Warfare, Warrior Tech, WRSA and tagged Armored Vehicles, Asymmetrical Warfare, CO 101, Countering Armored Threats, Guerilla Warfare, Minuteman's Guide, Partisan's Field Guide, Small Unit Tactics, Tanks, Vehicles as Weapons, Von Steuben Training

The Minuteman’s Guide to Countering Armored Vehicles

Since the first tanks and armored cars appeared on the battlefields of WWI Europe, infantrymen have been forced to find ways to deal with them. The modern minuteman is no different, and any prolonged civil conflict in the United States is bound to see armored vehicles used in one form or another. I’m not even talking about fighting a professional military, partisan groups and gangs/cartels have ways of getting or making armored vehicles for use in a prolonged period of conflict/disorder. Some examples are below;

In 2020 alone, there were at least two police MRAPs and one National Guard humvee stolen in California during the rioting. The humvee and one MRAP have since been recovered.

Mexican Cartels such as the CJNG frequently weld makeshift armored plating onto trucks and install turrets onto them. They call these vehicles “monstruos”, meaning “monsters.”

Private ownership of military surplus armored vehicles is perfectly legal as long as the weapons are disabled or removed. For about the same price as a new car you can own an OT-64 SKOT (Polish wheeled amphibious APC). For much less you can buy a surplus humvee. There are many such vehicles in the hands of private citizens for collecting, war re-enacting, etc.

I predict that in a prolonged civil conflict, WROL scenario, etc, it will only take a few weeks before people with access to these vehicles start to roll them out for whatever purpose. For this reason and the hypothetical Chinese invasion, any serious minuteman should be thinking about how to deal with armored vehicles. In this article I will cover the types of armored vehicles, the threat they pose, and how you can fight them or mitigate their effectiveness.

The Tank is not Obsolete and Other Observations about the Future of Combat

September 16, 2022 by The Tactical Hermit in Military Defense News, Military History, Military News, Military Tech, Modern War, Russia, Russian Corner, Strategy, Studies in Warfare, Tactics, Tales from the Battlefield, Tank Warfare, Warfare, Warrior Tech and tagged Asymetrical Warfare, Modern Warfare, Russia, Strategy, Tales from the Battlefield, Tank Warfare, Ukraine, War on the Rocks

The Tank is not Obsolete and Other Observations about the Future of Combat

“The available data from Ukraine, as well as the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh, indicate that tanks are still critical in modern warfare and their vulnerabilities have been exaggerated. Russia’s heavy tank losses can be explained by employment mistakes, poor planning and preparation, insufficient infantry support, and Ukrainian artillery. The use of Javelins and other light anti-tank systems in Ukraine has not demonstrated that the tank is obsolete any more than the Sagger anti-tank guided missile did in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, as discussed by David Johnson in these pages.”