German soldiers too fat to fight the Taliban .
on 12/04/2008 at 12:09 PM
Too much beer and bratwurst that’s the trouble! The German army is pretty good but their politicians are slime.
US forces are not allowed to drink
True...but…
I remember once, just once, we were issued two cans of beer each while at sea. It was a special occasion, I just don’t remember what it was. Could have been part of the ‘shellback’ ritual. (look up shellback on Wikipedia)
Not liking beer, I promptly sold my two cans to the highest bidders.
Pieper:
Obviously not made of the same stuff Otto Skorenzy commanded.
Actually, that would probably be a GOOD THING, all things considered (Stupid>Evil)
LyndonB:
The German army is pretty good
I wouldn’t go that far: they have, after all, lost several major wars to France.
In all due seriousness, guys, I would have to say that the German military is NOT looking good as of now, and the damage from two colossal World Wars and decades of separation is taking its toll. The Germans may have plenty of the newest equipment, but they lack both experience and high-quality command, from the NCOs up to the top.
Truth be told, if Germany were to do a present-day attempt at Operation 25 (German Invasion of Yugoslavia in WWII) if, say, the Serbs, Bosniaks, or Croats managed to conquer all of Yugoslavia, I would expect the Germans to be beaten badly.
Why? Because, say what you will about the Serbian, Bosnian, or Croatian forces in the Yugoslav wars, but perhaps the three things none of them ever lacked were soldiers, morale, and brutality (again, they were not exactly humanitarians), while Germany lacks all three.
While certainly a pleasant alternative when compared to the millions of greycoated Soldaten who fought both for the Kaiser and Fuhrer (and who damn near achieved global hegemony, I might add) the German military of today is easily a second or third rate power.
The fact is that the active strength of the entire Bundsheer is less then a quarter million, VERY small for a Western nation of its size and population, especially considering its history. Certainly, if Putin were to crush Poland and the Ukraine under the boots of his military before sending the brunt of the Russian military against them, they would certainly bolster their ranks via mass-conscription.
However, those new trainees would certainly suffer from low training and equipment, with possible morale issues. The fact remains that, by any measure, Germany’s most likely strategic foe, Putinist Russia (China is too far away, and the Islamists have no standing conventional army that has been openly committed yet) has a decisive edge over them in manpower, material, and- very crucially- experience. The two Chechen Wars were the meatgrinder that forced Moscow to confront the flaws that had been seeping into the Soviet doctrines that the Russians inherited since the Soviet military began to rest on its morals following its victory in the “Great Patriotic War”, its defeat in Stalin’s abortive attack on the West, and its small-scale crushing of things like the Hungarian Revolution and Prague Spring.
However, while the Chechens dealt Moscow several blood-soaked lemons, Putin was wise enough to remember how to make lemonade, put polonium in it, and send it right back to them. This bloody learning curve and its success are apparent from the near-total demolition of the Chechens, and from their swift victory over Georgia. In short, the Russians have a precious commodity much of the world lacks: actual, blood-on-the-ground combat experience.
Germany lacks that badly. In addition, it also lacks the national willpower to endure losses. While it is good that the bad old days of the Kaiser, Bismarck, and Hitler teaming up with the Militaristic aristocracy to turn out millions of men are gone, one sad by-product of this is Germany’s lack of stomach for military conflicts. You think the French were bad when 10 of their men were killed? The Germans are so sensitive on this issue that they never allow many of their units out of the barracks! And that is not a good sign, needless to say, about a nation’s ability to wage war.
Napoleon said that the Morale is to the Physical as 3 is to one, and Germany has shown that it is badly lacking it that department.
Posted by Turtler
12/04/2008 at 10:51 PM
The bottom line: the German military has long wanted to hang up its uniform, rifle, and bayonet and donate them to a museum in an attempt to bury the dark, bloody past that spanned the century between Bismarck and the fall of Berlin. And I can sympathize with that.
However, if it wants to survive, it must take that Bayonet off the shelf and get back into practice.
For, if it does not, the repercussions could be dire indeed, not only for Germany, but for the entire world.
Posted by Turtler
12/04/2008 at 10:52 PM
12/04/2008 at 07:38 PM
