24th Alabama

“The death one man etc etc “

First appeared in Eric Maria Remarque’s “ Der Schwarz Obelisk” (1956)

It looks like Numenorian, one of Tolkien’s invented languages used to support his literary creation “Middle Earth”

It was the language of the island of Numenor, raised up by the Powers as a reward for those men (and women lol) who had fought against the Dark Lord Morgoth the original source of Evil (Sauron, the Lord of the Rings was only one of his servants) in Middle Earth

They were known colloquially as “the Men of the West”.

Favoured by the Powers and intermarried with immortal Elves, they were destroyed by the own pride, foolishly making war on Heaven and the island of Numenor disappeared into the sea in a huge cataclysm

Without looking it up (lol), I guess “Adunai” means “Man of the West”

“Númenórë was a Middle Power”

Not sure I agree here.

At the height of it’s power in the Second Age, not even Sauron could stand against it and he was taken in chains to the island. Sauron was an immensely powerful supernatural entity who at that time was, by far, the most powerful entity in Middle Earth – not sure a “Middle Power” could achieve this

Also the force mustered by the last king, the heretical Ar-Pharazon for the invasion of Heaven, or Valinor if you prefer lol, was greater than that of any previous expeditionary forces that the Sea Kings had mounted and compares only unfavourably with the host of Valinor led by Manwe during the War of Wrath, the final, victorious campaign against Morgoth.

Dearest ariadne two things can be true at the same time can they not?

The name “Adunia” as used here, with it’s little markers, circumflex accent etc is written in Aduniac script, a language invented by Tolkien and the term means “Man of the West”

I know nothing of Jewish gods because when I was very young I was told that “Israel is a jealous God” and decided straight away to limit my knowledge of such matters to that singular statement and I have been true to myself on this. Therefore I can’t comment on your theory apart from to say that the two words appear similar and I am sure I don’t need to tell that appearances can be deceptive and the deception can appear more than it is. Of course that doesn’t rule out”Adunia” knowing both, the Tolkien fact and the Jewish fact – in which case you might well be correct in your assertion regarding this commentator

You seem to know enough about these Jewish gods, indeed your erudition does you credit. The topic is somewhat arcane but we all have our little cross to bear don’t we? I myself could match you if we were talking Tolkien’s cosmogony. I abandoned knowledge of Jewish gods in favour of Tolkien’s lol, what’s your story?

ps a witty commentator called “ariadne” used to make me laugh on Larry Johnson’s blog a year or two ago – the only reason I kept reading it. I stopped reading it when Larry made it sign-in to comment

“It never ceases to amaze me how often some people pick on the fringe of a comment …”

This seems a little unfair – you asked a question concerning the origin of a name (rhetorically maybe) to which I knew the answer and I then provided it, no more no less. I read every comment closely, the interesting ones several times or more and I had followed your exchange with “Adunia” and felt the need to be helpful and here we are. It was clear you needed no assistance regarding the business at hand

As for Larry, the son of a new American revolution, yes you are right, it is unsatisfactory. There are gaps in the construct which minimally suggest inauthenticity. Just before I ceased my visits, he had an article with pictures of him and some Guatemalans pruning some vines, offering this as proof of what he had been “doing” in Guatemala. As I looked at the pictures, the ghosts of “the disappeared” howled in powerless fury inside my head and I felt sick

I watched Costa-Gravas’ “State of Siege” the other day, so it odd, maybe even portentous that you mention Mitrione, considering I am currently homeless lol. The scene in which Mitrione demonstrates his techniques to the assembled jefes and their aides is particularly striking – several ambiguous close ups of faces as we pan from the torture scene to the audience and back again. It brought to mind Stalin’s line about “the engineer of human souls” though of course he was speaking about writers not torturers. The closeup face shots made me think of the brain re-wiring taking place in real time in each viewer’s head as their brains processed the information that their eyes, ears and probably their noses was providing

The day before Larry introduced logging in, I was reading a thread there when someone started slagging off Lyndon LaRouche and Larry instantly stepped in saying “At least LaRouche had a program”. I pointed out to Larry that in the nineties Executive Intelligence Review, the LaRouche mag provided extensive coverage of the Paul Bonacci legal action. A court had ruled in favour of Bonacci “on the balance of probability” that he had been trafficked round the US to service powerful pdf files. Some of the allegations were pretty wild – sexual homicide, body fluids extravaganzas, all perpetrated on minors. One of the people involved named by Bonacci was George Bush senior who at that time was Larry’s boss at Langley being the director of the CIA. The next day when I went back you had to log in to comment lol

If there was any writing you were somewhat happy with, yea put a link up. Otherwise it is OK I believe everything lol

Most Soviet tanks didn’t have radios in 1941, only the command vehicle of each platoon. Tactical movement was coordinated by flags resulting in the whole platoon moving as a single unit. This tactical limitation was significant during Barbarossa, were most engagements were of a highly fluid and confused nature

These radios were AM based and had low transmission clarity and poor mechanical reliability. They compared very unfavourably with the relatively high quality FM radios fitted as standard in every German tank which allowed each tank to be an individual tactical element in any given engagement – a significant advantage over their Soviet opponents. The T-34/M40 came without a radio, the T-34/M41 was specified to have one but as often as not didn’t have one. It was only with the introduction of the T-34/M43 that these vehicles were guaranteed to have a radio. Most of the T-34’s and KV’s at the start of Barbarossa were radioless

Many Wehrmacht Generals stressed mobility over fire power when being interrogated after the war, particularly those who fought in the East and indeed I can think of many examples were a determined counter attack by a relatively small number of panzer, mobile AT or recon elements were able to achieve outsized results against much larger Soviet formations.

In Glantz’s “Operation Mars -Zhukov’s Greatest Defeat” he tells the story of Model’s subordinate General Harpe who assembled several ad hoc Kampfgruppes whose backbone were elements taken from high quality Wehrmacht mobile divisions. Though few in number these elite Kampgruppe were able to frustrate a huge Soviet force, which according to Glantz was at least the equal of the force assembled to attack at Stalingrad, many millions of soldiers, thousands of tanks and aircraft and artillery tubes. Harpe commented after the fighting, that these ad hoc formations were able to coordinate their counterattacks with great effectiveness due to being forced by repeated crises to become so practised at concentrating at just the right place – repetition equals success and the coordination requires high quality communications. The fighting took place around Rhezv and up the adjacent Luchesa Valley in late 42. These performances became more and more difficult to replicate by the Germans and after Kursk in summer 43 the Soviets had caught up tactically.

Is it significant that the Soviets achieved tactical parity around the same time as all of their tanks possessing radios?

To all who view Suvarov’s hypothesis favourably I offer some objections.

The vast Soviet tank fleet contained only two models that came with a radio, the KV1 and KV2, all the others were radioless. These radioless tanks were forced to move in small predetermined groups and command and control functions were exercised by the use of flags and/or motorcycle troops directed by a command tank which had a radio that was linked to higher headquarters – a fatal deficiency when confronted by an opponent who is wired for sound and fighting a “Lightning War” The KV models were slow and cumbersome and were physically demanding to drive. (The KV2 was withdrawn from production in short order due to these problems being considered insurmountable.) Radioless tanks don’t stand a chance against tanks equipped with radios (French tanks didn’t have radios, though tanks could communicate using a morse code transmitter. They achieved very little, if anything.) this is two different generations of warfare and the results are generally predictable. So there is no way the pre-June Soviet Army was striking the Germans who had fought several wildly different victorious campaigns before their seasoned veterans arriving at the western frontier of the USSR

The war against Finland revealed that the T-26 and BT-5 and BT-7 were fatally under-armoured. The BT models were designated an exploitation role in any Soviet offensive, they would have to operate deep inside enemy territory, often with little or no infantry support. So to see large numbers of these vehicles picked off by infantry using anti-tank rifles as happened in Finland in 1940 was to understand the main Soviet offensive tank was not fit for purpose indeed they would need infantry protection even to merely operate on the battlefield – the military high command knew they would need a new tank force to beat the Germans and building it would take time.

Suvarov mentions tanks being fitted with road wheels, maybe so but there is more. The tank he refers to is the BT-5, was developed from the “M1931” by JW Christie, an American design with advanced suspension, allowing for tracks or wheels. When the BT5 was upgraded in the late 1930’s to produce the BT-7, the road wheels feature was dispensed with. Odd design choice if you have long term plans to fight in Europe.

The Soviet Army was a mess in 1941. In the late 30’s Voroshilov was allowed to abolish both armoured and mechanised corps and suppress and harass members of the officer corps who were sympathetic to mobile warfare. Though both tank and mech corps were quickly reinstated, coupled with the disasters of 1941 the Soviet armoured arm needed two years at least to achieve tactical parity with the Germans, which I suggest came shortly after Kursk in 1943. Zhukov mentions in his memoirs that in the gruelling but ultimately successful Battle for Moscow campaign, new leaders began to emerge who understood mobile warfare, he mentions by name Katukov and Rokovossky, but there were more. As this group grew in number, it matched technical improvements in equipment and greater numbers of Soviet troops with more experience.

By the start of 1943 all Soviet tanks had radios and the German 6th Army was “in the bag” and two years hence or so the Soviets were in Berlin.

Apologies

In the above post I claim Soviet KV tanks didn’t have radios. This is incorrect, upon checking my notes I read all KV models came from the factory with a radio fitted as standard. All other Soviet tanks didn’t have radios when Barbarossa began so I think my point stands as regards the absence of radios in Soviet tanks considering the well known tactical limitations of the KV series, especially in it’s earliest iterations

“But before the war began I don’t think that anyone recognized the importance of that issue.”

At least two groups did, the War Departments of Germany and Britain, (or influential elements within these institutions)whose AFV’s had radios as a standard feature. In Guderian’s memoir he describes working on the first panzer design requirements project and saying he and his colleagues placed a radio in the basic requirements list, particularly a model which worked when the tank was moving, the year was 1932. Guderian also claims here they were envisioning, eventually, not just armoured divisions but armoured armies. He credits Hart, Fuller and Martel for the idea of an all—arms armoured formation, ie tanks,armoured infantry, armoured artillery etc. (At this point in the memoir he refers to the Wehrmacht’s sojourn into the USSR in 1925 as a result of the secret military cooperation agreement as work which “took place in a foreign country” lol)

Can you imagine these radioless BT-5’s and BT-7’s attempting deep exploitation operations through German lines and then on for one, two hundred miles into Europe, whilst being vulnerable to infantry equipped with anti-tank rifles? Thanks to Guderian, German infantry divisions had ample AT guns and lots of anti-tank rifles, which would make mincemeat out of the woefully armoured BT’s. If they attacked into German armour/mech formations their plight would have been considerably worse than attacking German infantry. Let us not forgot the close coordination with the Luftwaffe fostered by the Army. These Soviet tanks were very vulnerable to even 20mm cannon fire from aircraft.

I mentioned Operation Mars upthread, have a look at Glantz’s summary in his book. The balance of forces is extreme yet maybe 2,500,000 soldiers and many, many thousand AFV, aircraft, artillery tubes etc were stymied by tiny, ad hoc German mobile reaction forces “fire brigade units” counterattacking breakthrough after breakthrough – mobility over firepower. The aim of the operation was to destroy Army Group Centre and it was a complete failure, casualties were very high. This battle occurred in late 42, just before Stalingrad and the defeat was near total, attempting this sort of thing into Europe in 1941 would have been political and military suicide due to the scale of the disaster that would have ensued, the Army wasn’t ready

Kalkin-Gol was two 1930’s armies fighting.The IJA had radioless tanks too, they had a lot less tanks than Zhukov. His attack differed from “Blitzkrieg” in at least one respect, it was not an “all-arms” effort, necessarily due to the lack of communications equipment and doctrinal and material deficiencies in the Soviet Army. This was a bold armoured thrust of limited depth executed with high speed by fast tanks and armoured cars, vehicles that Zhukov had brought with him, accompanied by large air strikes and artillery barrages – combined arms it wasn’t nor was it deep exploitation. These techniques had already been mastered by the Germans upon the advent of Barbarossa. Zhukov’s victory was no paradigm shift nor was it any type of blueprint for defeating Russia’s enemies, especially the Germans. It was a one off, planned by a talented commander given special favour to make a point to the Kwantung Army, as the upcoming debacle in Finland clearly showed when the Red Army exhibited the true level of it’s organisational malaise and the full depth of it’s tactical ineptitude. It would take the Soviets two years to build an armoured/mech arm capable of competing with the Germans, only the demands of existential conflict fought against a genocidal enemy could bring this about

So if one allies with the Soviets one can say “Unique Nazi barbarism boo yah. Good old Uncle Joe”

If one allies with the Nazis one can say. “Remember the Mongols Hooray for the new Teutonic Knights”

This I believe is known as a “win/win”

I guess it is all about the optics lol

As one of the progenitors of the Wehrmacht, his ego was running wild in the East

Sacked and then appointed Commander of the Army

He went from “enfant terrible” to head of the military household, wearing two hats in a lost war – it shows in his memoir

The book left me with one image, the day when he bivouacked in Tolstoy’s house – oh the irony.

“Rode a tank, wore a General’s rank
When the Blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank”
Sympathy For The Devil

I saw once a leaflet apparently issued to Tiger crews called “Men of the Tiger”

It began with something like the following,

“Men of the Tiger, your fathers have spent 3,000,000 man hours making this tank”

“ too much corruption (as in every Muslim country, the same trademark as in communism)”

LOL you’re confused, you can’t see the wood for the trees

How would you classify Epstein’s plea deal in Florida in 2007? According to the lead investigator there were droves of young girls who had been abused/trafficked. He was stopped looking for more victims by his commanders even though he believed there were many more children involved. The investigation was stopped before it was completed.

If you wanna make a statement about “every Muslim country” and “communism”, fine we know we’re you stand – your partiality is pathetic.

If you wanna make a statement about “corruption” get it right or face scorn when you talk to adults

Have you not eyes to see or are you willfully blind?

I joined the partisans after watching it – best decision I’ve ever made

“ Vance seems intelligent, capable, and relatively non-interventionist.”

I’ll take your word for it

I don’t think his personal attributes are the issue.

I was under the impression that he is owned by Peter Thiel’s clique – if so he’s just a political tool of the oligarchy – same as Trump.

They both do what their told – remember Whitehouse maitre de Donald Trump pulling out Nuttyahoo’s chair?

Maybe because unveiling Trump’s indiscretions would lead to many consequences – starting with Clinton, Biden, Bush I and II, Obama etc. Who knows were this dance might end?

The Clintons attended Trump’s most recent wedding

These people are all mates and we are on the outside

“ If he can get access to such glamorous pussy why bother with the young stuff?”

I never said what the indiscretions might be, there is more to fucked-up human behaviour than raping kids – a lot more

I was under the impression that Trump has a “temper” problem.

Before he became a contender, in the days when Obama was mocking him at the National Press Club, I read an article that discussed his divorce from Ivanka. It showed excerpts from a police report generated by a complaint she had made concerning physical assault in, maybe 1991. She withdrew the complaint subsequently. The details I won’t repeat because the article has disappeared but her allegations were extreme, even for bitter domestic violence stuff and his behaviour as described by the injuries detailed in the report, were those of a extremely violent criminal psychopath.

Sure I could have been deceived. Somebody generating insurance in case Trump ever became a factor in the future, whatever. If these details had been recounted in national news, Trump would have been finished and I doubt if he could have appeared in public ever again.

This is the true power of media control. If one has it, one can re-order “reality” without effort. If one doesn’t have it even accessing “reality” ranges from being extremely difficult, to well nigh impossible.