Re: bayonettes are too a useful device
From: "Phillip E. Pournelle" <pepourne@n...>
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 12:43:06 -0700
Subject: Re: bayonettes are too a useful device
At 05:59 AM 5/12/1998 -0500, John Atkinson wrote:
>You wrote:
>
>>Actually, Practical Wargamer included a set of rules for crowds and
>mobs in a >recent issue. It was a simple set of rules that spanned
>several eras. The way >they had it set up, it looked rather
>interesting. Putting a mob in the middle >of a two-way battle could be
>an interesting, if chaotic, game.
>
>Sounds cute--but how realistic? How often do crowds seriously resist
>troops trying to put them down?
In Somalia, where our troops were killed, the warlords used
large crowds
to shield their armed men. Adid planned to use the footage of
civillians
killed on CNN against us. The crowds knew what was going on and wanted
to
help Adid. Unfortunately, our administration does not understand that
kind
of loyalty and so their underestimation left our troops vulnerable...
Next
time we do something like that, bring in the tanks and the MICVs!
Gort, Klaatu barada nikto!