Our favorite logistics expert tells Ukraine to aim at the locomotives.

[Tomconroy]

Link to tweet

Medium thread.

[patphil]

1. Yes, the trains are a weak point in the resupply process.

Take out the locomotives, bridges, and tunnels. You can even go outside Ukraine and attack the rail lines in Russia.
Russia already has a resupply problem. Making it harder to resupply will blunt their war effort.
The same can be done with road bridges.

[brush]

2. Oh, they meant the locomotives inside Russia. I was wondering...

as if the Russian army is running trains in Ukraine. The Ukrainian's who've knocked out convoys and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles would never have allowed Russian trains to roll in their country.

[Tomconroy]

3. Donbas. Occupied Ukraine.

[patphil]

4. I'm sure they Ukrainian army has already considered this.

I don't think they'll make much of a distinction between in Ukraine or in Russia.
But they might not want to destroy the infrastructure within Ukraine.
Locomotives do make easy target though...like tanks that can't move sideways or shoot back.

[brush]

5. I'm saying Russian trains aren't operating in any part of Ukraine...

except maybe the east that Russia has just about annexed. It's not a matter of destroying infrastructure because Russian trains aren't rolling in the Ukrainian controlled areas.

I mean what railroad engineer would roll a sitting duck target like a train in Ukraine after what Ukrainians have done to Russian tanks, vehicles that aren't on tracks and maneuver and shoot back. That wouldn't be smart at all.

I don't think even the Russian generals would order that.

[patphil]

6. The infrastructure I/m talking about is in Russia.

[brush]

8. Ok, that makes sense.

[Igel]

17. Railways aren't that hard to repair.

https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-10-22/h_6854d6b32a5e8a1376b1fbdcaa75cd58

I assume the Ukrainians know this. Whether or not the Ukr forces have the appropriate weapons--different story.

[msongs]

7. havent heard much about russia attacking ukraine rail systems nt

[EX500rider]

20. Hard target it seems:

Like most nations that once belonged to the former Soviet Union, Ukraine depends more on railways than highways for moving people and freight. Russia tried to shut down the Ukrainian railways with air and long-range missile attacks, but the internal railway system is so dense, and track repair capabilities so expanded, that track damage is rapidly fixed and there are usually ways to reroute traffic until repairs are completed. Ukraine has 22,300 kilometers of railway and employs over 400,000 people to operate nearly 2,000 locomotives, 85,000 freight and 4,000 passenger cars.

https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htlog/articles/20220328.aspx

[lagomorph777]

24. Probably because they are using them.

And if Ukraine destroys rail lines inside Russia, it's a win-win!

[uponit7771]

9. K&R, Russia never developed and "offense" doctrine for their military so their "defense" ...

... doctrine depended on rail lines for logistics and support but they're INSIDE Russia not outside.

Russian rail is like US highway which is fairly overdeveloped relative to other countries.

The further supplies get away from the railways the worse off RA logistics work for large scale engagements.

Fighting terrorist on the back of pick up trucks?

Easy peasy, fighting the US with road based logistics? not so much

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Life imitates art.

The Train (2/10) Movie CLIP - Allied Bombing Raid (1964) HD
1,894,327 views Jul 16, 2013

Movieclips
56.5M subscribers

The Train movie clips: http://j.mp/1BcPcR0
BUY THE MOVIE: http://j.mp/1bq3eT6
Don't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6pr

CLIP DESCRIPTION:
Labiche (Burt Lancaster) tries to warn Papa Boule (Michel Simon) about the imminent bombing of the rail yard by Allied forces.

FILM DESCRIPTION:
John Frankenheimer directs Burt Lancaster in the tense spy thriller The Train. Lancaster plays Labiche, a French railway inspector. Allied forces are threatening to liberate Paris, so Col. Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) is ordered to move the priceless works of art from the Jeu de Paume Museum to the fatherland. The head of the museum (Suzanne Flon) attempts to convince Labiche that he should sabotage the train on which they are transporting the art. Labiche is more focused on destroying a trainload of German weapons. After his friend is killed trying to stop the train with the art, and after a consciousness-raising conversation with a hotel owner (Jeanne Moreau), Labiche resolves to save the antiquities. Lancaster and Frankenheimer had worked together previously on both Birdman of Alcatraz and Seven Days in May.

CREDITS:
TM & © MGM (1964)
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Michel Simon, Howard Vernon
Directors: John Frankenheimer, Arthur Penn
Producers: Jules Bricken, Bernard Farrel
Screenwriters: Franklin Coen, Howard Dimsdale, Nedrick Young, Frank Davis, Rose Valland, Walter Bernstein, Albert Husson

WHO ARE WE?
The MOVIECLIPS channel is the largest collection of licensed movie clips on the web. Here you will find unforgettable moments, scenes and lines from all your favorite films. Made by movie fans, for movie fans.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MOVIE CHANNELS:
MOVIECLIPS: http://bit.ly/1u2yaWd
ComingSoon: http://bit.ly/1DVpgtR
Indie & Film Festivals: http://bit.ly/1wbkfYg
Hero Central: http://bit.ly/1AMUZwv
Extras: http://bit.ly/1u431fr
Classic Trailers: http://bit.ly/1u43jDe
Pop-Up Trailers: http://bit.ly/1z7EtZR
Movie News: http://bit.ly/1C3Ncd2
Movie Games: http://bit.ly/1ygDV13
Fandango: http://bit.ly/1Bl79ye
Fandango FrontRunners: http://bit.ly/1CggQfC

HIT US UP:
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1y8M8ax
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/14wL9De
Tumblr: http://bit.ly/1vUwhH7

[tinymontgomery]

14. That is a really good movie. n/t

[Martin68]

11. I read that the Russians need to be within 100 miles of a train station to keep themselves supplied.

That was one reason they ran out of gas and food when they tried to take Kyiv by roads. When their attempt to hold the airport there failed, they were up shit creek without a paddle.

[Chuuku Davis]

12. But we are only sending 10

of the 600s
I don't understand, can someone explain that number?

[Tomconroy]

16. The comments suggest 100 were sent and that the 600 is a system that can each launch 10 missiles.

[Chuuku Davis]

18. Ten launcers were sent.

They can each launch 10 missiles for a total of 100 missiles.
That is not much.

[Tomconroy]

22. Apparently it is 100 switchblades, 10 of which are 600s.

Link to tweet

[TomSlick]

13. Ukraine should hit any part of the Russian logistics chain in range of available weapons.

Russian logistics have been dreadful from the beginning. Anything that can be done to further diminish the logistical system would be great.

[BobTheSubgenius]

15. I can't remember if I've mentioned this before, but...

... comparatively cheap .50 rifle (compared to a whole weapons system), like a Barrett, for example, firing an also comparatively cheap ($100 to the general public) armour piercing round into the engine block of a transport truck will turn the truck into more of a roadblock, or a speed bump for tanks.

I don't know why I've no heard a whisper about these being used on the battlefield. A Cdn. sniper made a kill shot with a Barrett at 3480 meters a few years ago.

[Chuuku Davis]

19. There are a lot of 50s in use over there.

And AP rounds are about $5.

But the Canadian was using a 50 BMG or a .338 Lapua depending on source and not a Barrett but a McMillan rifle.
He is actually in Ukraine right now by some reports.

[EX500rider]

21. McMillian TAC50 I think.

For example, in May 2017 another sniper distance record was set when a Canadian sniper in Iraq killed an ISIL fighter at a distance of 3,540 meters using a TAC50 12.7mm sniper rifle. There was a certain amount of luck in a shot that far because the 12.7mm sniper rifle was designed to be reliable accurate at up to 2,500 meters. Anything beyond that depends on a high degree of skill and experience, and a certain amount of luck.

https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htweap/20210328.aspx

[BobTheSubgenius]

23. You're completely correct.

I had checked the overall accuracy of the report, and while the distance was incredible, it was accurate. The make of the rifle was not mentioned in the article, so I made an assumption. I know, I know.

In the same Wiki, I also found read about the price of the rounds, and I have no way of reconciling the discrepancies. I had to see this for myself, in as much as possible, so I watched a couple of YT videos. In one, the shooter drilled holes through a piece of railroad track, which was pretty impressive.

There were plenty of citations of various rounds costing $70 and up, but there are also cites I'd never seen before that confirmed the $5 amount. The costs cited are so far apart, and it makes me wonder why anyone would claim they'd spent that kind of money to buy a few rounds.

[Chuuku Davis]

25. Armor piercing 50 BMG costs $3.00-$4.50 per round on the civ market.

50 BMG Raufoss costs about $80-$120 on the civ market. I have some as collector items.
.gov pays $11 I have heard.

I am one of those loons with some .50 BMG rifles but I mainly reload mine.

[BobTheSubgenius]

26. That is QUITE the range in pricing.

Thanks for the info! I'll reserve my opinion on the "loon" part until I hear of you shooting up a mall, or perhaps something armoured, if that's your preference.