jimp%sequent.uucp@RELAY.CS.NET (James Pilcher) (02/06/91)
From: James Pilcher <jimp%sequent.uucp@RELAY.CS.NET> i have a couple of questions. 1) after the battle of khafji, a ten-mile long convoy of tanks, troop transports and vehicles was reported headed towards khafji. last i heard, it was stopped dead at the border, by our air power. is this not a unique event in military history? 2) is that particular battle still raging? how many tanks were taken out? thanks, jimp
roger@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Roger Safian) (02/07/91)
From: roger@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Roger Safian) In article <1991Feb6.031914.21019@cbnews.att.com> jimp%sequent.uucp@RELAY.CS.NET (James Pilcher) writes: >1) after the battle of khafji, a ten-mile long convoy of >tanks, troop transports and vehicles was reported headed >towards khafji. last i heard, it was stopped dead at the border, >by our air power. is this not a unique event in military >history? This is far from unique. It was a regular event in WW II and Korea. I don't have any references in front of me, but I do know that some German divisions arrived in Normandy with a severly reduced effective strength due to our airpower. Not to mention how much they were delayed. I seem to recall that either the 12th or 17th SS took a terrible pasting on the way to Normandy. Also take a look at the damage we did to the North Korean's as they tried to flee after the Inchon(sp) invasion. There are plenty of other examples, but perhaps we should move this to Soc.History. Roger [mod.note: It's OK here, so long as it remains addressing the technical question of airpower versus columns and doesn't digress into pure history. - Bill ]
major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) (02/07/91)
From: bcstec!shuksan!major@uunet.UU.NET (Mike Schmitt) > From: James Pilcher <jimp%sequent.uucp@RELAY.CS.NET> > 1) after the battle of khafji, a ten-mile long convoy of > tanks, troop transports and vehicles was reported headed > towards khafji. last i heard, it was stopped dead at the border, > by our air power. is this not a unique event in military > history? First, consider the fact that a battalion-size force conducting a tactical road march or movement to contact will have a column extending 25 kilometers. The 'standard' tactical distance between vehicles is about 50 meters on the march (though things do tend to bunch up a bit). Therefore, a "10 mile convoy" really wouldn't be that much. I would not think stopping a convoy by air is all that unique. I don't have any specific examples off hand. Depeding on the terrain and road network - a convoy could be stopped by destroying the first tank, destroying a key bridge, cratering the road, mining the road - all sorts of ways. Lot's of "convoys" were "stopped" by air along the Ho Chi Minh highway network - mainly with AC-130 gunships. mts