World War Three

[Gaijin de Moscu]

I'm more worried about being stabbed or run over.

Honestly, same.

[Syt]

Hmmmm, GMT Next War: Ukraine. Hook it in with Next War: Poland.

Combat Mission Black Sea is available on Steam.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1502380/Combat_Mission_Black_Sea/

Combat Mission Black Sea is a military grade simulation depicting a fictional series of escalations between Russian and Ukraine which results in open conflict in the summer of 2017. As Russian forces move into Ukrainian territory the Ukrainians do their best to defend their country against a numerically and technologically superior adversary. Events surrounding the invasion cause NATO to send its advanced rapid deployment forces to check the Russian advance. A brutal scenario, for sure, but one which allows you to get a glimpse of what full spectrum contemporary near-peer tactical warfare is all about.

HIGHLIGHTS

At your command are detailed, highly researched American, Ukrainian, and Russian units from common brigade types such as Mech Infantry, Motor Rifle, Stryker, Armored, and more. All the capabilities one expects on the modern battlefield are included, such as Active Protection Systems (APS) swatting incoming threats, UAVs hovering around the battlefield transmitting valuable intel, and precision guided artillery munitions that find their mark in one shot. Well, as long as the enemy's electronic warfare attempts fail, otherwise you might find your finely tuned fighting machine isn't so finely tuned after all. Take all of this for a spin with four high-stakes campaigns, 22 standalone scenarios, and a plethora of Quick Battle maps to test your tactical acumen.

FEATURES

- Tactical warfare at battalion and below scale in a true 3D environment
- Command individual vehicles, teams, and squads
- Expansive simulation of "soft factors" such as Morale, Experience, and Leadership
- Innovative systems portraying Fog of War, Spotting, Line of Sight, Command & Control, and Objectives
- Unmatched realistic physics, ballistics, and battlefield effects
- Fight in a wide range of weather and lighting conditions, all of which realistically impact fighting abilities
- Unique hybrid system for RealTime or WeGo (turn based) play
- Full featured Editor for maps, scenarios, and campaigns
- Quick Battle system sets up deliberate or randomized battles based on player specifications
- Single player and head to head play, including Play By Email (PBEM)
- Supported for the long haul with patches, upgrades, and expansions

Which reminds me, Combat Mission: Shock Force was set in Syria, years before the civil war there. They really need to stop it with modern day scenarios. 

[The Brain]

SEX with HITLER is also available on Steam.

[Syt]

SEX with HITLER is also available on Steam.

So is Love with Kadyrov (that is Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Chechnya).

[The Brain]

SEX with HITLER is also available on Steam.

So is Love with Kadyrov (that is Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Chechnya).

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[Duque de Bragança]

SEX with HITLER is also available on Steam.

So is Love with Kadyrov (that is Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of Chechnya).

[mongers]

I'm a bit more nervous about this now, I could see Putin eventually launching a demonstration nuclear explosion, out to sea or a small tactical warhead on land.

Not WW3 yet, but certainly some risks.

[crazy canuck]

It will likely remain a regional conflict unless China intervenes.  Then it will be WWIII and we will all wish we had been survivalists.

[mongers]

It will likely remain a regional conflict unless China intervenes.  Then it will be WWIII and we will all wish we had been survivalists.

I wonder if all the posters on preper forums are creaming themselves in anticipation and 'I told you so'?

[Jacob]

I think the risk of a nuclear exchange is greater than WWIII.

I don't think Russia vs the West = a World War, unless at least China and possibly several other countries are involved as well.

But there's real risk that Putin kicks off a nuclear exchange in this.

[Josquius]

I think the risk of a nuclear exchange is greater than WWIII.

I don't think Russia vs the West = a World War, unless at least China and possibly several other countries are involved as well.

But there's real risk that Putin kicks off a nuclear exchange in this.

I think the scale of a nuclear exchange and it's effects would be big enough to far more qualify for the world war label than the other 2,even if it was purely US vs Russia.

[Jacob]

I guess, yeah.

[Barrister]

I'm a bit more nervous about this now, I could see Putin eventually launching a demonstration nuclear explosion, out to sea or a small tactical warhead on land.

Not WW3 yet, but certainly some risks.

What does that accomplish though?  We know he has nukes.

I mean given the poor performance of the Russian army it starts to call into question how well maintained their strategic forces are so maybe it proves that, but little else.

[Berkut]

Putin has nukes.

His ability to "win" any scenario after he presses the "USE NUKES" button is almost impossible to imagine.

I think there are questions about

A) Whether or how many of his people would follow such an order, 
B) How effective and capable his nuclear deterrent actually is from the standpoint of maintenance and readiness, and
C) How effective Western anti-nuclear capabilities are

The answers to these questions are not known, but they all trend towards the negative for Putin, and he cannot know the answers himself.

Now, this doesn't mean he won't try. Frankly, I think the outcome of the war in Ukraine was pretty predictable as well, and he did that anyway in the hopes that some silly assumptions about the Western and Ukrainian response would be true.

So I am not saying this as a "Don't worry, he would never try, because that would be dumb" sort of argument. I feel quite the opposite - history should teach us that autocrats do dumb things all the fucking time. 

But it does mean that the West has to be willing to call the bluff, and we can do so from a position of relative strength. I am not sure what the right way to message that is, but we should message it - that you can rattle your nuclear saber if you wish, but if it comes to a shooting war with nukes, we have zero doubt as to the outcome, and it will be very, very bad for Russia.

(Of course it will be very bad for everyone)

It is a weak bluff, and the Russians know it is a weak bluff. We should head it off decisively NOW, and just state straight out that the US and Europe will continue to try to de-escalate the conflict, and will not escalate ourselves, but that we are confident in the relative capabilities of our nuclear deterrents, and will not consider any threats about the possible use of nuclear weapons as credible.

[Barrister]

Yeah, I think Biden and the West need to be a little more explicit on the use of nuclear weapons or other WMDs: that their use in Ukraine will attract a proportionate NATO attack on Russian forces in or out of Russia.

Yes, it risks escalation, but Putin is the one who started it.