"The fact that President Trump's enemies don't understand him is a good thing."
"People still don't get why Trump does what he does. Let me illustrate, using the largest flamethrower attack in history.
In World War I, the Germans and Austrians tried seven times to take the Russian position at Skrobowa. All seven attacks failed. Horrendous hand-to-hand combat took place, killing thousands.
This is one assault at Skrobowa, as illustrated by a German war artist. He was there. The Germans are on the right.
(4) This is one assault at Skrobowa, as illustrated by a German war artist. He was there. The Germans are on the right. pic.twitter.com/Q9D4Q8B9l0— Thomas Wictor (@ThomasWictor) August 1, 2017
Finally the Germans called in Major Bernhard Reddemann, commander of the flamethrower regiment. He asked to be flown over the position, which was a series of concrete forts and bunkers. Each fort and bunker had as many as a dozen machine guns. The Russians engineered the position to have interlocking fields of fire. The installations were made of reinforced concrete that withstood all artillery rounds.
So Reddemann created a new tactic.
The assault would require twenty-four large, static flamethrowers, which were secretly emplaced over a period of days. The assault itself would be carried out by flame shock troops. Each flame shock troop had 12 small-flamethrower squads. They used the Model 1914, 1915, 1916, and the French Schilt No. 3.
Each flame shock troop had 12 hand-grenade squads. They carried the grenades in bags on their chests. Each flame shock troop had 20 light machine gunners. The rest of the men were armed with automatic rifles and pistols. When the 24 large flamethrowers were fired, 12 flame shock troops ran across one kilometer of open ground.
This is ONE large flamethrower. Multiply that smoke by 24.
Under the cover of the smoke, the flame shock troops advanced in single file. Reddemann called this the "Knife Tactic" because it would cut the enemy position into "quivering chunks."
The Russians were so confident in their fortresses that they hadn't put up barbed wire. The 12 flame shock troops raced through the Russian front line, unleashing devastating automatic fire on the run.
The Germans had BUILT A FULL-SCALE MODEL of the Russian position and had rehearsed the attack for weeks.
These are photos of the rehearsal.
Russian intelligence had determined that the Germans would use flamethrowers, so they warned their men. The warnings only SCARED the Russians, many of whom surrendered immediately.
The 12 flame shock troops ran as fast they could to the Russian rear. Behind the flame shock troops came "cleanup crews" of flamethrowers and grenadiers. The cleanup crews were followed by specially trained infantry shock troops and then six battalions of regular infantry.
The flame shock troops used their flamethrowers on the fortresses, which caused the Russians to instantly give up.
Overhead, German intelligence officers in aircraft communicated by radio to Reddemann, who had a giant map with movable soldiers on it. Reddemann directed the battle from behind his own lines. His fresh orders were dropped by message streamers to the troops below. The flame shock troops took the Russian position at Skrobowa in 45 minutes, suffering 16 men killed in action.
Reddemann had invented multiple new ways of fighting, on the spot. By completely throwing out the old ways of doing things, Reddemann not only won, he saved thousands of lives.
Careful planning, reconnaissance, speed, surprise, unpredictability, and inventiveness: Sound familiar?
Altogether the Germans used 244 flamethrowers. No other armed force has ever used so many in a single battle. The Germans also ran to REAR of the Russian position, turned around, and then attacked forward.
You can still see the remains of the Russian forts a century later.
Bernhard Reddemann is still totally misunderstood. His ideas were so radical that even today, historians can't grasp his thinking. Virtually nobody understands that the flamethrower was a psychological weapon that made people surrender without a fight.
My guess is that most people will never understand @realDonaldTrump.
The assault would require twenty-four large, static flamethrowers, which were secretly emplaced over a period of days. The assault itself would be carried out by flame shock troops. Each flame shock troop had 12 small-flamethrower squads. They used the Model 1914, 1915, 1916, and the French Schilt No. 3.
Each flame shock troop had 12 hand-grenade squads. They carried the grenades in bags on their chests. Each flame shock troop had 20 light machine gunners. The rest of the men were armed with automatic rifles and pistols. When the 24 large flamethrowers were fired, 12 flame shock troops ran across one kilometer of open ground.
This is ONE large flamethrower. Multiply that smoke by 24.
(16) This is ONE large flamethrower. Multiply that smoke by 24. pic.twitter.com/czCinCX1bw— Thomas Wictor (@ThomasWictor) August 1, 2017
Under the cover of the smoke, the flame shock troops advanced in single file. Reddemann called this the "Knife Tactic" because it would cut the enemy position into "quivering chunks."
The Russians were so confident in their fortresses that they hadn't put up barbed wire. The 12 flame shock troops raced through the Russian front line, unleashing devastating automatic fire on the run.
The Germans had BUILT A FULL-SCALE MODEL of the Russian position and had rehearsed the attack for weeks.
These are photos of the rehearsal.
(22) These are photos of the rehearsal. pic.twitter.com/DKcDHi1oRq— Thomas Wictor (@ThomasWictor) August 1, 2017
Russian intelligence had determined that the Germans would use flamethrowers, so they warned their men. The warnings only SCARED the Russians, many of whom surrendered immediately.
The 12 flame shock troops ran as fast they could to the Russian rear. Behind the flame shock troops came "cleanup crews" of flamethrowers and grenadiers. The cleanup crews were followed by specially trained infantry shock troops and then six battalions of regular infantry.
The flame shock troops used their flamethrowers on the fortresses, which caused the Russians to instantly give up.
Overhead, German intelligence officers in aircraft communicated by radio to Reddemann, who had a giant map with movable soldiers on it. Reddemann directed the battle from behind his own lines. His fresh orders were dropped by message streamers to the troops below. The flame shock troops took the Russian position at Skrobowa in 45 minutes, suffering 16 men killed in action.
Reddemann had invented multiple new ways of fighting, on the spot. By completely throwing out the old ways of doing things, Reddemann not only won, he saved thousands of lives.
Careful planning, reconnaissance, speed, surprise, unpredictability, and inventiveness: Sound familiar?
Altogether the Germans used 244 flamethrowers. No other armed force has ever used so many in a single battle. The Germans also ran to REAR of the Russian position, turned around, and then attacked forward.
You can still see the remains of the Russian forts a century later.
(37) You can still see the remains of the Russian forts a century later. pic.twitter.com/EQZ1UvLLOw— Thomas Wictor (@ThomasWictor) August 1, 2017
Bernhard Reddemann is still totally misunderstood. His ideas were so radical that even today, historians can't grasp his thinking. Virtually nobody understands that the flamethrower was a psychological weapon that made people surrender without a fight.
My guess is that most people will never understand @realDonaldTrump.
But I do.
Like Bernhard Reddemann, Trump can always find a way to win. That's why I'm totally confident.
The fact that so few people understand is actually a good thing."
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You can find Thomas Wictor's original twitter chain here:
https://twitter.com/ThomasWictor/status/892276347090853888
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