Comments by "" (@death_parade) on "British Army takes the lead in Nato's new Allied Reaction Force" video.

@mikewinston8709 !? It is that bad!? I mean, sure, even we got issues with the spares in our Army, but its not as bad as only 1 out of 4 formations being combat capable. In fact, in our case, all Divisions in the Army will be deployed. I thought that was normal for a standing army. Only reserves should face a lack of spares so crippling that only 1 Div out of 4 are combat capable.
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If you can't win in the air, you can't win on the ground, but vice versa is NOT true. Just because A victory in the air doesn't guarantee a victory on the ground.
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I believe only Canadian and Australian Armies are down to One Division apiece. British Army, from what I remember when I studied their orbat, does have Two standing Divisions. Although one of them is a rapid response force, the other is still an active combat division. No?
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@mattgosling2657 Usually, four combat brigades (one being an artillery brigade). And each brigade has three combat units/battalions/regiments. And various combat support arms (Army AD, Signals, Engineers, etc) units are allocated. In addition, it might have other assets at the division level depending on the tasking of the formation. For example, in the Indian Army, each Infantry Division does indeed have three infantry brigades and one artillery brigade, but they almost always also have an Armoured Regiment of around 52 tanks permanently allocated to each Infantry Division HQ. Another example is how Mountain Divisions under III Corps. IV Corps and XXXIII Corps have at least brigade-sized Paramilitary units assigned to each Division. And then, on top of all this, depending on a specific operational need, higher HQ like Corps or Command levels can temporarily attach detachments drawn from formations like an Independent Armoured Brigade or Independent Engineer Brigade (usually found at Corps level) or any number of Arty or Army AD assets (drawn from the Corps Artillery Brigade or Corps AD Brigade) to fulfill an assigned objective. All in all, there are around 10,000 to 15,000 combat troops plus additional troops (around 8000 or so) from combat support arms and service arms bringing up the total to at least 18,000 troops per DIvision, if not more.
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@mattgosling2657 Usually, four combat brigades (one out of the four being an artillery brigade). And each brigade has three combat units/battalions/regiments. And various combat support arms (Army AD, Signals, Engineers, etc) units are allocated. In addition, it might have other assets at the division level depending on the tasking of the formation. For example, in the Indian Army, each Infantry Division does indeed have three infantry brigades and one artillery brigade, but they almost always also have an Armoured Regiment of around 52 tanks permanently allocated to each Infantry Division HQ. And then, on top of all this, depending on a specific operational need, higher HQ like Corps or Command levels can temporarily attach detachments drawn from formations like an Independent Armoured Brigade or Independent Engineer Brigade (usually found at Corps level) or any number of Arty or Army AD assets (drawn from the Corps Artillery Brigade or Corps AD Brigade) to fulfill an assigned objective. All in all, there are around 10,000 to 15,000 combat troops plus additional troops (around 8000 or so) from combat support arms and service arms bringing up the total to at least 18,000 troops per DIvision, if not more.
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@mikewinston8709 One Division usually has:- from Combat Arms:- 3 Brigades of Infantry/Mechanized/Armoured type 1 Artillery Brigade 1 Recce and Support Battalion (only in Armoured or Mechanized Divisions usually) 1 Armoured Regiment (only in Infantry Divisions usually) from Combat Support Arms:- Regiment/Brigade sized formations of Army Air Defence, Signals and Engineers. from Service Arms:- various units of Army Supply Corps, Corps of Electric and Mechanical Engineers, Ordnance Corps and Medical Corps. The above totals to around 10,000-15,000 combat troops + 8000 support troops (rough count for an Infantry Division). In addition, a Division maybe reinforced by units or formations of virtually any type under command of a higher formation HQ (such as Corps HQ or Army HQ or even High Command itself). The main fighting is done by the 3 Combat Brigades of Infantry/Mechanized/Armoured type. Everything else supports their efforts. And even in this, the usual pattern for a Div Commander is to assign objectives to two out of the three Combat Brigades and to hold the third Combat Brigade as an operational reserve, to be moved in reaction to opportunities or threats that arise due to action by our first two brigades or the enemy's forces.
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Disagree. Light Infantry, especially these days, has more than enough combat power. If you can get troops there in time, it can be the difference between winning or losing a war. Case in point: 1948 Kashmir war, India stopped the Pakistani invasion cold in its tracks only through rapid response forces that were flown into theater. Today India holds 2/3rds of the erstwhile Princely State of J&K because of that rapid response. Had Indian troops even been one week late, the Pakistanis would have taken Kashmir's capital and thus the entire land, ensuring a surrender of the Maharaja of Kashmir on Pakistan's terms and thus a permanent loss of territory. Not just the war, we'd have lost the high ground wherefrom many of our rivers originate. Getting there "first" has a LOT of merit.
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@whya2ndaccount Drones have rendered the battlefield transparent. If you can get your British QRF, even if it is only light-skinned vehicles and infantry, into a built-up urban area, and provide them with adequate air and artillery support, they can blunt a Russian combined arms offensive. As for "CBRN fun", that is a whole another kettle of fish that Russians haven't poured even against a non-Nuclear Ukraine. And if it does escalate to that level between NATO and Russia, I'd imagine losing your QRF should be the least of your concerns. CRBN fun will be had by placing a LOT more important chips on the betting table, if it ever kicks off that is.
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