 |
| |
|
|
Ted Striker
|
 |
United States of America
Jan 1970
time: 21:34
|
|
Alright, if you had to pick one squad that you think was the best defenders of all time, who would you pick, and why? Most of these are from the modern era, but some of them from ancient times.
1. Byzantines at Constantinople - Considered the greatest of its day, this walled city was also protected by water on most of its sides. The city withstood repeated seiges for hundreds of years until the punk azz Italians sold them out. The Byzantines weren't the best fighters, as they had German mercenaries do most of the dirty work, but Contantinople was one of the best defended cities ever.
2. The Germanic tribes against Rome - The Romans made several invasions against the Germans but rarley succeeded in getting past the Rhine. In my opinion Germans are probably the best fighters ever, combining speed, intelligence, tactics, and an insane amount of stubborness. These Germanic tribes stopped the greatest empire of all time.
3. The Persians against the Romans - the ancient Cold War, many smaller countries like Armenia unfortunatley got caught in the cross fire and suffered. The Romans could never break the back of Persia, even through several well coordinated attempts.
4. The Soviets at Stalingrad - The city was reduced to rubble and the Germans sent their best units after the Red Army. A breakthrough by Germany would have meant a psychological defeat for Stalin but the Russians held on, sending tanks out of factories and directly onto the front line. Stalingrad is a city of legends, ranking up there with Constantinople. Countless Soviets gave their lives up in brutal urban warfare. Retreat wasn't an option. It could be argued that Stalingrad tipped the balance of the Eastern Front into the eventual Soviet victory.
5. The Vietcong versus USA - Of course some of you will vote for them to spite us Americans. But it can be said that Vietcong were extremely strong willed defenders, resisting 3 different global powerhouses and resisting them well. The Vietcong were well supplied by both Communist China and Russia, it was often said that Hanoi was the most dangerous place to fly in the world at the time. But it was their unbreakable will that kept them free. Military they got their azzes handed to them, but refused to surrender. It's easy to fight on when you are winning, but to keep on in the face of continuing defeats, knowing you are most likely going to die, is the sign of strong will.
6. Imperial Japanese Army versus USA - Poorly equipped, poorly fed, with crappy weapons, these guys were outgunned AT LEAST by a factor of 10 to 1. Even though the Americans in the Pacific fought with alot of heart, they had a very serious advantage in firepower. IJA launched devastating suicide attacks. There are many stories of IJA fighters staying at their posts years after the war, including 1 man who stayed in the Phillipines for well over 30 years, refusing to surrender. It still blows my mind. That guy gives speeches and even to this day you know he wants to pick up his rifle and try to whoop some USA azz. It took two atomic bombs and the intervention of a man they believed was a god to stop the war.
7. Afghan Mujahadeen versus Soviets - The Vietnam for the Soviets, was a vicous war that wrecked an entire country for over 20 years. The Soviets came into Afghanistan and quickly took the entire place over. But the Afghan fighters fled to the hills and engaged a brutal guerrilla war on the Soviets, inflicting massive damage on the other superpower of its day. Mujahadeen were well trained and equipped by the Americans, including the famous Stinger anti-aircraft missle that brought down helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. The Mujahadeen were masters of their harsh landscape, using mountains and caves to avoid their pursuers. That d1ckhead Bin Laden is a veteran of the resitance, once USA's boy but now a punk who we are going to get.
For me, I'd get a bunch of Imperial Japanese and put them in Constantinople and have the Americans equip them. Nobody would ever break through.
Last edited by Ted Striker on 11-03-2004 at 12:05
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Sikander
|
 |
Boulder, Colorado, United Snakes of America
Jan 2000
time: 22:34
|
|
I voted for Byzantium. They held out against a severe strategic disadvantage despite frequent revolts and concentric attacks and two-front wars. Most of the rest had some serious advantages which somewhat reduce the glory of their feats at arms.
The Germanic tribes for instance regularly lost battles of annihilation, just not all at once. Further, they had strategic depth and very good intelligence due to the fact that they often had relatives amongst the legions deployed against them in the later days of the empire.
The Persians had size and terrain to their advantage. They could fight on plains and kick infantry heavy Roman armies around, or they could retreat into mountains and wear the enemy down with large forces of their own.
The Viet Cong were all but wiped out by the U.S. by 1969-1970, so I can't really even agree that they won the war, which was actually won by the NVA. Though the NVA was fighting at a serious technical disadvantage to the U.S., they were never outnumbered and never had to defend their homeland.
Though the Japanese were outgunned 10-1, they tended to defend heavily built up fortifications and only at Tarawa did they manage to inflict more casualties than they sustained against the Marines. Their casualty rates tended to be about 10-1 (against them) in comparison to the U.S., which isn't really very impressive at all.
|
|
| |
All times are GMT. The time now is 05:34.
Apolyton Time is 00:34. |
top of page
|
| archivepost |
|
Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is ON
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
|
|
|
|
|
|
11-03-2004 11:58
I love the detailed description, Comrade. 
|