About the War

[Vixentrox]

I found this in some ancient archieves dealing with combat entitled Murphy's Law's of Combat. I thought the community would like to hear what Murphy had to say. (credit to a post by Templus for making me think of this). Feel free to add your own additions to Murpy's work, update for the current times.

Since the war is on........

1. YOU ARE NOT SUPERMAN. (Superman is an ancient earth hero who flys like an MP and is tough like an enraged enforcer)
2. RECOILLESS RIFLES AREN’T.
3. SUPPRESSIVE FIRE WON’T.
4. IF IT’S STUPID BUT WORKS, IT’S NOT STUPID.
5. DON’T LOOK CON****UOUS, IT DRAWS FIRE.
6. NEVER DRAW FIRE. IT MAKES EVERYONE AROUND YOU NERVOUS.
7. WHEN IN DOUBT, EMPTY THE MAGAZINE.
8. NEVER SHARE A FOXHOLE WITH ANYONE BRAVER THAN YOU. (People used to dig in the dirt to hide from the enemy fire)
9. ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR WEAPON WAS MADE BY THE LOWEST BIDDER.
10. IF YOUR ATTACK IS GOING WELL, IT’S AN AMBUSH.
11. IF YOU CAN’T REMEMBER . . . THE CLAYMORE IS POINTED AT YOU.
12. ALL FIVE SECOND GRENADE FUSES ARE THREE SECONDS.
13. TRY TO LOOK UNIMPORTANT. THE ENEMY MAY BE LOW ON AMMO.
14. IF YOU ARE FORWARD OF YOUR POSITION, THE ARTILLERY WILL BE SHORT.
15. THE ENEMY DIVERSION YOU’RE IGNORING IS THE MAIN ATTACK.
16. THE EASY WAY IS ALWAYS MINED.
17. THE IMPORTANT THINGS ARE ALWAYS SIMPLE.
18. THE SIMPLE THINGS ARE ALWAYS HARD.
19. WHEN YOU HAVE SECURED THE AREA, DON’T FORGET TO TELL THE ENEMY.
20. INCOMING FIRE HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY.
21. NO COMBAT READY UNIT HAS EVER PASSED INSPECTION.
22. NO INSPECTION READY UNIT HAS EVER PASSED COMBAT.
23. TEAMWORK IS ESSENTIAL, IT GIVES THE ENEMY OTHER PEOPLE TO SHOOT AT.
24. IF THE ENEMY IS IN RANGE, SO ARE YOU.
25. FRIENDLY FIRE ISN’T.
26. ANYTHING YOU DO CAN GET YOU SHOT . . . INCLUDING DOING NOTHING.
27. MAKE IT TOO TOUGH FOR THE ENEMY TO GET IN, AND YOU CAN’T GET OUT.
28. TRACERS WORK BOTH WAYS.
29. THE ONLY THING MORE ACCURATE THAN INCOMING ENEMY FIRE IS INCOMING FRIENDLY FIRE.
30. RADIOS WILL FAIL AS SOON AS YOU NEED SOMETHING DESPERATLEY.
31. WHEN BOTH SIDES ARE CONVINCED THEY ARE ABOUT TO LOOSE . . . THEY ARE BOTH RIGHT.
32. PROFFESIONALS ARE PREDICTABLE, BUT THE WORLD IS FULL OF AMETURES.
33. ALL-WEATHER CLOSE SUPPORT DOESN’T WORK IN BAD WEATHER. (This refers to things like armed Yalms dropping bombs on enemy)
34. THE BURSTING RADIUS OF A GRENADE IS ALWAYS ONE FOOT GREATER THAN YOUR JUMPING RANGE.
35. THE ONLY TERRAIN THAT IS TRULY CONTROLLED IS THE TERRAIN ON WHICH YOU’RE STANDING.
36. THE LAW OF THE BAYONET SAYS THE MAN WITH THE BULLET WINS. (There was a time when you had to be really really close to use melee weapons)
37. REMFS (REAR ECHELON MOTHERF#@!%&$ , OR NONCOMBAT TROOPS) ARE EVERYWHERE.
38. THE BEST TANK KILLER IS ANOTHER TANK. THEREFORE TANKS ARE ALWAYS FIGHTING EACH OTHER . . . AND HAVE NO TIME TO HELP THE INFANTRY. (The tank's they are refering to are these vehicles like juggernaughts)
39. PRECISION BOMBING IS NORMALLY ACCURATE WITHIN PLUS/MINUS ONE MILE.
40. CLUSTER BOMBING FROM B-52S IS VERY, VERY ACCURATE. THE BOMBS ALWAYS HIT THE GROUND. (Obscure reference to a airplane that dropped bombs)
41. MURPHY WAS AN ELEVEN BUSH (11B IS THE ARMY JOB CODE FOR BASIC RIFLEMAN). (Even more obscure reference to the way soldiers were coded in some ancient army)
42. PERFECT PLANS AREN’T.
43. THE EASY WAY GENERALLY GETS YOU KILLED.
44. THE SIDE WITH THE FANCIEST UNIFORMS LOSES.
45. ARMORED VEHICLES ARE BULLET MAGNETS, A MOVING FOXHOLE THAT ATTRACTS ATTENTION.
46. IF YOU ARE SHORT OF EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE ENEMY, YOU ARE IN COMBAT.
47. NO PLAN SURVIVES THE FIRST FEW SECONDS OF COMBAT.
48. AMMO IS CHEAP; YOUR LIFE ISN’T. (Obviously written before reclaim tech)
49. IT’S EASIER TO EXPEND MATERIALS IN COMBAT THAN TO FILL OUT THE FORMS FOR GRAVE REGISTRATION.
50. IF YOU CAN’T SEE THE ENEMY, HE STILL MAY BE ABLE TO SEE YOU.
51. FINAL PROTECTIVE FIRE DOESN’T.

[______________Frelle]

Originally posted by Vixentrox
44. THE SIDE WITH THE FANCIEST UNIFORMS LOSES.

Looks like Omni is doomed then.

Very funny and very appropriate Vixentrox.

[____________Lesentia]

Originally posted by Vixentrox

28. TRACERS WORK BOTH WAYS.

How very true.

[Ghiggles]

Very Funny,

I Find this Murphy guy rather insightful and have quoted him a few times in my sig...

9. ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR WEAPON WAS MADE BY THE LOWEST BIDDER.

heheh.. that cracks me up.

[Simplehead]

9. ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR WEAPON WAS MADE BY THE LOWEST BIDDER. (In ognoms case the deadest critter ;p )
10. IF YOUR ATTACK IS GOING WELL, IT’S AN AMBUSH. <---true

19. WHEN YOU HAVE SECURED THE AREA, DON’T FORGET TO TELL THE ENEMY. (unfortunatly this happens all to often)

26. ANYTHING YOU DO CAN GET YOU SHOT . . . INCLUDING DOING NOTHING. (lol or sitting on the ground trying to use a nano charger for 5 minutes straight then crashing)

27. MAKE IT TOO TOUGH FOR THE ENEMY TO GET IN, AND YOU CAN’T GET OUT. (Been there done that it's called camping the ct)

30. RADIOS WILL FAIL AS SOON AS YOU NEED SOMETHING DESPERATLEY. (Or half your force crash loops)

36. THE LAW OF THE BAYONET SAYS THE MAN WITH THE BULLET WINS. (There was a time when you had to be really really close to use melee weapons)
((Don't even get me started hehe))

37. REMFS (REAR ECHELON MOTHERF#@!%&$ , OR NONCOMBAT TROOPS) ARE EVERYWHERE. ((Yup and there droids named rookie "insert a wimps name here)
38. THE BEST TANK KILLER IS ANOTHER TANK. THEREFORE TANKS ARE ALWAYS FIGHTING EACH OTHER . . . AND HAVE NO TIME TO HELP THE INFANTRY. (The tank's they are refering to are these vehicles like juggernaughts) ((No eqb enfs))

46. IF YOU ARE SHORT OF EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE ENEMY, YOU ARE IN COMBAT. ((or cc is disabled and nobody knows why))

These are my little jokes thrown in mostly concerning mass pvp tower battles as reference

[vallikat]

44. THE SIDE WITH THE FANCIEST UNIFORMS LOSES.

There is a classic example of this from ancient earth history. Consider a time before radar and cloaking. Consider that you only knew the whereabouts of your enemy if he was within your line of site. Consider that the only way to hide from your enemy was to blend into the surroundings and remain as quiet as posible. Got all that? Now consider the silly Brittish soldiers who tromped through the American forests wearing red uniforms and banging drums. Needless to say the Brittish lost that war.

[UwensBack]

Yes... with big white X's on the shirts as targets. Hey, what can I say, we prefer style over substance

[Lyricia]

Originally posted by Ognom

37. REMFS (REAR ECHELON MOTHERF#@!%&$ , OR NONCOMBAT TROOPS) ARE EVERYWHERE. ((Yup and there droids named rookie "insert a wimps name here)

Its official. I am a REMF lol

PS I dont name him Rookie its just RoboBobo.
PHEAR HIM ! ^_^

[lilnymph]

Originally posted by ValliKat
There is a classic example of this from ancient earth history. Consider a time before radar and cloaking. Consider that you only knew the whereabouts of your enemy if he was within your line of site. Consider that the only way to hide from your enemy was to blend into the surroundings and remain as quiet as posible. Got all that? Now consider the silly Brittish soldiers who tromped through the American forests wearing red uniforms and banging drums. Needless to say the Brittish lost that war.

you do realise that no army at that time (the Americans included) won a war bye blending in? and also that the British army's elite troops, quite a few of who where based in Canada, wore green jackets, while the Americans wore a collection of things, none of which where designed to blend in Also those same Red jacketed troops managed to stop the most feared army in the world (the french) in their tracks when out numbered by them.

hugs

lilnymph

[vallikat]

So what you're saying is that the French had even more garish uniforms than the Brittish?

[Praecautus]

The British Redcoats were red to hide the blood strike me down if i tell a word of lie. This is the same military force that in WWI refused to give the airforce pilots parachutes so cowards would not apply.

[vallikat]

Ok Dr. Tiny, that reminds me of a very old and very bad joke, but here goes:

There once was a very brave Pirate Captain. One day he is looking out across the sea and he spies not 1, not 2, but 3 ships coming towards them. He turns to his crew and tells them to prepare for battle. He then turns to the man at his right, "First Mate, fetch me my red shirt." The First Mate does as he is told as does the crew and they fight a valiant fight. Wiping the decks with the blood of their attackers. Later the crew asks the captain, "Why is it that before battle you asked for your red shirt." The captain tells them, "My crew, that is so that if I am injured in battle, you will not see my blood and will have no need to concern yourself with me. You will then continue the fight." The crew thinks to themselves, "We must have the most brave Captain in all the Seven Seas!"

The next day the Captain again looks out along the horizon and he sees not 5, not 10, but 30 ships coming towards them. The captain turns to the crew and tells them to prepare for battle. He then turns to the man to his right and says, "First Mate, fetch me my brown pants."

*rim-shot*

[lilnymph]

Originally posted by ValliKat
So what you're saying is that the French had even more garish uniforms than the Brittish?

Hehe, yes actually, as the french marched into battle in blue However there was a very simple reason for the uniforms of the worlds army. At the time the rate of fire for the muskets was 3 - 4 shots a minute (4 to 5 for the british army, which was the only one in the world to train its men with live ammunition, and so had the fastest firing rate in the world, and the best discipline. Other armies had been known to scare themselves when they shot their first round in anger) And so hiding wasn't as much of a nessecity as it is today. However it was of vital importance to know who was on your side, so bright coloured uniforms where worn, so in the heat of battle, with smoke covering hte battle field, the generals could tell which regiments where theirs, and which where the enemies.

Hugs

lilnymph

[jokzer]

If my memory serves me correctly, then the first organized attempt at "blending in" took place during the American Civil War, when the north created a unit of woodsmen (hunters, trackers, trappers) clad in green shirts and trousers, who almost always fought from positions giving maximum cover. This was an unprecedented and therefore controversial idea, but it proved to be a good one. We have been doing this ever since.

By the way, during WWII a lot of ideas regarding camouflage were tested. One involved designing a merchant ship so that from the side it looked like a mirror image from the middle to either end. Crazy as this sounds, not one of these slow ungainly vessels were ever sunk in attacks on convoys. And according to captured archives, several were in fact attacked by U-boats.

As for Murphy:
52. You can never get too much intelligence
53. 50% af all intelligence will be incorrect. And this will be the half that causes you the most grief.

[lilnymph]

The British Rifle Regiments wore Dark Green,, and where trained as light troops, so they used to make use of cover in battle, Unlike the rest of the troops in an army who used to stand up in a tightly packed formation. However no battle at this time, or any time untill the American Civil war and the development of the fast firing rifles, could be won by troops making use of cover, for the simple reason they would be unable to bring enough firepower to bear, and what they did bring would be too piecemeal. Around this time the french army was the best in the world, and it used to march into battle in huge collums. This had the added advantage that most armies of the would actually give up, because the sight of them was so frightning. However the British army almost always defeated them for two reasons, firstly because it had teh best discipline in the world (roughly translated into the fact its troops where more scared of the sergents than they where of the enemy ) and the fact that the british used to stand in thin lines two men deep. This meant that while they might be outnumbered by the on coming french, Every man in the british formation could fire, while only those at the front, and the edge of the french formation could. However once a fast firing weapon was developed, standing in a formation such as that became irrelavent, as a single man could shoot much more, and it became a death trap as you where easy to stop and shoot.

Hugs

lilnymph

[jokzer]

lilnymph, I stand corrected

However, a couple of points on the British Army.
I am from europe somewhere and have met BA on manouevers and so can comment on what I saw, although it admittedly is some years back.
Point 1: BA still marches on a prepared position in two rows, upright and honest. I have seen this - and we had good target practise.
Point 2: The sargeant is still "urgin' 'em on" from behind the marching line
However: Point 3, I still would not ever be comfortable going up against BA - they just don't quit, so it must work...
I guess there are more than one way to skin a cat.

[lilnymph]

Originally posted by Jokser
lilnymph, I stand corrected

However, a couple of points on the British Army.
I am from europe somewhere and have met BA on manouevers and so can comment on what I saw, although it admittedly is some years back.
Point 1: BA still marches on a prepared position in two rows, upright and honest. I have seen this - and we had good target practise.
Point 2: The sargeant is still "urgin' 'em on" from behind the marching line
However: Point 3, I still would not ever be comfortable going up against BA - they just don't quit, so it must work...
I guess there are more than one way to skin a cat.

From what my friends in the Army tell me, they just do this on manouvers with other armies, to wind them up .

However, I am not too up on the modern army, but I think most of the British army is now based around smaller formations, because we simply dont have masses of troops to throw forward anymore. They do however, for the first time I am told, now have a rifle they can rely on not to jam. Its only taken over 100 or so years

hugs

lilnymph

[jokzer]

Only on manouevers? Perhaps, but common sense dictates that this is a time to practise what to do when it gets serious. Whatever, mine is not to reason why... I never understood what my own high command thought, let alone foreigners..

Yes, I can see that a dependable weapon might increase the soldiers confidence.
But you know: haste makes waste..

[lilnymph]

Afraid I dont know enough about the modern army to debate it withyou. However I would find it strange if the army still did that sort of thing, as it didn't do it in world war 2, and it has a lot of formations (SAS, Paratroops, Marines) set up to fight in smaller groups.

Hugs

lilnymph

[Praecautus]

Originally posted by lilnymph


From what my friends in the Army tell me, they just do this on manouvers with other armies, to wind them up .

However, I am not too up on the modern army, but I think most of the British army is now based around smaller formations, because we simply dont have masses of troops to throw forward anymore. They do however, for the first time I am told, now have a rifle they can rely on not to jam. Its only taken over 100 or so years

hugs

lilnymph

We do have boots that melt in the desert though