Thu Jul 26, 2012, 06:08 PM

Syria conflict: Troops 'mass before Aleppo battle'

Source: BBC

Syrian rebels in Aleppo have begun stockpiling ammunition and medical supplies as government forces prepare outside the city for a major battle.

Artillery and helicopter gunships have resumed attacking rebel targets and 14 people have been killed, activists say.

Troops and tanks are said to be ringing the city and reinforcements are reportedly on their way to join them.

In Damascus, activists said the army had pounded the capital's last rebel-held areas and 20 civilians had died.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18994124

5 replies, 1436 views

Reply to this thread

Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum

Replies to this discussion thread

5 replies	Author	Time	Post
Syria conflict: Troops 'mass before Aleppo battle' (Original post)	Adsos Letter	Jul 2012	OP
There was a time in history when armies would meet out in the country.	dimbear	Jul 2012	#1
I think a lot of that had to do with the nature of warfare in those days.	Adsos Letter	Jul 2012	#2
WWI was mostly fought out in the open. Afterward	dimbear	Jul 2012	#3
WWI was fought in the open because WWI generally made things open	Posteritatis	Jul 2012	#5
the vast majority LIVED in the country back in the day.	Odin2005	Jul 2012	#4

Response to Adsos Letter (Original post)

Thu Jul 26, 2012, 06:15 PM

dimbear (5,124 posts)

1. There was a time in history when armies would meet out in the country.

A little more gentlemanly.

Reply to this post

Response to dimbear (Reply #1)

Thu Jul 26, 2012, 06:25 PM

Adsos Letter (13,992 posts)

2. I think a lot of that had to do with the nature of warfare in those days.

Large formations, need for room to maneuver, etc.

Siege warfare, practiced since ancient times, didn't normally spare civilian populations.

Reply to this post

Response to Adsos Letter (Reply #2)

Thu Jul 26, 2012, 06:33 PM

dimbear (5,124 posts)

3. WWI was mostly fought out in the open. Afterward

most of the cities were still OK. Compare WWII.

My point is these current conflicts are being fought in an especially destructive way so that most casualties are civilians. Not cricket.

Reply to this post

Response to dimbear (Reply #3)

Fri Jul 27, 2012, 10:57 AM

Posteritatis (17,288 posts)

5. WWI was fought in the open because WWI generally made things open

Continuous-front wars tend to do that after a few years.

They certainly weren't meeting out in the open out of some chivalric sense or the like. The lines in the west more or less froze in place because of the weapons of the time, and the east was more open because the population density was so much lower.

Reply to this post

Response to dimbear (Reply #1)

Fri Jul 27, 2012, 07:42 AM

Odin2005 (48,255 posts)

4. the vast majority LIVED in the country back in the day.

Last edited Fri Jul 27, 2012, 07:43 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Some parts of Germany lost half their population during the Thirty-Years War because of mercenary armies ravaging the countryside.

The kind of warfare you are thinking of is that of the professional armies of the 1700s before the French Revolution.

Reply to this post

Latest Breaking News (Forum)

Syria conflict: Troops 'mass before Aleppo battle'

1. There was a time in history when armies would meet out in the country.

2. I think a lot of that had to do with the nature of warfare in those days.

3. WWI was mostly fought out in the open. Afterward

5. WWI was fought in the open because WWI generally *made* things open

4. the vast majority LIVED in the country back in the day.

5. WWI was fought in the open because WWI generally made things open