Latvia borrows tank to Estonia for training

[Inese]

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-01-28/tanks-estonia-borrows-latvia.html?fullstory
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=4588

You can play with our tank Estonia but please give it back to us later :rolleyes: And get own tanks!! :D

[Jarl]

OMG! Look who's back! :fdgd:








It's not just the Latvian tanks that are so popular!


... :love_4:

[Svarog]

Anyone else finds this article kind of funny? :D

[Moustache]

Chuck Norris punches through enemy lines with his mind.

Forget the crappy tanks and offer the man a contract.

[Tabiti]

Tanks are useless today, unless to scare angry civilians on the streets;)

[Svarog]

Georgians beg to differ :D

[EWtt]

You can play with our tank Estonia but please give it back to us later :rolleyes: And get own tanks!! :D

There's a joke here that goes like this: Russia declares war on Estonia. Estonians ask Latvians to help by deploying their tank force. Before they do, Latvians ask "shall we send one tank, or both of them?" :P

Our landscape is quite marshy, heavily wooded, etc. The Estonian defense strategy has had a greater emphasis on efficient anti-tank weaponry. I think we have a few of those Soviet T-55s (the one Lativa sent) as well, but we'll rather keep them as museum exhibits... ;)

[Eldritch]

The T-55 is a piece of shit anyway. Just ask Saddam Hussein -- or rather, you should ask him, if he wasn't dead. See what I mean?

[The Lawspeaker]

I am actually more amazed that Latvia still employs that piece of crap..
It would be a good idea for both Estonia and Latvia to start shopping for a decent replacement.

A good type of tank destroyer for you lot would be a dusted off and modernized S-tank (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stridsvagn_103)though- combined with some Leopard II's :)

[Northern_Paladin]

Lativia Tanks. Now that is funny. I don't think of Tanks when I think of Lativia.

[Eldritch]

Lativia Tanks. Now that is funny. I don't think of Tanks when I think of Lativia.

Well, are tanks the first thing that conmes to anyone's mind about any country?

Small countries like Latvia, Estonia and Finland, too (in terms of population, at least) should focus on maintaining an efficient air force above all else.

[Cail]

Well, are tanks the first thing that conmes to anyone's mind about any country?

Small countries like Latvia, Estonia and Finland, too (in terms of population, at least) should focus on maintaining an efficient air force above all else.

Nukes are the way to go!

[The Ripper]

Lativia Tanks .... think of Lativia.

When I think of Lativia, I think of poor spelling. :D

[Äike]

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-01-28/tanks-estonia-borrows-latvia.html?fullstory
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=4588

You can play with our tank Estonia but please give it back to us later :rolleyes: And get own tanks!! :D

A small country with a population of 1.3 million getting tanks would be complete idiocy and a waste of resources. Also the Estonian terrain (Finland has the marshiest terrain in the world, Estonia being 2nd after Finland. This is also one of the reasons why Estonians and Finns have preserved their Finno-Ugric language, while our Northern European brothers and sisters speak Indo-European languages.) is very hostile towards tanks.

I like cooperation between neighbouring countries. Estonia lends Latvia a plane(happened in 2007) or Latvia lends Estonia a tank. Such events show good cooperation between countries.

Also, welcome back to The Apricity. I haven't seen you in a while.

[Svanhild]

You need panzer? Ask Germany, we're the home of panzer.

http://www.panzergrenadier-btl-312.de/attachments/Image/Panzerangriff2%5B1%5D.jpg
http://www.panzer-modell.de/referenz/in_action/guez/07g.jpg

"I can haz panzer?" "Yes you can haz mäny panzer!" :wink

[Sigrid]

Chuck Norris punches through enemy lines with his mind.

Forget the crappy tanks and offer the man a contract.

My favorite one: Chuck Norris doesn't sleep; he waits. :D

[nisse]

Small countries like Latvia, Estonia and Finland, too (in terms of population, at least) should focus on maintaining an efficient air force above all else.

Wouldn't the best strategy be to have a good warning system (so may be minimal air force) but concentrate on hidden fortifications/forces in the forests/marshes?

Airforce is pretty expensive and I would think it's more of an offensive than a defensive force.


@Karl: aren't wide catterpillar track tanks fine in marshes? I would say the bigger problem would be forested terrain....(and I assume Estonia is pretty forested)

[Groenewolf]

Airforce is pretty expensive and I would think it's more of an offensive than a defensive force.

It depends. Control of the air is an important part of modern warfare. They should probably use a combination of both a good air-force and a ground force trained in unconventional warfare.

[Loki]

A small country with a population of 1.3 million getting tanks would be complete idiocy and a waste of resources.

Yeah. Normally, small countries would depend on their larger neighbours for military protection. Latvia can either enlist the help of Germany or Russia in times of crisis. :wink

[Eldritch]

Wouldn't the best strategy be to have a good warning system (so may be minimal air force) but concentrate on hidden fortifications/forces in the forests/marshes?

Well, the thing is, in the era of satellite surveillance those fortifications would not stay hidden and could easily be taken out by missiles or air strikes.


Airforce is pretty expensive and I would think it's more of an offensive than a defensive force.

Sure, it's expensive, but it's also fast and effective against ground forces, which all invading armies need -- unless they just want to bomb and nuke the place without actually moving in, which wouldn't make any sense.

[nisse]

Sure, it's expensive, but it's also fast and effective against ground forces, which all invading armies need -- unless they just want to bomb and nuke the place without actually moving in, which wouldn't make any sense.

It would make sense for them to bomb your airfields and then move in with ground forces though ;)

[Eldritch]

It would make sense for them to bomb your airfields and then move in with ground forces though ;)

That's exactly what fighter jets are for: shooting down bomber planes.

[Äike]

@Karl: aren't wide catterpillar track tanks fine in marshes? I would say the bigger problem would be forested terrain....(and I assume Estonia is pretty forested)

Yes, Estonia is very forested. Over 50% of the Estonian terrain is forested.

[nisse]

That's exactly what fighter jets are for: shooting down bomber planes.

Obviously military strategy for your country is none of my business, but I liek it as a theoretical question :D.

Well-concealed, mobile, ground defences (thinking 4th generation warfare-ish) that take advantage of the fact that you know your country better than invaders (and your country has lots of places to conceal stuff :D) still seem optimal beacuse they can function as autonomous units, and as long as there is one, no war is lost.

Defensive airforce will never be 100% effective, especially if the invading army is large, because it requires many permanent and not easily repaired installations - the price of imperfection is too high - a lot of planes can be taken out of commision all at once.

[esaima]

Also the Estonian terrain (Finland has the marshiest terrain in the world, Estonia being 2nd after Finland.
I think the marshiest land in Europe is White-Russia.

[esaima]

Yes, Estonia is very forested. Over 50% of the Estonian terrain is forested.
According to wikipedia 48%.
But Latvian tanks may use our roads.:D
But, ok, I am not a military expert.

[Äike]

I think the marshiest land in Europe is White-Russia.

Your statement is false and I own a book that disproves your statement. I'll type it from my book word by word: "Bogs cover 22% of Estonian territory. Estonia ranks second place in the world after Finland for having the most marshy land."


According to wikipedia 48%.
But Latvian tanks may use our roads.:D
But, ok, I am not a military expert.

That's Wikipedia... I have a book which states that over 50% of Estonia is covered by forests.

[W. R.]

I think the marshiest land in Europe is White-Russia.When asked what the most outstanding literary work of the Belarusian literature is, most often Belarusians answer - the novel "People on the Marsh" by Ivan Mielež - 18,4% of answers. :icon_ask:

[esaima]

That's Wikipedia... I have a book which states that over 50% of Estonia is covered by forests.
I considered it and searched from the internet a bit.I think Karl you are right. Internet is full of controversial statements. I only know that the percentage of forested lands has grown here in Estonia during the last decades because of decreasing of agriculture.
But, yeah, what is exactly more boggy: Belorussia or Estonia, is the exact percentage of forests 48 or 51-it is not a big deal in fact. :);)Maybe the main problem of wikipedia and such things is that anybody actually doesn´t edit them. Books are still more reliable things.

[Inese]

Yes, Estonia is very forested. Over 50% of the Estonian terrain is forested.
But we are near to you :nod:

" Latvia encompasses 64,589 square kilometers, a size surpassing that of better-known European states such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Denmark.
. Undulating plains cover 75% of Latvia's territory and provide the main areas for farming; 25% of the territory lies in uplands of moderate-sized hills. About 27% of the total territory is cultivable, with the central Zemgale Plain south of Riga being the most fertile and profitable.
About 10% of Latvian territory consists of peat bogs, swamps, and marshes, some of which are covered by stunted forest growth. Forests are the outstanding feature of Latvia, claiming 42% of the territory. Timber and wood products are among the country's most important exports. Two-thirds of the forests consist of Scots Pine or Norway Spruce. "

42% forest and 10% swamps or marshes ---- but our tanks can drive!! ^_^

[Praamžius]

Yay Baltic states unite and we will conquer Russia !!!!!!!!!! We just need transport for army i think bus will do just fine ;]

P.S don't take it seriously it was pure sarcasm

[Äike]

42% forest and 10% swamps or marshes ---- but our tanks can drive!! ^_^

What tanks? Latvia doesn't have any tanks for military purposes, only 1(?) or 2 for training purposes. If there would be a war, then the only tank that Latvia has, wouldn't be used as 1 tank is useless against 1000+ tanks of Russia. ;)