In WWII the 2nd NZ division frequently attacked at night, and was successful in most instances. The earliest instance I know of was the "battle of 42nd Street" in Crete (May 1941).
The Kiwis did not understand why no-one else did - it seemed such an obvious thing to do. One theory I heard was that officers in other armies did not trust their men if when could not see them!
That said, the US 104th Infantry division specialised in night fighting - though it was September 1944 when they first saw action.
Attacks at night are a different level of command and control . That especially includes ground operations . In WW2 (and still today ) the basic principle of attacking and capturing an objective was fire and movement - at every level down from battalion,to company, to platoon ,to section size units . Part of the unit remained stationary firing non stop at the objective, the remaining part of the unit moved forwards under cover fire usually as directionally as close as possible, depending on terrain and cover, to ninety degrees away (but towards the objective )from direction of cover fire. The roles reversed repeatedly all the way to the objective. Attempting to return fire at the moving component was made only if the enemy was able to withstand a virtual continuous rain of lead. In pitch dark it is virtually impossible to maintain directional bearings ,close to the objective it is also highly probable attackers can begin firing at each other. To make darkness your friend and enemy lack of preparedness most likely ,attacks were very frequently planned to begin at first or last light . Hopefully enemy were still mostly asleep or preparing their evening meals. Once first or last light became known as the most likely time to be attacked, troops in defensive positions were put into 100 percent “stand to” position , in trenches and positions locked and loaded for about half an hour or more until full darkness or morning light conditions. Urban tactics ,house to house were different,. Spontaneous tactics, loose control and individual initiative were the order of the day. Close quarters and artificial light altered the environment.
Hey Wes about your statement on night operations...."t’s been standard in the US military since Operation Desert Shield." I was in the 7th ID(L) in 1985. We did everything at night. Without extensive use of NVG or individual radios.
I stand corrected my good sir. My mind was thinking “widespread night vision technology use” starts roughly around the late 1980s, even though we had limited night vision as far back as the Vietnam War. As for night ops without technology, well, that goes back to Paul Revere!
More likely Trump was referring to Venezuelans turning it off themselves. The elites were unhappy with the stopped flow of money and the risk of getting offed during an uprising or invasion. So for the elites, making Maduro the Fall Guy and letting US take him is perfect.
Keeps Trump happy and the US wallet open. The Venezuelans are less angry at them, preventing internal violence. No power vacuum.
The high rate of killed Cubans and all the unused S300 and Manpads by Venezuela point to the same direction.
I do hope more countries start using their head. Even if there is no kill switch USA are not a reliable partner. Even the day trump is gone one should think really hard about depending on USA because this situation can easily happend again. When the rest of your politicians freeze in panic and do nothing will probably not stop trump so he will have his whole term. I am afraid that your political system can't even stop him from a third term.
Because darkness is all about the defender’s ability to coordinate.
Streetlights and building lights help security forces move, identify friendly elements, and control intersections. Power also supports the quiet stuff that matters in a capital: cameras, building access systems, cellular network stability, certain radio relays, local command posts running on commercial power, and the general human rhythm of “we can see what is happening.”
Take that away, even in a limited area, and you tilt the response curve toward confusion."
When I read this, Wes, I couldn't help but consider how Trump uses this same strategy in his politics. Keep the world in darkness (obscure the truth); mix up the topics fast enough that the opposition can't react read or respond effectively; attack when and where people are not expecting it.
I can’t wait to see what the administration has in store for us, never mind other countries. should be interesting the closer we get to November…all of the unprecedenteds will be coming out.
I would assume the US has deep cyber penetration into all potential adversaries' infrastructure networks. I would also assume they have the same on us.
If we get into any serious peer-to-peer conflict expect the lights to go off early on.
It's no surprise. I understand that most weapons produced here and sold to other countries have built into switches of some kind which the US can control. Some of them as we saw when musk pulled Starlink when Ukraine needed it most. Why wouldn't former administrations do this ? Starting with a cold war mentality we've moved into a manical activation using the safety switches which were put into place.
The layered effects line reminds me of the standard cybersecurity mantra of defense in depth. There are so many control systems out there with early generation communications capabilities that depended on privacy as a default state. Even stupid junk like thin ethernet that requires a good terminating resistor could be done in by an adapter with remote control. Thankfully most modern grids have gone out of their way to isolate external threats. Cybersecurity still maintains, as you do, that the human insider is the weak link. Left of launch is now a good area for the military to concentrate on for protection as you have stated in the past. What I now fear most is AI powered weapons that are starting to come on line in Ukraine. But that's another day. Enjoy the posts!
In WWII the 2nd NZ division frequently attacked at night, and was successful in most instances. The earliest instance I know of was the "battle of 42nd Street" in Crete (May 1941).
The Kiwis did not understand why no-one else did - it seemed such an obvious thing to do. One theory I heard was that officers in other armies did not trust their men if when could not see them!
That said, the US 104th Infantry division specialised in night fighting - though it was September 1944 when they first saw action.
Attacks at night are a different level of command and control . That especially includes ground operations . In WW2 (and still today ) the basic principle of attacking and capturing an objective was fire and movement - at every level down from battalion,to company, to platoon ,to section size units . Part of the unit remained stationary firing non stop at the objective, the remaining part of the unit moved forwards under cover fire usually as directionally as close as possible, depending on terrain and cover, to ninety degrees away (but towards the objective )from direction of cover fire. The roles reversed repeatedly all the way to the objective. Attempting to return fire at the moving component was made only if the enemy was able to withstand a virtual continuous rain of lead. In pitch dark it is virtually impossible to maintain directional bearings ,close to the objective it is also highly probable attackers can begin firing at each other. To make darkness your friend and enemy lack of preparedness most likely ,attacks were very frequently planned to begin at first or last light . Hopefully enemy were still mostly asleep or preparing their evening meals. Once first or last light became known as the most likely time to be attacked, troops in defensive positions were put into 100 percent “stand to” position , in trenches and positions locked and loaded for about half an hour or more until full darkness or morning light conditions. Urban tactics ,house to house were different,. Spontaneous tactics, loose control and individual initiative were the order of the day. Close quarters and artificial light altered the environment.
Hey Wes about your statement on night operations...."t’s been standard in the US military since Operation Desert Shield." I was in the 7th ID(L) in 1985. We did everything at night. Without extensive use of NVG or individual radios.
Enjoy your articles
Perry Van Maj, USA (Retired)
I stand corrected my good sir. My mind was thinking “widespread night vision technology use” starts roughly around the late 1980s, even though we had limited night vision as far back as the Vietnam War. As for night ops without technology, well, that goes back to Paul Revere!
Light Silent Deadly! Masters of the Night
Goes way back before then. The capture of Roxburgh snd zedi burgh castles in 1314 was at night. And I'm sure there are far earlier examples.
More likely Trump was referring to Venezuelans turning it off themselves. The elites were unhappy with the stopped flow of money and the risk of getting offed during an uprising or invasion. So for the elites, making Maduro the Fall Guy and letting US take him is perfect.
Keeps Trump happy and the US wallet open. The Venezuelans are less angry at them, preventing internal violence. No power vacuum.
The high rate of killed Cubans and all the unused S300 and Manpads by Venezuela point to the same direction.
Another excellent reason why we don't buy American in Canada.
The interesting reveal here isn’t a secret capability, it’s that modern ops depend as much on narrative discipline as technical effect.
“Layered effects” are meant to stay ambiguous. Once leaders narrate them, ambiguity collapses, access burns faster, and allies start recalculating trust.
The leak wasn’t a tool. It was posture.
I do hope more countries start using their head. Even if there is no kill switch USA are not a reliable partner. Even the day trump is gone one should think really hard about depending on USA because this situation can easily happend again. When the rest of your politicians freeze in panic and do nothing will probably not stop trump so he will have his whole term. I am afraid that your political system can't even stop him from a third term.
"Okay, so why bother messing with a power grid?
Because darkness is all about the defender’s ability to coordinate.
Streetlights and building lights help security forces move, identify friendly elements, and control intersections. Power also supports the quiet stuff that matters in a capital: cameras, building access systems, cellular network stability, certain radio relays, local command posts running on commercial power, and the general human rhythm of “we can see what is happening.”
Take that away, even in a limited area, and you tilt the response curve toward confusion."
When I read this, Wes, I couldn't help but consider how Trump uses this same strategy in his politics. Keep the world in darkness (obscure the truth); mix up the topics fast enough that the opposition can't react read or respond effectively; attack when and where people are not expecting it.
I can’t wait to see what the administration has in store for us, never mind other countries. should be interesting the closer we get to November…all of the unprecedenteds will be coming out.
I would assume the US has deep cyber penetration into all potential adversaries' infrastructure networks. I would also assume they have the same on us.
If we get into any serious peer-to-peer conflict expect the lights to go off early on.
Canada take heed
if he tries for greenland what will be the plan, turning out the lights in a mostly dark country cannot amount to much
It's no surprise. I understand that most weapons produced here and sold to other countries have built into switches of some kind which the US can control. Some of them as we saw when musk pulled Starlink when Ukraine needed it most. Why wouldn't former administrations do this ? Starting with a cold war mentality we've moved into a manical activation using the safety switches which were put into place.
The layered effects line reminds me of the standard cybersecurity mantra of defense in depth. There are so many control systems out there with early generation communications capabilities that depended on privacy as a default state. Even stupid junk like thin ethernet that requires a good terminating resistor could be done in by an adapter with remote control. Thankfully most modern grids have gone out of their way to isolate external threats. Cybersecurity still maintains, as you do, that the human insider is the weak link. Left of launch is now a good area for the military to concentrate on for protection as you have stated in the past. What I now fear most is AI powered weapons that are starting to come on line in Ukraine. But that's another day. Enjoy the posts!
It had already been revealed through deployment.
No surprise because he has no filter. The dementia has made his brain like Swiss cheese.
Close Encounters’ control room scene comes to mind
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oqsDyZhxLLA&t=99s&pp=ygUgY2xvc2UgZW5jb3VudGVycyBlbGVjdHJpY2FsIHJvb20%3D