Navy 'Too Weak' For Big Role In Korea Blockade (UK)

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 10-16-2006 | Thomas Harding - Damien McElroy - Richard Spencer

[ryan71]

"Korean People's Army (KPA) is one of a handful that still fields the T-34 main battle tank"

Can you imagine being part of the 101st Airborne on the ground in NK with the latest everything and being up against swarms of T-34's? Talk about a WWII flashback! Like going back in time!

[Liz]

Very wise.

[Steel Wolf]

You're forgetting Vietnam (and the will they showed against better equipped American shoulders)

Infantry did pertty well, given the terrain. In the end, though, the Viet Cong was defeated. When the NVA invaded the south after we left, it was a conventional attack with air and armor assets.

and the possibility China could intervene on North Korea's behalf (as it did in the Korean war). NK's army is poor, but dedicated and they might get help from big brother under a war scenario. That counts for a lot.

This isn't 1950. The Chinese can't pull the whole People's Volunteer Army act on us, without risking sending their economy into gutter.

For one thing, North Korean terrain is exactly where they don't want to fight us. In the 1950s our air power couldn't see at night, and had no precision weapons, and still caused massive casualties to the Chinese. We could rip apart convoys heading into North Korea with relative ease.

The Chinese "volunteers" were also in a cult like frenzy, due to their recent revolution. They'd march across minefields to clear them, and charge machine gun nests to make them run out of ammo. The military itself was run almost like a large cult, with a strict indoctrination and reeducation focus. Those days are gone. The Chinese military is a sane organization now that China is modernizing, and will fight us using sane means.

The Chinese leaders will be very afraid of sending in their military if they think we have the advantage. I've been to the PRC, and they have a massive amount of propaganda invested in their military. TV, newspapers, you name it. They play up their military power all the time, to make the people feel confident. The average Chinese guy no doubt thinks he's got a top notch army, capable of holding it's own with anyone.

Defeat would shrink that confidence faster than dunking it in ice water. If their army was cut down at the Yalu, and couldn't even make it in to the fight, it would shatter public support for the central government. The bureaucrats running China these days won't risk warfare on anything other than a sure thing.

[JasonC]

The tanks are bunkers. They will simply fire from 15000 cannons at anything within range. While firing rockets at ROK cities. None of which will be fun.

[johnsch999]

Its down to 250 ships