Asking separate from the war thread because my questions will get lost, there.
A. What is the purpose of the difference in colored armbands? Green, Yellow, Blue.
My previous understanding was that Green is for Territorial Defense Units and personnel. Blue and Yellow I don’t know, but I figured these are all for IFF purposes. Does anyone know what the different colors mean? I certainly can’t find them online.
B. Why don’t Ukrainian assault troops use flamethrowers for trench-clearing? WWI FTs were commonly used, and in WWII also. All they have is assault rifles and grenades plus armor support. US Marines had flamethrowing tanks in the PTO - can’t Ukraine obtain or field-build flamethrowers for trench-clearing?
A. I’ve also heard some rotations exist in terms of color. Info is about a year old, and at least second hand, possibly 3rd or even 33rd, but story was that units would change what color they were wearing so as not to allow the enemy to duplicate the system. I guess some Russians tried to infiltrate into Ukrainian lines by wearing the same yellow markings that the Ukrainians had been wearing. Ukrainian unit had switched to blue or green tape shortly before, and lit up the infiltrators. Again, no idea if this was true or accurate, or how common this would be, but figured the concept was worth relaying.
B. Does anyone make use of flamethrowers for that purpose any more? They tended to be phased out after WWII, and while Korea and Vietnam saw some limited use of the weapons, I can’t recall seeing anything more modern than that. Wiki mentions this '80s action flick looking thing, but I don’t know how effective it would be.
We encountered some trenches and bunkers in Iraq in 2003. Nothing close to what’s happening in Ukraine though.
The thing with clearing trenches is there is usually very little cover around them. The trench has the distinct advantage. Once you gain a foothold in the trech, you want to occupy the trench because now you can use that cover. Staying outside of the trech is inviting yourself to get smoked by some dude who pops his head up down the trench. Using an armored vehicle as a base of fire for suppressive fire, or as direct fire with the cannon, is a very useful tool as well.
The problem with flame throwers for clearing trenches is two fold.
Once you let that fire out, you no longer control what it’s going to do. Much like using CS or OC, it can effect everyone in the area. It would really suck if you light up the corner of the trench and now the fire is crawling back towards you and starts lighting your cover on fire.
If the trench is on fire, you cant use it until that fire goes out.
Like I said before we encountered a little bit of trench warfare in Iraq. Luckily for us the Iraqi Army was so outgunned they either surrendered early in the fight or got curb stomped (at least the guys we came across). The Bradley and tank cannons dismantled the trenches pretty easily and the guys that hunkered down in bunkers got to meet a couple frag grenades we threw in.
That’s interesting. Your description is the second one like this I’ve heard, the first time being from a Ukrainian acquaintance who said the exact same things you did.
Very grateful for the first-hand report, your personal experience is better than anything for my education. Thanks much for the very enlightening reply, it explains why the Ukrainian ground troops are doing what they do, currently.
