Nato battlegroup in Latvia learning from Ukraine for future conflicts

The Nato battlegroup in Latvia has become "laser-focused" on developing conventional tactics, the commander of the fighting force has told Forces News.

Canadian troops are leading the multinational battlegroup stationed in the country as part of Nato's enhanced Forward Presence programme, with more than 1,000 soldiers and their vehicles being deployed to deter any potential hostilities from neighbouring Russia.

#forcesnews #nato #latvia #russia #canada #military

[Chuck_Hooks]

We must thank Putin for pulling NATO much closer together.

And even expanding it.

[changbeerbeer]

Great channel with interesting and factual information!

[dougcoombes]

NATO is getting an excellent layout of Russian capabilities and the actual way to fight them in a war.

Meanwhile Russia is losing so many of its "best" officers and enlisted personnel that it will struggle for years after this war to find enough competent leaders to train its forces.

[TheRogueElement]

The war was clearly a wake up call for allied countries. Many governments were coming and going in and out of office not wanting to pick up the torch of the traditional conventional warfighting doctrines that were hard learned throughout WWII. The sword become dull and the shield a heavy burden. Truth is that maintaining this kind of readiness does not come easy, but it is vital to not forget the lessons of the past. I’m reminded of the quote from the Japanese commander after the attack on Pearl Harbor…
“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”

[tommyjoestallings]

I feel safer knowing we have Allies and canada on our side

[ronaldmarcks]

Thanks for your reportage: really helpful.

[MM]

I respect the hell out of the Canadians, but if I was in the press pool at that gun position, I'd ask some pointed questions:
1. Where is your overhead cover/concealment?
2. How do you plan to defeat/mitigate drone attacks or surveillance?
3. Have you fired/do you have Excalibur or another guided round?
4. How quickly can you displace (in the advent of being located/counterbattieried)
5. What is your method of forward observer? Do you use/are assigned/train with drone spotters?

If any answers to these questions are "No" or "I don't know", then they haven't been absorbing the lessons of Ukraine.

[abrahamdozer]

I'm a Canadian Veteran and the mistake that I see our army making is that there is not enough forward deployment. Canada has promised a force several times the size of what is actually in Latvia but they have to get there safely from Canada at a time when safe transport may be in great demand and hard to come by. 21st century wars differ from previous ones for Canada in that they will be "come as you are".

[KOPITE]

There is no hiding in todays warfare. To many drones and spy planes. Trench warfare is just brutal

[BruceWSims]

I think the Second WW jaded our Military thinking regarding Fixed Defenses and Strong Points. Certainly Rommel's performance using Highly Mobile Armor and Patton's dramatic performance (see: Battle of the Bulge) cannot be ignored. However, in Domestic Wars of Attrition as in Ukraine and the coups in Saharan Afrika we need to be flexible enough to deal with old models as well as New, right?😮

[rogerrees]

Getting more serious!!! Roger... Pembrokeshire

[bobwoods]

Good to learn but I hope we can use maneuver and firepower to avoid trench warfare.

[TheCoolCucumber]

Correction: the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence only consisted of four battlegroups deployed to the Baltics and Poland following the Russian annexation of Crimea. The other four battlegroups were formed following the full invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the original four were heavily reinforced at that time.

[CowboyCarCrushing]

How do you blindfold the enemy?? That's the 21st century battlefield. The enemy sees from above all you do 🤷

[susanwestern]

Nobody in Ukraine uses camouflage face paint. They use balaclavas of various kinds. Loose the face paint. Dust etc will stick to it and be very bad for the skin. Balaclavas can be washed.

[billotto]

All the equipment & ammo is fine but have you figured out how to quickly get through heavy mine fields while under fire ?

[agentorange]

Is a fixed artillery position like that M777 likely to be adopted these days given the ability for Russia to counter fire with drones or artillery assisted by drones?

[Anvilarm]

I hope that is just a training exercise with that artillery piece. It isn't dug in very deep, it has no overhead camo, and towed arty is slower to shoot and scoot. That setup is fine for shooting at low-tech Taliban, but you don't want to be standing next to that gun like that if the Russians have active radar-guided counter-battery fire available or bomb-equipped drones hunting for you. Canada doesn't have any battlefield air-defense systems so the arty will need at least a few GPMGs stationed nearby on anti-drone overwatch.

[danielwhyatt]

Now this’s absolutely what we need to be doing again through all of NATO. Plus eeeeven more drone training.

[robertaurens]

Seems to me NATO troops have bad eyesight given the funny spectacles they use🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣