Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Tennessee Tech

[OneManGang]

Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Tennessee Tech

Shameless Self-promotion Part I: Your humble scribe will be giving a talk on Tennesseans who earned the Medal of Honor in World War I as part of the Veterans Day weekend commemorations at Alvin C. York State Park in Pall Mall on Saturday. There will be living history demonstrations and a fly-in of period aircraft.

The Vols needed this. After three losses and the departure of star running back Jalen Hurd last week, the team needed to get its collective feet back under it and did so. Granted, the opponent was hapless Tennessee Tech but it still felt good. Tennessee started strong and was able to play virtually everyone who dressed as most of the starters were on the sidelines by the start of the second canto.

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The next three games are against SEC opponents and they will be the tale of the tape for Team 120.
[/FONT]

******
​

In the aftermath, everyone seemed to forget just what we were told before the balloon went up on Operation Desert Storm back in 1991.

According to media “experts” the Americans were in for a rude awakening fighting against a combat-proven Iraqi Army in the trackless deserts of the Middle East. There were near-gleeful ruminations postulating 10,000 or so American dead.

After a month-long air campaign that featured the first mass use of precision weapons with devastating effects on Iraqi command and control and communication infrastructure, the US Army pulled off it's biggest surprise of all.

Everyone thought the US and its Coalition allies would stage a frontal attack on the Kuwaiti border. In addition there was a Marine Amphibious Group sitting off the coast making a lot of noise.

While the media and the Iraqis were thus distracted, American VII Corps moved about 100 miles west and jumped off into empty space. VII Corps had come to the show complete from USAREUR, the US Army in Europe. It consisted of the 1st and 3rd Armored Divisions, one brigade from the 2nd Armored Division, British 1st Armoured division and the Big Red One – US 1st Infantry Division. Moving against spotty opposition, VII Corps moved about one hundred miles into Iraq and then turned right, attacking eastward to cut off the retreat of Iraqi units in Kuwait.

The tip of the mighty VII Corps spear was the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The tip of 2nd ACR was Echo Troop, call sign “Eagle” commanded by Captain H.R. McMaster. A cavalry troop consists of 120 troops, 12 M-3 Bradley Scout tracks and nine M-1A1 main battle tanks. Eagle Troop was operating in concert with Golf and India Troops. Kilo Troop would later contribute its M-1s to the fight giving 2nd ACR 36 M-1s.

They kept track of where they were using GPS and Universal Transverse Mercator
lines, also called “Eastings.”

As Eagle Troop approached line 70 Easting they began to detect Iraqi units. These were part of a larger Republican Guard armored force. The Republican Guard were supposedly the best the Iraqis had to offer. In fact 2nd ACR was facing Tawakalna Division's 18th Brigade and, later in the day, the 9th Armored Brigade.

McMaster engaged what he could see and kept moving. Finally, his troop topped a rise to find an Iraqi tank force in waiting. In a 23-minute fight, Eagle troop destroyed 28 Iraqi tanks and a number of trucks and other armored vehicles.

Not satisfied with that, McMaster spotted dug-in Iraqi tanks along line 73 Easting and charged in. Clearing the line by destroying a further 13 tanks, Eagle troop topped another rise to find well over 100 Iraqi tanks moving toward them. The other troops joined him on the rise and engaged the Iraqis.

At the end of the fighting 160 Iraqi tanks had been knocked out. It was an overwhelming victory.

The media ignored it, of course, preferring to hand-wring over the “road of death” leading out of Kuwait City where Coalition aircraft caught Iraqi vehicles in the open and blew them away. The media whining directly influenced President George H.W. Bush's decision to halt the American advance before completely cutting off the Iraqi retreat.

Many American soldiers complained that by calling off the dogs, Bush had virtually guaranteed the Army would have to go back in to finish the job.

Be that as it may, the decisive and overwhelming victory in Desert Storm was a shock However, they quickly recovered and assured the American people that they'd known how it would turn out all along.

One thing did come out of Desert Storm and that was that the American military finally put the ghosts of Vietnam to fly.

******
​

What Tennessee needed Saturday was to get the bad taste out of their mouths.

That is precisely what they did.

So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?

1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.

The Vols made virtually no mistakes Saturday, committing no turnovers and just six penalties. It could be argued Tennessee Tech's major error was signing the contract to play this game in the first place.

2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way … SCORE!

Tennessee seemed to score at will. Things will be more difficult next Saturday.

3. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don’t let up … PUT ON MORE STEAM!

It wasn't so much the game as it was the last three weeks that Tennessee had to overcome. They did so. Now the task is to maintain this intensity and win the next game.

4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.

One of the Vols' linemen remarked that it was fun blocking for a back like John Kelly. Implied was the rest of the sentence: “unlike that other guy.”

5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.

Again, this Maxim speaks to intensity. We long-suffering Vol fans can only hope it stays this way.

6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.

Tennessee's first score was set up by a nifty kickoff return and it just got better from there, capped by Marquez Callaway's 62-yard punt return for a touchdown.

7. Carry the fight to Tennessee Tech and keep it there for sixty minutes.

This writer was pleased that Tennessee kept the offensive playbook open for backup quarterbacks Dormady and Sheriron Jones.

Sometimes, the departure of a star player indicates a team in deep trouble. The results from Saturday indicate that Hurd's leaving may have actually healed a rift in the Vols and left them in a far better position going into the stretch run than had he remained. The team certainly appeared more focused than at any time since Bama week.

Brick by Brick, Baby!

MAXOMG


Suggested Reading:

Rick Atkinson, Crusade

Mike Guardia, The Fires of Babylon: Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Easting


Douglas MacGregor, Warriors Rage: The Great Tank Battle of 73 Easting


© 2016
Keeping Your Stories Alive

Shameless self-promotion Part II: I am soon to receive the proof copy of my first book, It Was a Two Egg Mission this week. The book will be available in December.

 

[hmhawk]

Been waiting all morning for this. Thank you. Love reading your thread!!!

 

[VFL-82-JP]

Hey, now we're in to my part of history! Thanks, OMG!

H.R. McMaster was a War College classmate. Didn't know him well, but respected his insights; very intellectual guy, and a warrior.

Another guy you could look up, another young leader who performed admirably in Desert Storm was Dana Pittard. In fact, in the years immediately after the '91 war, Dana was more famous within Army circles for his unit's part in that battle than H.R. was. Dana was my Camp Buckner squad leader; another very good man.

As always, OMG, you rock with your marriage of military history to Tennessee Volunteers saturday clashes. Bless you.

and Go Vols!

 

[joevol33]

Awesome job once again OMG. I wish I was close enough to come hear you speak.

 

[RollinVol]

Great read as always. Sorry I will miss you when you come to my neck of the woods this coming Saturday. I'll be cheering on the Vols.

 

[SmokinBob]

Thank you OMG.

 

[RollerVol]

just outstanding...thanks...:salute:

GO VOLS...RUN THE TABLE!

 

[NorthDallas40]

I think it was 73 Easting where we had a platoon of Bradley's engage IRG armor with TOWs and promptly shot them to hell? At start of the fight the IRG popped smoke and promptly blinded themselves while our long wave IR TOW sights still had penetration and promptly blew them away? Sadly I think we lost one Bradley and full complement of crew

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I think it was 73 Easting where we had a platoon of Bradley's engage IRG armor with TOWs and promptly shot them to hell? At start of the fight the IRG popped smoke and promptly blinded themselves while our long wave IR TOW sights still had penetration and promptly blew them away? Sadly I think we lost one Bradley and full complement of crew

Yah, I think you're right, Dallas. Was a Mech Inf (or Scout?) platoon of Echo Troop's company team that was maintaining contact between Echo and whichever unit was north of it. Took out the whole RG tank company with TOWs.

Talk about David becoming Goliath: one platoon of 4-5 lightly-armored vehicles takes on an entire company of 12-13 main battle tanks, and waxes all of them while losing just one friendly. Those lads earned their pay that day.

 

[billford]

Thank you sir.

 

[NorthDallas40]

Yah, I think you're right, Dallas. Was a Mech Inf (or Scout?) platoon of Echo Troop's company team that was maintaining contact between Echo and whichever unit was north of it. Took out the whole RG tank company with TOWs.

Talk about David becoming Goliath: one platoon of 4-5 lightly-armored vehicles takes on an entire company of 12-13 main battle tanks, and waxes all of them while losing just one friendly. Those lads earned their pay that day.

Indeed.

So I'm sitting here in a rain delay at Texas Motor Speedway so I looked it up. A snippet from the wiki page on 73 easting.

"After defeating that force, McMaster sent a scout platoon of two Bradleys north to regain contact with Troop G. In doing that the scout platoon encountered another Iraqi tank position of thirteen T-72s which they destroyed with TOW missiles"

Two Bradleys against thirteen T-72's?! Is that a typo?! I knew the tanks screwed themselves with the smoke but wow. No idea it was THAT lopsided.

Edit: I don't KNOW that. I know what I had read and seen on a couple of documentaries on the subject

 

[AllVolinGA]

I always await this thread each week. It never fails to remind me there are somethings more important than football. Thank you.

 

[BanditVol]

Good stuff as usual

 

[allvol123]

Thanks as always.

 

[Renaissance Hillbilly]

Hey OMG... What time will you be at York Park Saturday? I'm from Jamestown originally, and will be going back on Saturday for my great-niece's birthday party. I'd love to hear your talk.

 

[-GiveHim6-]

Can't wait to read your book

 

[Titan&Volfan4life]

Thank you Sir, outstanding as always!

I want your book so don't forget me my friend.

Semper Fi!

VFL...GBO!!!

 

[vik]

Two Bradleys against thirteen T-72's?! Is that a typo?!

The best tank in the theatre was the M1 Abrams.

The second best "tank" in the theatre was the M2 Bradley.
I think the M2's performance inspired Rumsfeld to try and scrap the main battle tank in lieu of a 'lighter' approach a decade after DS/DS.


On another note, you can use your google-fu talents to pull up the After-Action Report that H.R. McMaster submitted on the encounter. A worth-while read. He actually knew the Iraqi commander he was going up against.


In spite of a successful career as a proven wartime leader as both a company- and field-grade officer, he almost didn't get selected for General. He wrote a book called Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam, in 1997, which may have had something to do with that.


Finally, McMaster was a big proponent of the counterinsurgency (known as COIN) doctrine, and was one of GEN Petraeus' best evangelists in his "PhD Posse" of "Doctors without Orders" that helped shape national military strategy in CENTCOM during the Bush administration.

 

[NorthDallas40]

The best tank in the theatre was the M1 Abrams.

The second best "tank" in the theatre was the M2 Bradley.
I think the M2's performance inspired Rumsfeld to try and scrap the main battle tank in lieu of a 'lighter' approach a decade after DS/DS.


On another note, you can use your google-fu talents to pull up the After-Action Report that H.R. McMaster submitted on the encounter. A worth-while read. He actually knew the Iraqi commander he was going up against.


In spite of a successful career as a proven wartime leader as both a company- and field-grade officer, he almost didn't get selected for General. He wrote a book called Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, The Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam, in 1997, which may have had something to do with that.


Finally, McMaster was a big proponent of the counterinsurgency (known as COIN) doctrine, and was one of GEN Petraeus' best evangelists in his "PhD Posse" of "Doctors without Orders" that helped shape national military strategy in CENTCOM during the Bush administration.

I'll look that up thanks for the pointer.

Bradley's have a decent punch with TOW but have miserable damage mitigation. A skilled crew that shoots first is going to have a high kill probability. But if the T-72 gets to shoot it's a much different story. I do know a bit about TOW my company designed and built the ITAS and IBAS sights. The current TOW has a helluva punch when it hits.

Still just shocking that two Bradley's could do that against thirteen T-72s. Each would have had to reload the launcher twice I think? And they are vulnerable during that time. Must have been coordinating attacks and covering each other on reloads I guess.

Goes to show what a capable weapon system manned by a skilled crew is capable of too. 👍

 

[VFL-82-JP]

The best tank in the theatre was the M1 Abrams.

The second best "tank" in the theatre was the M2 Bradley.
I think the M2's performance inspired Rumsfeld to try and scrap the main battle tank in lieu of a 'lighter' approach a decade after DS/DS.

Haha, never heard that description of the Brad before, 2nd best "tank" in ODS. It's a good one.

Rumsfeld did do that, indeed. He made the mistake of seeing a fleeting technical advantage (all technical advantages are fleeting) as a strategy for long-term success. Brilliant guy, but could make some really bone-headed decisions, too. His push to take the entire US Army lighter was one of those. And Tommy Franks, of all people, was (willingly or not) eating right out of his hand. Then again, Franks was the chief of the Louisiana Maneuvers battle lab as a one-star, so maybe he came to the same conclusion on his own, and wasn't a lap dog at all, but an acolyte.

Of course, at the time I was writing papers on the potential for ANGLICO-style small teams on motorcycles to defeat entire enemy tank regiments with robust air support ... so Rumsfeld and Franks weren't the only ones making that type of mistake in those years.

 

[vik]

Still just shocking that two Bradley's could do that against thirteen T-72s. Each would have had to reload the launcher twice I think? And they are vulnerable during that time. Must have been coordinating attacks and covering each other on reloads I guess.

Goes to show what a capable weapon system manned by a skilled crew is capable of too. ��

That 25mm gun can and did rip up quite a few T-72s, not to mention MBTRs & BMPs. In fact, I read that more armored vehicles were killed by Bradleys than by Abrams (Source).

Whatever you think of "Russian Quality" when it comes to T-72s, remember the Iraqi T-72s weren't even as good as the Russian version.

 

[NorthDallas40]

That 25mm gun can and did rip up quite a few T-72s, not to mention MBTRs & BMPs. In fact, I read that more armored vehicles were killed by Bradleys than by Abrams (Source).

Whatever you think of "Russian Quality" when it comes to T-72s, remember the Iraqi T-72s weren't even as good as the Russian version.

Actually I have tremendous respect for Russian armor and the Russian design philosophy in general. Their equipment is RUGGED

And on armor T-34 anyone? Not the biggest baddest tank on the battlefield I think that was Tiger II at the time? (Luckily not enough of them around). But a highly mobile medium battle tank with a decent gun. And the sloped hulk and turret leveraged the effective armor thickness.

Edit: I think our stuff is better but I don't think theirs suck and it is rugged

Edit 2: that was a good read thanks. I was not aware of all of the survivability improvements like the anti spall plating. I remember that was a big gripe against them early on. A) a 50 cal could cause significant damage and B) if you lived thru the initial attack the spalling would get you or the aluminum hull could get ignited and then the vehicle was done.

 

[vol_in_ar]

Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Tennessee Tech

Shameless Self-promotion Part I: Your humble scribe will be giving a talk on Tennesseans who earned the Medal of Honor in World War I as part of the Veterans Day weekend commemorations at Alvin C. York State Park in Pall Mall on Saturday. There will be living history demonstrations and a fly-in of period aircraft.

The Vols needed this. After three losses and the departure of star running back Jalen Hurd last week, the team needed to get its collective feet back under it and did so. Granted, the opponent was hapless Tennessee Tech but it still felt good. Tennessee started strong and was able to play virtually everyone who dressed as most of the starters were on the sidelines by the start of the second canto.

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The next three games are against SEC opponents and they will be the tale of the tape for Team 120.
[/FONT]

******
​

In the aftermath, everyone seemed to forget just what we were told before the balloon went up on Operation Desert Storm back in 1991.

According to media “experts” the Americans were in for a rude awakening fighting against a combat-proven Iraqi Army in the trackless deserts of the Middle East. There were near-gleeful ruminations postulating 10,000 or so American dead.

After a month-long air campaign that featured the first mass use of precision weapons with devastating effects on Iraqi command and control and communication infrastructure, the US Army pulled off it's biggest surprise of all.

Everyone thought the US and its Coalition allies would stage a frontal attack on the Kuwaiti border. In addition there was a Marine Amphibious Group sitting off the coast making a lot of noise.

While the media and the Iraqis were thus distracted, American VII Corps moved about 100 miles west and jumped off into empty space. VII Corps had come to the show complete from USAREUR, the US Army in Europe. It consisted of the 1st and 3rd Armored Divisions, one brigade from the 2nd Armored Division, British 1st Armoured division and the Big Red One – US 1st Infantry Division. Moving against spotty opposition, VII Corps moved about one hundred miles into Iraq and then turned right, attacking eastward to cut off the retreat of Iraqi units in Kuwait.

The tip of the mighty VII Corps spear was the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The tip of 2nd ACR was Echo Troop, call sign “Eagle” commanded by Captain H.R. McMaster. A cavalry troop consists of 120 troops, 12 M-3 Bradley Scout tracks and nine M-1A1 main battle tanks. Eagle Troop was operating in concert with Golf and India Troops. Kilo Troop would later contribute its M-1s to the fight giving 2nd ACR 36 M-1s.

They kept track of where they were using GPS and Universal Transverse Mercator
lines, also called “Eastings.”

As Eagle Troop approached line 70 Easting they began to detect Iraqi units. These were part of a larger Republican Guard armored force. The Republican Guard were supposedly the best the Iraqis had to offer. In fact 2nd ACR was facing Tawakalna Division's 18th Brigade and, later in the day, the 9th Armored Brigade.

McMaster engaged what he could see and kept moving. Finally, his troop topped a rise to find an Iraqi tank force in waiting. In a 23-minute fight, Eagle troop destroyed 28 Iraqi tanks and a number of trucks and other armored vehicles.

Not satisfied with that, McMaster spotted dug-in Iraqi tanks along line 73 Easting and charged in. Clearing the line by destroying a further 13 tanks, Eagle troop topped another rise to find well over 100 Iraqi tanks moving toward them. The other troops joined him on the rise and engaged the Iraqis.

At the end of the fighting 160 Iraqi tanks had been knocked out. It was an overwhelming victory.

The media ignored it, of course, preferring to hand-wring over the “road of death” leading out of Kuwait City where Coalition aircraft caught Iraqi vehicles in the open and blew them away. The media whining directly influenced President George H.W. Bush's decision to halt the American advance before completely cutting off the Iraqi retreat.

Many American soldiers complained that by calling off the dogs, Bush had virtually guaranteed the Army would have to go back in to finish the job.

Be that as it may, the decisive and overwhelming victory in Desert Storm was a shock However, they quickly recovered and assured the American people that they'd known how it would turn out all along.

One thing did come out of Desert Storm and that was that the American military finally put the ghosts of Vietnam to fly.

******
​

What Tennessee needed Saturday was to get the bad taste out of their mouths.

That is precisely what they did.

So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?

1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.

The Vols made virtually no mistakes Saturday, committing no turnovers and just six penalties. It could be argued Tennessee Tech's major error was signing the contract to play this game in the first place.

2. Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way … SCORE!

Tennessee seemed to score at will. Things will be more difficult next Saturday.

3. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don’t let up … PUT ON MORE STEAM!

It wasn't so much the game as it was the last three weeks that Tennessee had to overcome. They did so. Now the task is to maintain this intensity and win the next game.

4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.

One of the Vols' linemen remarked that it was fun blocking for a back like John Kelly. Implied was the rest of the sentence: “unlike that other guy.”

5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle … THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.

Again, this Maxim speaks to intensity. We long-suffering Vol fans can only hope it stays this way.

6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.

Tennessee's first score was set up by a nifty kickoff return and it just got better from there, capped by Marquez Callaway's 62-yard punt return for a touchdown.

7. Carry the fight to Tennessee Tech and keep it there for sixty minutes.

This writer was pleased that Tennessee kept the offensive playbook open for backup quarterbacks Dormady and Sheriron Jones.

Sometimes, the departure of a star player indicates a team in deep trouble. The results from Saturday indicate that Hurd's leaving may have actually healed a rift in the Vols and left them in a far better position going into the stretch run than had he remained. The team certainly appeared more focused than at any time since Bama week.

Brick by Brick, Baby!

MAXOMG


Suggested Reading:

Rick Atkinson, Crusade

Mike Guardia, The Fires of Babylon: Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Easting


Douglas MacGregor, Warriors Rage: The Great Tank Battle of 73 Easting


© 2016
Keeping Your Stories Alive

Shameless self-promotion Part II: I am soon to receive the proof copy of my first book, It Was a Two Egg Mission this week. The book will be available in December.

Awesome as usual OMG, good luck with your Veterans presentation. While not as impressive as the speech you are giving...

I will be doing a veterans day presentation to the 4th grade at my daughter's elementary school and as an active participant of that mighty 7th Corps spear, I loved your write up, I wish I had kept my map books, logs and notes (seems like another life)...

 

[OneManGang]

Hey OMG... What time will you be at York Park Saturday? I'm from Jamestown originally, and will be going back on Saturday for my great-niece's birthday party. I'd love to hear your talk.

I am scheduled for 12:30pm at the Red Barn (part of which was built by Alvin hisownself) across the parking lot from the York home at the Park.

 

[OneManGang]

Awesome as usual OMG, good luck with your Veterans presentation. While not as impressive as the speech you are giving...

I will be doing a veterans day presentation to the 4th grade at my daughter's elementary school and as an active participant of that mighty 7th Corps spear, I loved your write up, I wish I had kept my map books, logs and notes (seems like another life)...

Thank you.

One of the greatest rewards an historian can get is to write about something in living memory and then have people who were actually there say "you got it right."

I am humbled.