Can you win a war with only light infantry in the 21st century?

vesicles

vesicles

Colonel
solarz said:
Good points, although I think it would be much harder to track foot infantry than armor columns. However, the ability of the advanced army to call in reinforcements and airstrikes means the infantry army can never win in a stationary fight.

However, could they possibly rely on raids to completely disrupt enemy supply lines? If that could be accomplished, they can simply starve their enemies into submission.
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One or two battles, perhaps. However, the opponent can simply strengthen their escort to counter surprise attacks.

Additionally, this kind of surprise attacks can only be accomplished with small number of troops so that they wouldn't be detected before the attack takes place. With the small number, they can't achieve much even if they succeed. How much supply can a few light infantry foot soldiers take away? If they want to take more, they would have to bring heavy equipment, which will slow them down and increase the possibility of being detected.
 
S

Scratch

Captain
I think the answer is dependent on what you mean by "defeating the other force". If you're talking about individual battles I'm quite sure that a well set up ambush, supreise attack, etc. can defeat a combined arms force with superior equipment.
Talking about a complete campaign, I can only see a chance for the light infantry guys in a protracted defensive struggle trying to outlast the enemy.
If the full up army has the aim of killing or destroying every hostile asset, they can indeed be defeated by denial of reaching that objective. They won't get each and every one. Unless maybe they carpet bomb the country.
If the defending army can just blend into the population, it becomes a mess really. If the high end force can, however, ID hostile forces on sight and has the ROE, they can shoot those guys up fairly well.
If the light guys can get their hands on stuff like MANPADS, modern anti-armor missiles and light motars, than they can become pretty nasty fighting in their own terrain. That kind of equipment is probably were I would draw the for the light side having a chance. Pretty sure in a jungle, and fairly good in mountains. Open desert, no way, though.
 
solarz

solarz

Brigadier
Scratch said:
If the light guys can get their hands on stuff like MANPADS, modern anti-armor missiles and light motars, than they can become pretty nasty fighting in their own terrain.
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That's what I meant by the initial setup.


vesicles said:
One or two battles, perhaps. However, the opponent can simply strengthen their escort to counter surprise attacks.

Additionally, this kind of surprise attacks can only be accomplished with small number of troops so that they wouldn't be detected before the attack takes place. With the small number, they can't achieve much even if they succeed. How much supply can a few light infantry foot soldiers take away? If they want to take more, they would have to bring heavy equipment, which will slow them down and increase the possibility of being detected.
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But then you run into the question of cost-effectiveness. At which point would the advanced army have enough escort to reliably fight off a raiding party armed with guns, mortars, and rocket launchers? Would they be able to sustain that level of escort for all their supply lines all the time?

Arguably, the light infantry army requires fewer supplies than the more advanced army, so they don't need to take everything, and can simply destroy the rest.
 
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paintgun

Senior Member
how about miniature drones?

jungles are the some of the harshest terrain for the unfamiliar forces, nullifying air cover, artillery, satellites, vehicles and mobility, places like Vietnam and South America
which is the perfect terrain for a home light infantry

if miniature drones are advanced enough, it might be the end of such case too
surveillance and intelligence, also smart munitions, think flying hi tech IEDs
 
vesicles

vesicles

Colonel
solarz said:
Arguably, the light infantry army requires fewer supplies than the more advanced army, so they don't need to take everything, and can simply destroy the rest.
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I thought your initial intention was to disrupt the supply enough to "starve the advanced army". that means the light infantry would have to take away a lot of material from its advanced opponent to achieve their goal of "starving their enemy".
 
Kurt

Kurt

Junior Member
Give them some networked A-10 with information through ground troops reconnaisance and it'll be able to replace many MBTs.
 
solarz

solarz

Brigadier
vesicles said:
I thought your initial intention was to disrupt the supply enough to "starve the advanced army". that means the light infantry would have to take away a lot of material from its advanced opponent to achieve their goal of "starving their enemy".
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Yes, by destroying the supplies instead of hauling it off.


Kurt said:
Give them some networked A-10 with information through ground troops reconnaisance and it'll be able to replace many MBTs.
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A few A-10s would get quickly destroyed without a supporting air force.
 
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