Zerg Rush/Real Life: Difference between revisions

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** Most attempts to control a population with force, even if it's just ordinary police patrols, have this problem. It is logistically impossible to have a police force that can take the rest of the population on if they are determined, or even come close. Most areas have more career criminals than police, never mind the law-abiding majority. The general rule is that it's not the rioters, but whether those with the heavy firepower will bring it out.
** Most attempts to control a population with force, even if it's just ordinary police patrols, have this problem. It is logistically impossible to have a police force that can take the rest of the population on if they are determined, or even come close. Most areas have more career criminals than police, never mind the law-abiding majority. The general rule is that it's not the rioters, but whether those with the heavy firepower will bring it out.
*** During many of the Communist collapses of the late 80's (Romania is particularly notable for this effect) the regime collapsed precisely because the military ultimately refused to slaughter the rebelling populace (largely because they no longer believed in the regime). This almost happened during the Tienanmen Square protests, but the Chinese government found a military force that was willing to slaughter the protesters, and held on to power. Similar situation happened in the USSR too, but there (unlike Romania, which was led by a real hardcase) even the leadership itself was reluctant to use force, and calling our for the army was more of a kneejerk reaction rather that the real intent, so everything just kinda petered out.
*** During many of the Communist collapses of the late 80's (Romania is particularly notable for this effect) the regime collapsed precisely because the military ultimately refused to slaughter the rebelling populace (largely because they no longer believed in the regime). This almost happened during the Tienanmen Square protests, but the Chinese government found a military force that was willing to slaughter the protesters, and held on to power. Similar situation happened in the USSR too, but there (unlike Romania, which was led by a real hardcase) even the leadership itself was reluctant to use force, and calling our for the army was more of a kneejerk reaction rather that the real intent, so everything just kinda petered out.
*** The same business occurred in the [[Middle East Uprising 2011|Arab Revolutions of 2011]]; the governments of [[Useful Notes/Tunisia|Tunisia]] and [[Useful Notes/Modern Egypt|Egypt]] fell more or less because their militaries refused to fire on protesters, and other techniques were useless because of the sheer number of protesters. Libya turned into a [[Civil War]] and Syria and Bahrain turned into bloodbaths because the government forces were willing to fire on the people; however, we should note that because the Libyan and Syrian militaries/security forces had similar demographics to the general public, defections to the protesting side kept the situation protracted, while the fact that the Bahraini forces (and the [[Summon Bigger Fish|Saudi and Emirati forces they called in to help]]) were primarily Sunni and the protesters primarily Shia made defections less of an issue, and the uprising was crushed as a result. On the other hand, ever-[[Genre Savvy]] Morocco explicitly ordered its security forces not to fire on protesters no matter what they did, which is why the protests there never got that big and why the regime was able to get away with moderate reforms.
*** The same business occurred in the [[Middle East Uprising 2011|Arab Revolutions of 2011]]; the governments of [[Tunisia]] and [[Useful Notes/Modern Egypt|Egypt]] fell more or less because their militaries refused to fire on protesters, and other techniques were useless because of the sheer number of protesters. Libya turned into a [[Civil War]] and Syria and Bahrain turned into bloodbaths because the government forces were willing to fire on the people; however, we should note that because the Libyan and Syrian militaries/security forces had similar demographics to the general public, defections to the protesting side kept the situation protracted, while the fact that the Bahraini forces (and the [[Summon Bigger Fish|Saudi and Emirati forces they called in to help]]) were primarily Sunni and the protesters primarily Shia made defections less of an issue, and the uprising was crushed as a result. On the other hand, ever-[[Genre Savvy]] Morocco explicitly ordered its security forces not to fire on protesters no matter what they did, which is why the protests there never got that big and why the regime was able to get away with moderate reforms.
* European warfare in the 18th century, after the devastation of 16th and 17th century total wars, had become a sort of song and dance with opposing generals actually meeting each other to mutually minimize their casualties, and to avoid destroying the actual resource they were fighting over. The rule of warfare was to wear brightly colored uniforms so that everyone knew just who was on whose side, and to use thin files so one row at a time could fire, then get out of the way while they reloaded. This was not a very effective way to win (or kill), but was (relatively) predictable, respectable (in context), and (relatively) civilized; it was generally agreed to because highly disciplined, professional soldiers in this form of warfare were expensive to train, keep, and equip. This system ended with the [[French Revolution]]; suddenly you have a French army five times its pre-Revolution size, much less trained as a whole, and directed by a government more encroaching on the general populace than the kings could ever manage and under attack by most of its neighbors (and then going on for the counter-attack), with generals who had none of these dainty sensibilities and qualms about where replacements for killed soldiers were going to come from or what the upper crust in snooty aristocratically-run nations would think....
* European warfare in the 18th century, after the devastation of 16th and 17th century total wars, had become a sort of song and dance with opposing generals actually meeting each other to mutually minimize their casualties, and to avoid destroying the actual resource they were fighting over. The rule of warfare was to wear brightly colored uniforms so that everyone knew just who was on whose side, and to use thin files so one row at a time could fire, then get out of the way while they reloaded. This was not a very effective way to win (or kill), but was (relatively) predictable, respectable (in context), and (relatively) civilized; it was generally agreed to because highly disciplined, professional soldiers in this form of warfare were expensive to train, keep, and equip. This system ended with the [[French Revolution]]; suddenly you have a French army five times its pre-Revolution size, much less trained as a whole, and directed by a government more encroaching on the general populace than the kings could ever manage and under attack by most of its neighbors (and then going on for the counter-attack), with generals who had none of these dainty sensibilities and qualms about where replacements for killed soldiers were going to come from or what the upper crust in snooty aristocratically-run nations would think....
* Highland Charges in the 17th and 18th century. Unlike what happened in Braveheart, traditional Scottish tactics called for tight and disciplined blocks of infantry. When newer firearms made those tactics obsolete they switched to a screaming charge at the enemy line, which was extremely successful when their enemies would break ranks. When other armies started training their armies to defend against them, they got massacred.
* Highland Charges in the 17th and 18th century. Unlike what happened in Braveheart, traditional Scottish tactics called for tight and disciplined blocks of infantry. When newer firearms made those tactics obsolete they switched to a screaming charge at the enemy line, which was extremely successful when their enemies would break ranks. When other armies started training their armies to defend against them, they got massacred.
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