Land Mines at Kalisz

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Adm.Lee

Who's going to be laying mines south of the 5th Division's last stand? If it's the Soviets and Poles in July 2000, where did they get a lot of mines, and why would they be dropping them there? IIRC, this was an extended meeting engagement, a mobile battle of sorts. Minefields, AFAIK, are more common in deliberate defensive positions, and the Battle of Kalisz doesn't seem to fit that for me.

What he said.

The vast majority of mines the Viet Cong and NVA used in Vietnam against the Australians (and I suspect other allied nations also) came from a 7 mile long field which was supposed to have been watched over by the ARVN...
The situation became so bad that the entire field was dismantled rather than continue to allow hundreds of tonnes of mines to just walk away in the night.
"Recycling" like this is likely to be one of the few methods of resupply by 2000.

[HorseSoldier]

I could see a specialist cottage industry growing up of semi-nomadic civilians who travel around clearing mines, IEDs, and UXO for farmers and smaller communities and then trading the recovered mines or explosives to merchants, military forces or new governments like Krakow. Could make for an interesting group for PCs to encounter or travel with.

[weswood]

On an almost off topic contribution, I was watching a show called 1000 Ways to Die. Three drunk former NVA/Vietcong were playing russian roulette in a hut. The pistol made it all the way around without going off and the drunk men began jumping up and down in triumph. The jumping set off a mine the hut had been built over and killed all three.

[Dog 6]

Originally Posted by weswood

On an almost off topic contribution, I was watching a show called 1000 Ways to Die. Three drunk former NVA/Vietcong were playing russian roulette in a hut. The pistol made it all the way around without going off and the drunk men began jumping up and down in triumph. The jumping set off a mine the hut had been built over and killed all three.

LMFAO !

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

What he said.

The vast majority of mines the Viet Cong and NVA used in Vietnam against the Australians (and I suspect other allied nations also) came from a 7 mile long field which was supposed to have been watched over by the ARVN...
The situation became so bad that the entire field was dismantled rather than continue to allow hundreds of tonnes of mines to just walk away in the night.

IIRC the last or second-last Australian soldier to die in the Vietnam War was killed by an Australian or American mine recovered by the Viet Cong. Could have even been a mine lifted from the above mentioned minefield. Frustrating.

[Abbott Shaull]

I would think that the size of farm in Eastern Europe during WWII would be limited to 100 acre or less, and much less would be tilled for use if they were that large. One has to remember there were just so much a farmer and their family could do.

Not like today corporate farms in which with few farm hands can work several plots of 200+ acres during a grow season...

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by Targan

IIRC the last or second-last Australian soldier to die in the Vietnam War was killed by an Australian or American mine recovered by the Viet Cong. Could have even been a mine lifted from the above mentioned minefield. Frustrating.

How did they know that?

[Legbreaker]

From the bits of mine left after it exploded.