"A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers.[1] Commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several companies, each typically commanded by a major or a captain. The typical battalion is built from three operational companies, one weapons company and one headquarters company. In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battalion

[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Soviet-style battalions are half that size though. They usually get augmented with more hardware and are then used as independent units, in what the Russians call a Battalion Tactical Group.

If they lost a battalion, that's 500-600 people, if they lost the whole BTG, it's 700-800.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Losing that many people in 2 days is impressive though. What a meatgrinder.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's a good question what "loss" means here. A total disorganized rout is also a total loss, even though some men might be recoverable and still in fighting shape. The hardware is cooked though. And actually, a rout usually means the Ukrainians get to capture it, so there's your new tank.

And I wouldn't want to be the guy trying to find where hundreds of North Koreans ended up near Kursk, with them not speaking any language anyone would understand and not knowing the area.

The Kursk front has some of the biggest single hits the Ukrainians have delivered to Russian manpower though. Remember the troop convoys where artillery hits were killing dozens to hundreds of soldiers all at once since the freshly mobilized troops didn't know where to go and were just sitting densely packed in trucks on the road?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

That’s a big point… when you degrade a battalion, you degrade (generally) the line troops. There are support troops, admin, logistics, etc associated that are not generally killed. A truck strike like those vehicles gets everyone.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Do North Koreans even know about cell phones and drones?

It seems to me like they've just been pulled into some nightmare dystopian future where mechanical birds are blowing up their comrades.

[–] Kushan 19 points 2 weeks ago

Wasn't there a report recently talking about the north Koreans binging on porn because the internet isn't as restrictive?

I'd assumed they were using personal electronics for that.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

I've seen some videos and diaries from North Koreans talking about FPV drone attacks but I'm pretty sure they only get a very basic crash course at most before they arrive at the front. Hell, even the Russians themselves don't have any solid strategies to deal with them aside from unreliable electronic warfare systems.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago

No they know machines exist. They probably just didn't expect strategies to be so different

[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

every single one of them probably just teenagers yoinked from their homes because they're the only ones who can walk without a limp and/or bent back like everyone else in the village over 25

[–] skeezix 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And they dont have liver failure yet like everyone else in the village

[–] pachrist 1 points 2 weeks ago

Honestly, from other things I've read about North Korean units, they probably just meet a height requirement.