Rocket Artillery.

This is coolbert:

The newspaper accounts say that the bombardment of Israeli cities, including Haifa, is being done by the Fadjr-3 rocket.

Hezbollah evidently has a whole arsenal of Iranian manufactured rockets and missiles. An arsenal that gives the Hezbollah the capability to range and fire at Israeli cities at will.

Even almost the length and breadth of all of Israel.

This is unheard of for an organization described as "terrorists". Hezbollah comprises a state within a state. Lebanese central government forces cannot restrain Hezbollah them from attacking Israel. Incapable from a "will" standpoint, and a capability standpoint both.

It seems that Iran has taken to rocket artillery in a BIG way. Manufacturing locally copies or improved versions of copies from the former Soviet Union or other communist countries, namely China and North Korea.




Rocket artillery is a cheap and dirty way to saturate an area target with firepower. A poor man's way of doing without artillery or airpower and yet achieving results.

First used by the Germans in World War Two [Nebelwerfer]. Then by the Soviets [Katyushas].

[some may suggest the British Congreve rocket artillery used by the army of Wellington was the first rocket artillery. Others may suggest the British just copied the rockets fired at them by the Indian army of Sultan Tipu as being the first rocket artillery!!]

"A military tactic developed by Tipu Sultan and his father, Hyder Ali, was the use of mass attacks with rocket brigades on infantry formations. Tipu wrote a military manual called Fathul Mujahidin in which 200 rocket men were prescribed to each Mysorean 'cushoon'. (Mysore had 16 to 24 cushoons of infantry)."

An entire battalion of rocket artillery, consisting of eighteen firing units, each having a forty round capacity, firing en masse, can obliterate an entire grid square [1000 meters square] in seconds!! Impressive.

These units are mobile, and can be displaced quickly for further use.

But, are also very susceptible to counter-fire. Rocket artillery gives off a lot of trailing smoke that gives away the position of the firing units. And of course the location can be very quickly determined by counter-battery/counter-mortar radar.

Israel will have a real problem with these rocket firing units in a prolonged conflict.

coolbert.