Being in a city under siege, SHTF advice

[Northern Horseman]

I tend to think of survival skills the same way I do car insurance, we all go through our lives hoping never to have a car accident, but if we do, our car insurance is there to meet our needs.
Survival skills are the only personal insurance we can give ourselves, the amount of insurance depends on your commitment to learning, planning, practicing and having the tools to survive.
Many of these skills are there throughout your life for the benefit of not only yourself but others as well, the first aid and medical knowledge has on a few occasions in my life been of great help to me if I happen to be the first one at an accident. I know of at least one incident were it meant life or death for one of the injured parties ( I always leave just when I hear the sirens)
No one knows the future, all we can do is commit to learn skills to survive come what may. Will it be a waste of time? learning is never a waste of time, worrying is. Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

[BENESSE]

Well put, NH.

[Rick]

This whole thing is way too subjective for me. Roving hoards? Bodies stacked like cord wood? Crawling through sewers? This is just an exercise in imagination about the theoretical. There is no way to plan for something you can't define.

[BENESSE]

This whole thing is way too subjective for me. Roving hoards? Bodies stacked like cord wood? Crawling through sewers? This is just an exercise in imagination about the theoretical. There is no way to plan for something you can't define.

There is. At Bellevue Hospital.
The straight jacket might make it more challenging to practice crawling on your stomach.

[Seniorman]

This whole thing is way too subjective for me. Roving hoards? Bodies stacked like cord wood? Crawling through sewers? This is just an exercise in imagination about the theoretical. There is no way to plan for something you can't define.

What's the matter, Rick?? Don't you go to the movies??

S.M.

[Rick]

Movies? No, sir. Not me! There are ne'er do wells just waiting for unsuspecting folks to get out of their cars and head for the entrance. If you figure that cost of a ticket, popcorn, soda and a large box of Milk Duds you're pushing a grand or so. They know where the money is.

[Dough Boy]

Who on earth is going to "siege" us? I thought the Canadians might invade us but they're just to darn nice. They'd probably ask permission first.

Actually we have been strategically placing hockey players all across the US for years, one day we will strike and you will be dodging pucks like you wouldn't believe! And you may or may have not noticed but a lot of hockey gear is made with Kevlar now LOL

[Rick]

Dodging hockey pucks........that's sorta like skeet shooting. This could be fun..... PULL!

[natertot]

Dodging hockey pucks........that's sorta like skeet shooting. This could be fun..... PULL!

That explains their gear being made of kevlar!

[Dough Boy]

If you want to survive the Canadian Death Squads we will send in the challenge is "Please" and the response is "Thank You" LOL sorry I am derailing this thread aren't I...

Cities under siege, when I think of siege I think of surrounded are we talking surrounded or occupied? Either way if I had the opportunity to see what was possibly coming I would bug out ASAP, if you know the terrain of you area, you will be one up on a force that is about to encircle or occupy your city, but that advantage disappears as they consolidate their positions. I am living in a small city though.. a city like New York may be a whole different story and since I have no experience with those size cities I would be less able to make an comment.

[Rick]

Experience has no bearing on comments. If you don't know just make something up. Shoot, I can make up an answer to almost anything. Gosh, I just did. See?

[Winter]

This is just an exercise in imagination about the theoretical.

They call it brainstorming and/or role-playing. War College and Wall Street do it every day.


You can not rule out anything and you can't prepare for everything. Do your risk assessments and address what is more probable and imminent first and work up the list till you are satisfied. Every preparation has a bearing on all further preparation goals so, IMO, discussions like this are important.

[Rick]

Right. If you say so. I've done a lot of brain storming sessions and it always had some tangible being solved. It becomes a fruitless exercise when there is no answer that can be attained.

Few cities have actually been under siege. It's a heavily misused word. Cities under attack would be appropriate. It's not something that's going to happen in the U.S. Not from without and not from within. The numbers required are simply too large and not sustainable to siege a city. Germany tried to siege Stalingrad. They never were successful in encircling the city. They attacked with two Armies, over 200,000 men, and had their heads handed to them.

There are only two countries with the capability to attack the U.S. on our soil. Russia and China. Russia would be intercepted coming over the pole and China on open water. Even if they did land a force they could not sustain it with supply lines stretched that far. And which gang has 200,000 men and armored divisions? None.

So what's the point of the exercise? You can't brainstorm when the city isn't known, the force isn't known, the logistics and weather are not known. It's just folks letting their imagination loose.

[Winter]

Right. If you say so. I've done a lot of brain storming sessions and it always had some tangible being solved. It becomes a fruitless exercise when there is no answer that can be attained.

The goal is not "an answer", the goal is to engage that train of thought.


Few cities have actually been under siege. It's a heavily misused word. Cities under attack would be appropriate. It's not something that's going to happen in the U.S. Not from without and not from within. The numbers required are simply too large and not sustainable to siege a city. Germany tried to siege Stalingrad. They never were successful in encircling the city. They attacked with two Armies, over 200,000 men, and had their heads handed to them.

Semantics. Modren warfare and insurgencies don't attack walled cities. Kuwait was sieged, as it were, by Iraq. There would be alot more sieges if cities had confining walls. The point is moot.

There are only two countries with the capability to attack the U.S. on our soil. Russia and China. Russia would be intercepted coming over the pole and China on open water. Even if they did land a force they could not sustain it with supply lines stretched that far. And which gang has 200,000 men and armored divisions? None.

Now, but what if our ecomomy collapses and we can't field a force? Right now russia could attack with just land forces and 50% of our air assets are overseas. Do you believe that we can stop 10 armored divisions crossing the Bering Straight if we can't pay an army? I know a little about logistics, I think a well supplied armor division with aviation assets could make it to Anchorage. I also believe that any enemy could stage an army south of the border and attack that way if our government is bankrupt and can't afford the intelligence assets.

I have long and hard about how the US could be attacked. I was writing a book. It is neither impossible or improbable.


So what's the point of the exercise? You can't brainstorm when the city isn't known, the force isn't known, the logistics and weather are not known. It's just folks letting their imagination loose

You absolutely can wargame that scenario. The common factors and the solutions for those "factors" are a known. Fitting your skills and knowledge into the impossible scenario is why most people frequent this forum.
.

Rick, where is the wilderness survival content? hahahaha

[BENESSE]

A siege should be the least of our problems in this day and age. I won't repeat the possibilities, y'all know them all by now.

[Rick]

Okay. There are a couple of beliefs that you have to support first. Neither of which I think will happen in my life time. And a siege, by definition, is the encirclement of a city so that no one can escape and no supplies can get in. Definition may be part of the problem here.

War College Classroom:

Instructor: "Today we are going to brainstorm on the siege of a city. I'll give you an hour."
Student: "Uh, what city?"
Instructor: "Doesn't matter, pick one."
Another Student: "Who's the attacking force?"
Instructor: "Pick a country."
Yet Another Student: "What are the logistics?"
Instructor: "You're brainstorming. Make something up. Do I have to do everything? You have 58 minutes."

[hunter63]

There will be no siege....China will just evict us.
Why shoot up your own stuff?