15 tons of nuclear weapons + delivery systems should do the trick.
Forget about saving the revolution in Ukraine. A few nukes here and there and you could establish anarcho-communism globally. Under my benign leadership, of course.
15 tons is roughly 3 bombs, just gonna need to build the planes in 1919 Ukraine… if you want a missile and you need a launcher, you can’t under 15 tons even for a single one
I’ll have 55 of these:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)
Now you can raze 55 city blocks!
I’d probably just take 15tons of medicine, maybe some powertools but I’m not sure if the electrical grid ran the same voltage and stuff
honestly I think it’s weird how focused on weaponry this all is.
Well, the revolution failed because ukraine was not industrialized enough to defend itself against the soviet union. It would make sense why so many of us would want to bring armaments .
Assuming theres no wealth cap, I would bring rare metals like silver gold and aluminum with me. That should be enough to destroy any nation state from within via corruption without spilling any blood. If that is not a option id bring the necessary infrastructure to mass produce kamikaze drones.
I would submit that, if your answer is essentially “bring 15 tons of money” then a proper answer to your original question requires at least an outline of how you’re going to spend that money in 1918: how you’re going to arrange purchases, who you’re going to buy from, what you’re going to buy, how you’re going to move the purchased goods and the money, how you’re going to protect them both at rest and in transit, and how the purchased supplies are going to change the outcome of the war.
So if you’re going to buy guns, for example, which manufacturer are you going to buy them from, which model, can they actually supply the model you want in the volume that you need in 1918, how are you going to get the gold to them and get the weapons back, and then which parts of the army are going to get those weapons and how does that lead to defeating the Russian army.
Otherwise you’re just bringing 15 tons of liability.
15 tons of gold… well, for comparison, Spain sent about 500 tons of gold to USSR during the Civil War, supposedly to get weapons, and it wasn’t nearly enough.
shit
The USSR shafted Spain by massively overcharging for supplies and weapons since no other country in the world besides Mexico and (secretly) France was willing to assist Spain, and to top it all off, the USSR sent fairly crappy weapons too.
There’s a good short video about it here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S_mnw0iK0LQ
15 tons of suicide drones.
Its a little unclear when exaclty we woud return, so if we could return like 1917 before bolsheviks took power and be able to kill off the top brass, history certainly could change quite a bit. Seems to me that this would be a huge gamble, but so are many other ideas such as bringing modern technologies with you.
Go back naked, pick up a rock, murder the first capitalist.
Can I go so far to prevent Stalin and save Trotsky?
Wasn’t Trotsky the one who ordered the Red Army to crush the Makhnovists?
As an anarcom I obviously sympathize more for the makhnovists, still I think the world without stalinism could’ve been so much better; not an easy choice to have a death note in your hand, without leninism probably you won’t have a real opposition force against nazis.
Do none of you feel embarrassed that your ideology necessitates making up fake scenarios in your head to cope with a lack of historical success?
Like, if being an ML required me to fantasize about how things could have been better if only I had a time machine, I would seriously consider reevaluating my entire ideology and relearning everything from scratch.
This thread is such bad optics and not one of you seem to realize.
As a fellow ML lurking in this thread, we’re not immune to fantasizing or wondering how things might’ve been different, if the USSR were still around or what have you.
And sometimes engaging in those kinds of counterfactuals can be fun. What if me and my friends went back and time to give tanks and AR-15s to the Paris Commune?
I think what matters is whether you’re out there doing to the work. I know a number of Anarchists in my local organizing scene, who are really talented, and that I’m glad to know and have around. Our ideological differences don’t come into play as much when we’re all on a picket line together, or feeding the hungry together, or in a protest march together.
Anarchists are at least out here having made revolutions, and governed territory, which is more I can say for our Trotskyist comrades.
I have never in my life seen an ML engage in this type of trite historical fantasymaking. It’s embarrassing. Can you show me an example here on Lemmy of an ML doing this?
Also I suppose the idea that not a single anarchist replied to my comment is fairly damning. There is apparently no counterargument.
How Hitler could have won ww2 type post
Why are you even on the anarchist instance when you hate anarchists so much? Go join Hexbear. You’ll be happier in their echo chamber.
Talking about history and trying to figure out what could have gone differently and what would have been needed for that isnt a bad thing for movements. Could be done more often tbh.
Yeah, thats analyzing + learning from the mistakes of the past, it’s vital to every movement.
However, these kinds of posts are straight up hoi4 alt history fetishizing past events type of deal mixed with delusions of grandeur (you become a great man™ who singlehandedly saves the revolution)
I think the right approach is basically “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”. In Mark Twain’s fantasy, his main character knows the basic principles of some modern technology, but the medieval period lacks any of the necessary material refining or manufacturing capabilities, so he has to work within the limitations of the time.
For this question, we are allowed to carry 15 tons of material from the present, which you can do a lot with. What could you bring that would actually be usable in the time period, and how could you apply it to actually change the course of events?
1918 is a very interesting time period to work in. Industrialization has spread, and automobiles have been around for awhile. Petroleum fuels are available for more than just lamplighting. Trains are not new at this point, but there are some interesting new ideas about not burning coal to make them run. The powered airplane was invented in 1903, and there was rapid development in this field between 1914 and 1918 due to the conflict in Europe. As WWI is drawing to a close, there’s a lot of leftover military hardware lying around, and probably some supply officers who wouldn’t mind writing off a few tanks in exchange for a bribe. There are opportunities that never existed before and never will again.
Practical application of radio is very new, accessible to only a small handful of people in the world who actually understand how it works. Battlefield communication is still largely done by hand-carried messages, with your best speed probably on a horse. Motorcycles exist, including military models, but the range is limited and they’re definitely not all-terrain vehicles. Telegraphs exist but are dependent on wiring infrastructure. Communications is still difficult, and instantaneous communication in the field is nearly impossible - a problem that can be solved today with a $20 walkie-talkie.
By December of 1918, the Revolutionary Insurgent Army “was just over 110,000 strong, divided into four Corps, consisting of 83,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, assault groups, artillery, reconnaissance, medical, and other detachments, including armoured cars and seven armoured trains.”
Shit. You’re not carrying supplies for an army of 110,000 in 15 tons. Forget food, water, small arms or ammunition in any capacity to supply the army.
How do we make a real difference, in 1918?
- 2 of the world’s most successful military vehicle: the Toyota Hilux, 1985 2.4L turbodiesel 4WD, ~3 tons. In 1918 we can get an equivalent for diesel fuel, even if it is a probably a little dirty compared to modern fuel.
- tools, spare tires, wheels, axles, drive shaft, transmission and engine block for same, 1.5 tons (4.5), basically an entire third truck worth of spare parts
- 2x trained mechanics for same, 0.25 ton
- vehicle service lift for same, 0.75 ton (5.5)
- 4x Browning M2 with 2x truck mounts for same, plus however much ammunition we can fit into 1 ton (6.5)
- 500x Midland Radio GXT67Pro 5W Walkie Talkie with chargers and spare batteries, plus 10x GMRS Waterproof Repeaters and 50x FlexSolar C60 60W Foldable Solar Chargers, 1 ton (7.5)
- 4x Generac 5000W Portable Diesel Electric Generators, 0.5 ton (8)
- 1x Sopwith Camel, two-seater variant, 2 tons (10)
- spare engine and control parts for same, plus tools, 0.5 ton
- trained pilot and mechanic for same, 0.25 ton
- 10x Olympus OM-1 Mark II with spare batteries, plus M. Zuiko 150-600mm lenses and EE-1 Dot Sights, and also 50x Olympus TG-7 Tough, 0.25 ton (11)
- 20x Panasonic Toughbooks with spare batteries, running some relatively simple version of Linux, with GIMP and LibreOffice installed, plus 10x Brother color laser printers of some variety and however much paper and extra toner cartridges can be fit into 0.5 ton (11.5)
Well, I guess we still have room for extras…
- 100x Barrett M99 chambered for .50 BMG, plus as much ammunition as we can fit into 1 ton (12.5)
- 0.5 ton of some variant of night vision goggles
- Fill the final 2 tons with some very simple model of RPG launcher and ammunition
The overall intention of all of this is communications, intelligence gathering and distribution, and high reliability and the capacity to actually operate and maintain it in eastern Europe in 1918.
The Toyotas are command field vehicles, with the Brownings for self-defense (not attack platforms). They should be able to handle almost any terrain and stay in operational condition. Each would carry one of the radio repeaters, a box of 20 spare hand radios and batteries, one of the portable generators, one of the OM-1 Mark IIs, one of the Barretts and two of the RPG launchers. The remaining hand radios get distributed out to field units, along with the solar chargers. The service lift is worth including so that the trucks can be serviced quickly and put back in the field.
The other two generators are intended to support a field command facility with several of the Toughbooks, the mechanical service equipment and the Sopwith.
The Sopwith is intended as an observation aircraft. It might get fitted with weapons, but more important is having a cameraman in the second seat. Two of the OM-1 Mark IIs will be in the airplane at all times. The pilot will take minimal risks. The intelligence from the photography will be worth much more than any potential combat wins.
The Toughbooks will be used for viewing and editing the collected photos from however many field units can be provided with the cameras. Olympus cameras are the choice because the micro 4/3 format is lighter and more compact than standard 4/3 DSLR cameras, and Olympus ruggedizes and weatherproofs all of their cameras. 20 of the TG-7s will be distributed out to field units for intelligence gathering, with messengers running them back and forth to command, so 20 more are in constant rotation, with 10 spares.
GIMP obviously for photo editing, and LibreOffice for reports and documentation. The printers are worth including so that intelligence reports can be distributed to field commanders who won’t have access to the computers, and the reports can be burned or otherwise easily destroyed as necessary.
The Barretts will be the most advanced weapons anywhere in the field. Their basic purpose is to punch holes in engine blocks from long range. I doubt there are any armored vehicles of this time period that can withstand a .50 BMG round. It could probably blow up the boiler of a steam locomotive. Give each sniper a set of the NVGs and put them in a position to deny the enemy use of any vehicles.
And obviously, the RPGs will be a force multiplier for any infantry unit. There won’t really be any equivalent firepower in the field.
High-resolution aerial photography of the battlefield, plus communications infrastructure built around the radios and the trucks, will put this group way ahead of any other military of the time. They’ll know where the enemy is and where they’re going at all times, and be able to share that information with their entire army. The war will be completely different in a week. Enemy armies will no longer be a threat after a month. They’ll control Moscow within 6 months.
You’re not carrying supplies for an army of 110,000 in 15 tons.
15 metric tons of pure gold is worth approximately $2 billion US today. I assume gold wasn’t entirely worthless a hundred years ago either.
Sure, but you can’t eat it, you can’t kill your enemies or defend your homes with it, and having a big pile of it makes you a target. Hard to hide that once you start spending it.
Besides, in 1918 the walkie talkies alone are more valuable than anything you could buy. The current equivalent would be the SCR-68:
https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/western_el_scr68scr_6.html
This was bulky, unreliable, complicated to operate, and had limited transmission power. It was portable only in the sense that it was built into an airplane.
Also, the Toughbooks… One modern laptop paired with one of the digital cameras would probably be worth more than 15 tons of gold in 1918. The radios would at least be understandable to technical experts of the time. The computer would be incomprehensible magic.
^ I vote this comrade get first dibs at the time machine.
whatever equipment you bring, if you can’t reproduce them, the advantage is gone after the equipment is gone… like… modern drones are pretty light and could give a huge tactical advantage from scouting alone, and they could also be used for bombarding, say you bring enough solar power chargers to keep them running, whatever tools and replacement parts for what is more likely to wear out, with 15 tons you could get several drone squads playing support role to diminish the chances of them taking damage… but how many years would they last anyway?
perhaps a bunch of schematics and tools to build tools so you can make more advanced weaponry would be better, and of course schematics for better agricultural tools to boost production while you are so focused in arming up
