Ask An Expert- LAND Forces.

My theory: the large distances the US had to deal from day 1. The sheer size of the US, much of it empty space, mandates proper logistics for anything to be done. For the average EU country, 100km is quite a distance. In the case of my country, it's almost a third of our lengh! What's that for a US citizen? Comute? Not only that, the EU's average population and habitacional density means that supplies are always relatively near (hence Napoleon's tactic of moving with few supplies; he knew he could get more on a quick march into enemy territory). Add the need to cover great distances with a good industrial capacity, and you get good long-range logistics.

Incidently, this also helped develop US long-range aviation. While all countries started thinking of "cross country flying" very soon, to the average EU country this meant aircraft with 300-500km range. To the US, that's just half of what was needed...

Thus proving, again, the old proverb: "Necessity is the mother of invention".

By that logic, Russians should be masters of logistics. Are they?
 
"By that logic, Russians should be masters of logistics. Are they?"

Think you're getting into one of the ways Americans have differed from Russians. Told that your piece of the pie awaits you further down the road drove Americans into all corners of our land and spurred the necessity to provide the logistical underpinnings to sustain our presence. It isn't any easier living in Arizona, N. Dakota or northern Wisconsin than Russia. Our population was incentivized to do so.

Russians seemed to look at life east of the Urals as an imposition of punishment. And, indeed, for the longest time it was exactly that. Thus, despite eight time zones, there's never been any compelling incentive to provide for the proper development and exploitation of all available Russian resources.
 
By that logic, Russians should be masters of logistics. Are they?

No, but because the russians arrived at the industrial age (19th century) with a 14th century manner of governement, with a population that was not only ignorant but seriously oppressed and prevented from trying anything new. The complete opposite of the US expansion.

Which means Russia/USSR arrived at the early 20th century with the need (large area) but without the tech & admin base to carry out the job, unlike the US.
 
Just since i followed a quote trail back there...

By extension, US civilian sector also operates the most advanced logistics in the world. Amazon, UPS, and FedEx rule the field.
By turnover, currently the global Top 10 ranking for logistics companies as of 2015 is:
- DHL (52.0b USD), Germany
- UPS (46.0b USD), USA
- China Railway Group (44.9b USD), PRC
- FedEx (38.5b USD), USA
- Maersk (33.3b USD), Denmark
- JSC (31.4b USD), Russia
- DB Mobility (22.3b USD), Germany
- Kühne+Nagel (19.3b USD), Switzerland
- CMA-CGM (17.9b USD), France
- BNSF (17.2b USD), USA

Amazon's overstated. Their inhouse logistics component accounted for 6.5b USD last year, the amount they spent on other logistics providers accounted for 11.5b USD. For comparison, Dutch TNT Express at 7.5b USD is #25 worldwide.
 
No, but because the russians arrived at the industrial age (19th century) with a 14th century manner of governement, with a population that was not only ignorant but seriously oppressed and prevented from trying anything new. The complete opposite of the US expansion.

Which means Russia/USSR arrived at the early 20th century with the need (large area) but without the tech & admin base to carry out the job, unlike the US.

I find yoirs and S2's answers complementing, yet I like his more. Maybe because it has a more positive tone.
 
Just since i followed a quote trail back there...


By turnover, currently the global Top 10 ranking for logistics companies as of 2015 is:
- DHL (52.0b USD), Germany
- UPS (46.0b USD), USA
- China Railway Group (44.9b USD), PRC
- FedEx (38.5b USD), USA
- Maersk (33.3b USD), Denmark
- JSC (31.4b USD), Russia
- DB Mobility (22.3b USD), Germany
- Kühne+Nagel (19.3b USD), Switzerland
- CMA-CGM (17.9b USD), France
- BNSF (17.2b USD), USA

Amazon's overstated. Their inhouse logistics component accounted for 6.5b USD last year, the amount they spent on other logistics providers accounted for 11.5b USD. For comparison, Dutch TNT Express at 7.5b USD is #25 worldwide.

You are neglecting the companies with in house logistics jere. Another thing are prices of the services for the covered dishtance. Some of the companies on that list very heavily use outsource services, too.
 
I find yoirs and S2's answers complementing, yet I like his more. Maybe because it has a more positive tone.

Well, up to a point, he's right: while the US saw the west as "money! lands! wealth! gogogogo!" from the first day, Russia, for centuries, saw the east as little more than "barbarian-filled, cold hell. avoid!". When they finally cleared the "barbarians" they started using it as a dumping ground. It was only when oil and coal and lots of other resources were found that a state-run expansion began.
 
Just since i followed a quote trail back there...


By turnover, currently the global Top 10 ranking for logistics companies as of 2015 is:
- DHL (52.0b USD), Germany
- UPS (46.0b USD), USA
- China Railway Group (44.9b USD), PRC
- FedEx (38.5b USD), USA
- Maersk (33.3b USD), Denmark
- JSC (31.4b USD), Russia
- DB Mobility (22.3b USD), Germany
- Kühne+Nagel (19.3b USD), Switzerland
- CMA-CGM (17.9b USD), France
- BNSF (17.2b USD), USA

Amazon's overstated. Their inhouse logistics component accounted for 6.5b USD last year, the amount they spent on other logistics providers accounted for 11.5b USD. For comparison, Dutch TNT Express at 7.5b USD is #25 worldwide.

But you're only listing the transaction value here. Amazon did $107 billion of business last year. If only half of its products were physical and had to be delivered, that would be $54 billion. It contracts UPS, FedEx, OnTrack, USPS, plus hundreds of smaller contractors to deliver physical goods throughout the US. Things are delivered quickly and efficiently. I've ordered a FireStick from Amazon and had it delivered to my front door in 97 minutes. I live near a large metropolitan area (Los Angeles) but not within it. I am not exactly in a city where people can walk outside and shop for groceries and eat at a restaurant.

China Railway may deliver $45 billion worth of stuff, but how fast and efficient is it?
 
No, but because the russians arrived at the industrial age (19th century) with a 14th century manner of governement, with a population that was not only ignorant but seriously oppressed and prevented from trying anything new. The complete opposite of the US expansion.

Which means Russia/USSR arrived at the early 20th century with the need (large area) but without the tech & admin base to carry out the job, unlike the US.

Tundra... Tundra doesn't dominate Siberia in real life near as much as it does in imagination but its still damn cold with long winters and lots of tundra. Frost heaves and tundra melt make roads and rail a nightmare to upkeep. Only small parts of the continental US sufer from serious road and rail breaking frost heaves and nowhere suffers from tundra melt. The Russians not only much have farther to go, but have far worse terrain to deal with overall.
 
By that logic, Russians should be masters of logistics. Are they?
Compared to whom? The West? It was a race between North American Armies to arrive by ship and Siberian Armies to arrive by train - after they finished off the Chinese. The Soviets were going to fight a two front war. They might or might not win against NATO but they were surely going to clobber the Chinese.

Also compared to the Wehrmacht, they were the superior logisticians. They built their own roads instead of relying on existing or repairing existing rails. They plan for 40 days. They got 40 days. They may lose after 40 days but they got 40 days of combat and usually, the enemy was also spent that they could not afford to take advantage of Soviet exhaustion.

The Soviets maybe number 2 but it was a close number 2. Number 3, however, is such a distant third that they might as well be classified as the rest of the world.
 
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Tundra... Tundra doesn't dominate Siberia in real life near as much as it does in imagination but its still damn cold with long winters and lots of tundra
This and Taiga and its poor soil.
There's not that wide strip of abundant lands between taiga and dry steppes of southern Siberia from Ural to Altai mountains.
 
But you're only listing the transaction value here. Amazon did $107 billion of business last year. If only half of its products were physical and had to be delivered, that would be $54 billion.
"Turnover" in the above means the turnover of the companies themselves (read: transport costs), not the worth of goods transported. For scale, for most of those companies the worth of goods transported exceeds transport costs (i.e. their turnover) ten-fold; Maersk for example transports around 300b USD worth in goods for its customers. Amazon spends 18b USD on transporting the goods they're selling, including 6.5b using its own logistics network and 11.5b hiring contracted logistics companies. As a logistics company it's not a major player.

I've ordered a FireStick from Amazon and had it delivered to my front door in 97 minutes.

Metro's electronics stores last year introduced optional delivery within 3 hours if you live within 10 miles of their next store. Regular retail conglomerate, one of the largest in Europe. Whether i want to buy an Amazon Fire stick or a couple washing machines i can have 'em here in three hours. The courier service they use guarantees 90 minutes maximum delivery time nationwide from pickup (for networks of Metro's size) for packages under 75 lbs, 180 mins for larger packages btw.

On a side note, for grocery deliveries Amazon has some of the worst guaranteed delivery times over here compared to other companies. Gotta order before 6 pm and take out the premium option to get it delivered the next day.
 
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Metro's electronics stores last year introduced optional delivery within 3 hours if you live within 10 miles of their next store. Regular retail conglomerate, one of the largest in Europe. Whether i want to buy an Amazon Fire stick or a couple washing machines i can have 'em here in three hours. The courier service they use guarantees 90 minutes maximum delivery time nationwide from pickup (for networks of Metro's size) for packages under 75 lbs, 180 mins for larger packages btw.

Yeah, but there are no Amazon stores, anywhere in the world, other than online. There's a major warehouse in San Bernardino, which is about 50 miles from me. There might be smaller warehouses scattered throughout LA/OC counties and they serve Amazon Now delivery service.

On a side note, for grocery deliveries Amazon has some of the worst guaranteed delivery times over here compared to other companies. Gotta order before 6 pm and take out the premium option to get it delivered the next day.

Never bought groceries from Amazon before. I prefer to see the non-packaged food that I eat before I buy.
 
What is the recoil force for the 50 cal machine gun?

Which one? The American .50BMG has a felt recoil about the same as a 3" shell from 12g shotgun based on a quick internet search. The weapon required to handle it has to be heavy and this works against felt recoil.
 
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