Which country is the more formidable combatant in an all-out war with the United States Military?

1LT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 May 2015 02:41:35 -0400

Which country do you think would be the most challenging opponent in an all-out war with the United States?

Response by SPC Charles Brown made May 3 at 2015 2:58 AM

SPC Charles Brown — Sun, 03 May 2015 02:58:55 -0400

Our current president seems to be afraid of this particular country (Russia). My opinion

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 3 at 2015 3:03 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 May 2015 03:03:14 -0400

Russia, with China a close second. The training and equipping of the Russian forces is what put them over the top for me.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made May 3 at 2015 3:22 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 May 2015 03:22:57 -0400

Russia is back on the plate as the most dangerous with China running in second. Russia takes the top spot because like us they have the ability to run not just a large scale air and ground campaign but the ability to run an unconventional campaign inside of it. If you look at the Ukraine and the Crimean annexation it is nearly a textbook definition of a proxy war enabled through unconventional means.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 3 at 2015 6:29 AM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Sun, 03 May 2015 06:29:00 -0400

1) Russia
2) China

Response by SrA Daniel Hunter made May 3 at 2015 10:33 AM

SrA Daniel Hunter — Sun, 03 May 2015 10:33:58 -0400

I would say the top two are flipped compared to what most are saying here. Although I would say we are more likely to fight Russia.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made May 3 at 2015 10:50 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Sun, 03 May 2015 10:50:06 -0400

PRC has 2.5 million troops.
We have 1.4 million troops.
But then they would never collect the debt.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made May 3 at 2015 11:47 AM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sun, 03 May 2015 11:47:04 -0400

Just by Numbers, Military Manpower and Money China would be the worse Military Adversary.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 3 at 2015 11:54 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 May 2015 11:54:31 -0400

I would rank the top 3 based on my opinion and some of my own research.

1. China...they are only 10-ish years behind us in tech. However, they have a big chunk of the worlds population, and millions in their regular force, and millions more in reserves. Their infantry are just as well equipped as ours, and just as well trained. Fighting them would be an absolute nightmare for both sides.

2. Russia...their army, including reserves, is just as big as we are. Their training may be lacking, but they make up for it in sheer tenacity. Their leadership cut their teeth in Chechnia (I think I spelled that wrong) and they're gaining more experience in the Ukraine right now. They also just fielded an updated version of the AK-47, and a brand new main battle tank. Their Air Force could easily compete with ours. This would be an ugly fight.

3. Iran...A two headed viper here. They have a regular army and a revolutionary guard army. Both have different leadership and overall outlook on the world. Their regular force has pretty good odds of capitulating quickly, but the revolutionary guard would be very hard to stamp out. We would win, but the toll could be pretty high.

4.PRNK...seriously? How dangerous could a half starved conscripted army really be? If someone here knows more about them, please share the info.

5.IsIS...another costly counterinsurgency. We are gonna end upfighting them eventually. However, I don't know enough about their capabilities to rank them higher than the bottom of the list.

As I said, this is just my opinion.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 3 at 2015 12:01 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 May 2015 12:01:10 -0400

Most of you probably wont agree with me, but i believe under Putin its Russia. Putin is a smart man and a Leader that means what he says. He doesn't back down and isn't afraid of threats. He seems to be a man that truly cares about his country and will do whatever it takes to keep them strong. If he were to set up the right allies he could ensure the destruction of our economy and take over as the power of the world. Ive been keeping an eye on them for some time now and believe that Russia would be the most formidable enemy.

If you would wish to discuss why I feel this way further I would enjoy the opportunity to debate it.

Response by COL Ted Mc made May 3 at 2015 1:24 PM

COL Ted Mc — Sun, 03 May 2015 13:24:00 -0400

1LT(P) Private RallyPoint Member - Staff; Could you be a bit more specific in your terminology?

How do you define "formidable"? How do you define "all-out war"?

Would the opposing force be concerned about retaliatory damage if IT started the war?

Would the opposing force feel constrained to limit its retaliatory actions if the US started the war?

Would that restraint continue if the opposing force believed it was losing and about to be destroyed utterly?

Response by SFC Collin McMillion made May 3 at 2015 9:20 PM

SFC Collin McMillion — Sun, 03 May 2015 21:20:53 -0400

If you are the one who gets wounded or killed, what difference does it make?

Response by SGT Bryan Henderson made May 6 at 2015 2:40 PM

SGT Bryan Henderson — Wed, 06 May 2015 14:40:12 -0400

Honestly if we were to go out into all out war I think China would be our biggest problem based on the size of their military and the population that they can contribute to replenish their troops.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made May 6 at 2015 2:49 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 06 May 2015 14:49:25 -0400

China would be the toughest opponent, hands down. I hate to say this, but how we would beat them would likely be due to our naval superiority. Eleven aircraft carriers would systematically dismantle their facilities along the coast where the vast majority of the industry and population is based. They'd give us a tough go if we were foolish enough to go toe to toe with them, but I think we are smarter than that.

Response by SrA Private RallyPoint Member made May 6 at 2015 3:25 PM

SrA Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 06 May 2015 15:25:14 -0400

China by far would be the biggest threat in a nose to nose fight as the troop count between each country is a vast difference

Response by TSgt Christopher D. made May 6 at 2015 5:13 PM

TSgt Christopher D. — Wed, 06 May 2015 17:13:12 -0400

You know the sad thing that will not be pondered by probably 95% of the people who read and reply is this: The only country listed with the capability of invading us is Russia. So the hypothetical war would be one that we either initiated, or was a response to something one of these countries does somewhere else, or a "turr" attack here in the US.

China will not launch a nuke at us. Neither will Russia or Iran if/when they develop a nuclear missile. North Korea can't get a missile to hit a target any farther away than a couple of blocks, so...

China has been investing in better technology, better training, they established and are training a proper NCO corps... but they don't even have a blue water navy. Yet.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made May 7 at 2015 1:15 PM

SCPO David Lockwood — Thu, 07 May 2015 13:15:55 -0400

The numbers in the military alone along with their technology make them a formidable foe.

Response by TSgt SHawn McCarter made May 8 at 2015 1:11 PM

TSgt SHawn McCarter — Fri, 08 May 2015 13:11:55 -0400

China, they could use numbers Remeber the Iran Iraq war? Iran just sent bodies and if not for the use of Chem weapons Iraq was done. Also the Russian army has not had new gear in 15 years and is 1/4 the population of the US. What was it Patton said we'd move through them like crap though a goose!

Response by LTC Stephen F. made May 20 at 2015 12:54 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Wed, 20 May 2015 12:54:43 -0400

China because of their strategic location, the sheer size of their military, their capability of strategic reach against us as well as our close allies Japan and South Korea as well as Taiwan, Singapore and Australia, and their ability to unleash the dogs of war by pushing North Korea.
China is bordered by Russia, Mongolia to the north' Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Pakistan to the west and the Himalaya Mountains to the south, with North Korea to the east. The Spratly Islands are "occupied" on uninhabited islands by Chinese forces. China has a capable navy, army, strategic missile, air force, and aggressive intel capabilities including military and economic espionage, computer hacking, .... China also has a robust economy which is growing - unlike Iran, Syria. North Korea or Russia- although Russia is taking steps to broaden its economy.
China could easily launch invasions against our strategic regional allies Japan and South Korea which we have military support treaties with [unless that status has changed recently].
China, like the other nations listed has experienced brutal combat on its soil within the past century. While there is some unrest and desire to change primarily among young people, the military seems to be very supportive and protective of their homeland and its interests.

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made May 20 at 2015 12:54 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Wed, 20 May 2015 12:54:41 -0400

China - They have more people than we have bullets. Followed by Russia because they have decent tech, will use chemical weapons and will resort to nuclear options as soon as the war starts to swing our way.

Response by SA Harold Hansmann made May 20 at 2015 1:50 PM

SA Harold Hansmann — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:50:09 -0400

China: If they got a majority of their population to the coast and had them all jump at one time the theory is that they could send a tidal wave our way. ( fact or fiction we might one day find out)
I think Russia would be the greatest threat then China. If they ever team up we are in serious trouble.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 4:25 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 16:25:31 -0400

A lot depends on where and how the conflict unfolds. None of these countries are capable of projecting a whole lot of military power far beyond the border of their nation, most of them could give us a serious challenge along their border.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 9:54 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 21:54:05 -0400

Oh, I would say the Arianians for sure.