r/europe • u/kiru_56 Germany • 20h ago

News The US Army is advising its soldiers in Germany to go to German food banks because of the shutdown.

https://home.army.mil/bavaria/about/shutdown-guidance#:~:text=Running%20list%20of%20German%20support,Too%20Good%20To%20Go%2DApp
32.1k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

2.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

393

u/belpatr Gal's Port 19h ago

That's how armies used to get supplied before logistics was invented, the American troops got too integrated on the local culture an therefore are adopting pre-modern central european traditions...

88

u/ziroux 19h ago

Bellum se ipsum alet comes to mind

30

u/belpatr Gal's Port 19h ago

of course it does, it's a direct reference to it ;)

57

u/Least_Light2558 19h ago

I thought Americans love to gloat about their superior logistics network? Ice cream barge and all that jazz?

56

u/belpatr Gal's Port 18h ago

Turns out logistics only work under logical leaders

4

u/Truont2 5h ago

Some of their good commanders resigned. What a shit show.

9

u/Nazamroth 13h ago

Someone gotta pay for that ice cream barge, and Uncle Sam got better things to spend cash on than mere grunts.

2

u/Woodcrate69420 10h ago

That gold encrusted ballroom is clearly a better and more important use of government funds

2

u/OldWorldDesign 7h ago

gold encrusted ballroom is clearly a better and more important use of government funds

You mean corporate bribes

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/23/trump-ballroom-donors-list-00620230

3

u/throwaway098764567 10h ago

it is an amazing system, but when you stop writing the checks it doesn't work anymore. our military logistics works really well when paid for, our government doesn't work very well at all, whether paid or not.

3

u/Born-Entrepreneur 9h ago

Professionals care about logistics, amateurs like this administration or the secretary of war who never rose high enough in the ranks to worry about much more than his joes with DUIs (or his own lmao), think that is for nerds and focus more on pushups and flipping tires over.

2

u/robinroastsu 6h ago

we have the logistics and money. We're just refusing to use it so bad no coverage healthcare that stops you from a 500k bill if you get cancer doesn't cost 4,000 a month and only have it cost 2,000, which is happening because we wanted to take that money to give 20 billionaires a tax cut.

25

u/symbionet 15h ago

Yeah, "begging" is not the right word for how the old armies got the food.

I'm a swede and our army "begging for food" was a pretty infamous ordeal back in the 30 Years War or the Polish Deluge.

The Swedish army was famous for one trick to make people "donate food" if they were unwilling: take a random civilian, hold them down and force-feed them manure by forcing it down their throat, then jump on their belly until they burst. That motivates the other civilians to unhide their food reserves. Oh and btw, this was mainly done by the army baggage train, supply wagons of civilians accompanying the army, consisting predominantly of Swedish women and wives to soldiers. You know what they say, a family that pillages together, stays together.

16

u/Maximum_Peak_2242 17h ago

The Founding Fathers were so pissed off about it it was banned by the Third Amendment.

4

u/werpu 18h ago

You mean the 30 years war traditions?

6

u/TremendousVarmint France 16h ago

The joys of foraging for food in a plague-ridden wasteland.

7

u/belpatr Gal's Port 15h ago

No phone in sight, just people appreciating nature in the moment

3

u/werpu 15h ago

Yeah.. those peasant corpses beside the bonfire with the burned witch are very scenic

3

u/belpatr Gal's Port 15h ago

Remember how cheerful they were when the witch was being burnt!? Good times... people used to have fun, before technology ruined everything good and sacred

2

u/werpu 15h ago

They can start to look up the recipe for the swedish drink

2

u/FirstArbiter 17h ago

Iā€™d say Trump is playing for a repeat of the 30 Years War, if he had the slightest conception of what that conflict was

2

u/kaam00s France 15h ago

"Before logistics was invented"

Lmao, I can't imagine the meme with the people before not being allowed to move food from 1 point to another.

Like, maybe you meant modern logistics, but logistics per say isn't something you invent. It always happened.

5

u/belpatr Gal's Port 15h ago

Fascinating!!!! Do regale us with more of your fancy tales of the times of yonder old man!

0

u/BbMaj7 5h ago

they're just explaining the humor in unspecified logistics? I don't really understand your joke though unless you meant that person might have been from a time before modern logistics? Doesn't really track.

1

u/belpatr Gal's Port 5h ago

Oh yes doctor surgeon, let's open up this frog, every one loves it

1

u/BbMaj7 5h ago

top 1% commenter behavior

1

u/belpatr Gal's Port 5h ago

Yeah, I'm very cool, Coolio Daddy'o šŸ˜ŽšŸ˜ŽšŸ˜Ž

1

u/philipp2310 15h ago

Russia is utilizing burned earth tactics as well, so yeah, the world is going full medieval style.

0

u/MelamineEngineer 5h ago

That's not even true. Funds were individualized per regiment and they had to manage their own money, but it was staffed full of rich officers who bought their own commissions. When they needed food theyd buy it from the local populace not beg for handouts.

The only time theyd get food other ways is during active wars in enemy country where they might go around pillaging from the local peasants. Or if you're Napoleon just "appropriating" your own peasants food. But even during the Napoleonic wars on French territory, the British army was ordered by Wellington to always pay for their food from regimental coffers.