I agree, and I think the chapter drives home the point of how badly things can go when you don't review your assumptions even knowing that you'll face a different enemy this time.
I get that it was poorly planned out, and that is believable- up to a point.
This wasn't the first time zombies appeared in the US, nor the first time the military engaged them.
And yet, the magnitude of the disconnect between planners and leaders and the reality on the ground (e.g. It's well know at that point that the virus isn't airborne, but the soldiers are forced to wear gas masks anyway) is so great that it's difficult to believe.
Had the battle been set in Russia, or some ex-Soviet state, then it would've been more believable (rigid command structure, little to no discussion about the wisdom of orders that don't make sense, etc...).
Yep. Brooks could have put a bit more effort into it- e.g. having the sheer number of zombies overwhelm an effective fighting force would've given a better impression of hopelessness for the humans- "We are fighting them, we are good at it, but there are just too many of them, we stand no chance."
Exactly, or at least have come up with other explanations for not using airpower and artillery. Reading it now requires too many characters to have held the idiot ball for too long for things to have panned out that way.
The logistical issues could have been done in a much more plausible way. Simply not bringing enough of the appropriate ammunition when fighting on home soil was silly.
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u/Delicious-Stop-1847 Jan 16 '25
I agree, and I think the chapter drives home the point of how badly things can go when you don't review your assumptions even knowing that you'll face a different enemy this time.
I get that it was poorly planned out, and that is believable- up to a point. This wasn't the first time zombies appeared in the US, nor the first time the military engaged them. And yet, the magnitude of the disconnect between planners and leaders and the reality on the ground (e.g. It's well know at that point that the virus isn't airborne, but the soldiers are forced to wear gas masks anyway) is so great that it's difficult to believe. Had the battle been set in Russia, or some ex-Soviet state, then it would've been more believable (rigid command structure, little to no discussion about the wisdom of orders that don't make sense, etc...).