I want to take the HandsomeHarry Brigade across Afghanistan to get into some Pakistan action; maybe, the CIS, whatever. My whole plan can only work if I make a surprise trek across Afghanistan, with no help from anybody other than my trusted HHB. But, I want to be safe while I do it; let come what will once I’m across the border, I just want to be able to annihilate any Afghan/Taliban forces that may try to give me grief.
Oh, the US forces are secretly in cahoots with me, for permission, but, they can’t lend any help.
How many of my troops will I need to cross the nation, safely?
The general rule of thumb when it comes to modern armies is that a brigade-sized unit (anywhere from 1000-3000 men) is large enough to be self-sufficient for an extended period of time. Your brigade will need a standard infantry regiment or two, plus a headquarters staff with cooks, medics, intelligence, engineers, mechanics, and so on.
An obvious problem is that the more of you there are, the more likely that people will spot you, including the U.S. military, the Afghanistan police, and the local war lords. They’re all likely to notice a brigade-sized unit making its way across the country, and might want to stop it with larger forces.
Well the old saying is true, you either wanna go in solo and trek across yourself and have enough money on you to bride your way across or go in with a mechanized brigade. Some jobs are good for either 1 man or a couple thousdan
What’s the Taliban presence like in Afghanistan currently? Do they occupy major roads or passes in such a way that you’d have to fight past guard posts? My WAG is that you’d be able to cross the country discreetly, avoiding the Taliban strong points, and with a bit of luck you wouldn’t face any major attacks. So a small convoy ought to do it. Still, you’d want to be prepared for an IED attack and an ambush or two, so maybe a platoon sized force with a few spare vehicles would be a good idea. This depends, of course, on what sort of losses you’d consider acceptable.