A U.S. Army tank platoon is five tanks. Three platoons per company, and then it used to be one for the Company Commander and one for the XO. That is 17, so really, we are not even sending two companies’ worth of tanks.
England is sending one company’s worth of tanks and then there will be some dozens more from a variety of countries owning the Leopard 2 tank.
As we saw earlier in the war, if you can funnel enemy tanks into a kill zone, you can kill five tanks in a matter of a few minutes.
The way the allies are talking, we are sending a combat division of tanks to Ukraine. A battalion has three companies plus a few more, so maybe 54 tanks. An armored division would have hundreds of tanks. And in reality we are replacing a year’s worth of tank losses by the Ukrainians — if that.
The one thing I know from serving in two armored divisions is that tracked vehicles break down. A tank that can’t move is an excellent pillbox, but then it is also a sitting duck.
I’m betting that reporters in Ukraine will focus on the difference that the new weapons are making. No doubt they will be put to good use, but the furnishing of multiple types of tanks will create a spare parts nightmare and supply chain challenges.
If I remember the numbers right, we are sending 30 M1 tanks and then another eight tank retrievers — think of them as tow trucks. That is an indicator right there of how maintenance can win or lose battles. Not quite one tank retriever for every eight tanks.
OK, likely they will be used for towing the Challenger tanks that don’t have the best reputation as tanks go.