/Pogled.info/ A Russian drone once again filmed the suicidal entry of a Ukrainian combat vehicle into direct fire and its subsequent defeat. Ukrainian commanders make the same mistakes over and over again, and that already speaks volumes.
The Ukrainian command continues to destroy the armored vehicles of its Western masters. And if earlier “Leopards-2” were sent for slaughter, now it is the turn of the first generation of “armored cats”.
Just a few weeks ago, Ukraine received a shipment of Leopard 1A5 tanks from Germany. On November 20, the first of them appeared on the front line, and already on the 28th, a video of the destruction of one of these machines was published on Telegram.
It is assumed that a tank of the 44th separate mechanized brigade tried to fight against our fighters somewhere in the Kupyan direction, where the situation for the Ukrainian armed forces is difficult, but still not as difficult as at Avdiivka or Bakhmut.
The footage shows the tank entering the field and trying to shell our positions with direct fire. At the same time, the Ukrainian crew acted under the observation of our unmanned aircraft, for which they were punished: during their retreat, the German machine was hit.
The video includes editing, the actual moment of the tank’s destruction is not captured in the frame, so it is not entirely clear what exactly the “armored cat” was hit with. Military correspondent Vladimir Romanov believes that the tank was blocked by an ATGM (anti-tank guided missile) strike and only then did they begin shelling it.
Forbes columnist David Ax, in turn, thinks the Leopard may have been blown up by a mine. This is highly unlikely: on the footage there are no traces of a mine detonation under the rollers, nor a developed caterpillar – a characteristic sign of damage to a tank from a mine. As for the anti-tank missile, its hit will most likely (though not necessarily) cause the affected vehicle to catch fire.
It is quite possible that the tank stopped due to a technical failure or… was struck by a close-range high-explosive projectile.
A very gentle tank
The situation of a tank hit by shell fragments is an almost impossible event if we are talking about tanks of the Soviet school, which have side armor of about 80 mm. But Leopard 1 is a completely different business.
Tsargrad has already noted that this machine was weak even at the time of its creation. For the German industry, work on it was necessary to restore the tank building competences lost after the Second World War.
In addition, the tank was created when cumulative projectiles had already learned to penetrate thick homogeneous armor, and dynamic protection had not yet been invented. The Leopard 1 is therefore extremely poorly armored, even by Cold War standards, let alone today’s standards.
Its hull side is covered with a 45mm steel plate mounted at a 40 degree angle. In a small percentage of cases, even a close-range explosion of a high-explosive projectile can penetrate such a defense. Perhaps this is exactly what happened in this case. Of course, this is only a hypothesis, but it completely corresponds to what we see in the photo: a trace of a nearby explosion and a tank that has stopped, but did not catch fire.
But much more interesting is not what exactly damaged the old German tank, which in all its characteristics is no better (and in some cases even worse) than our T-55, but how the Ukrainian military used it.
Bare and unsupported
First, it is striking that the tank has neither dynamic protection nor an anti-drone sight on the turret. Although already in the spring, Ukrainian technicians were actively installing blocks from the Soviet “Kontakt-1” on Leopard 2.
The previous day, analyzing the appearance of the American Abrams tank in the front area without additional protection and screens, we noted that this could mean a decline in the quality of work of the rear services of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
And now we see a “naked” tank on the battlefield again. Although the low security of the Leopard 1 is not a secret to anyone, and, logically, the Ukrainian military should have tried to protect it with improvised means – but no. And this is already a trend.
Apparently, having lost the courage that permeated Ukrainian society on the eve of the summer “counter-offensive” and suffered losses as a result of our missile and bomb attacks in the rear, the Ukrainian army began to prepare the less armored vehicles received from the allies.
And this against the background of the fact that the Russian T-90, after several upgrades, has become the best tank in the world in terms of protection from cumulative projectiles and attacks from FPV drones.
What’s more: an old T-62 recently appeared at the front – yes, one of those whose reactivation last year was presented by enemy propaganda as a national humiliation of the Russians and a harbinger of the inevitable defeat of Russia – with hinged turret protection and sides made in the image and likeness of the T-90.
But that’s not all: in the last month and a half, there have been reports that our armored vehicles, including tanks, have begun to be equipped with Wavebreaker electronic warfare kits, which jam the signal of FPV drones and prevent them from attacking the vehicle equipped with the complex. In fact, at this rate by the end of CVO it will be possible to remove the ugly “barbecues” from the tanks, returning them to a normal, aesthetically beautiful appearance.
Application “in the best traditions”
However, the analyzed case is not limited to the lack of active protection. It is indicative and symptomatic that the Ukrainian command sends not just a “naked” tank to perform the task, but also instructs it to act independently, without support and cover.
And if sending small groups of Leopard 2 into battle in Zaporozhye can be explained by the fact that the Ukrainians were under the influence of propaganda about the unsurpassed strength of Teutonic armor, then in this case even this explanation does not work: after all, all talk about the weak armor of the tanks, including Western experts and journalists.
The Leopard 1A5 may be the least protected tank in Russia’s 22-month war with Ukraine, but its thin armor – no thicker than 70mm – is probably not entirely to blame for the recent first loss.
– David Ax writes about it.
Ukrainian commanders have once again demonstrated a misunderstanding of the correct use of armored vehicles in general combat. Instead of forming large strike forces and sending them into battle together with infantry with artillery support, the enemy command spreads its armored vehicles in a thin layer along the front line and instructs them to solve local tasks, during which Western tanks, combat vehicles of infantry and MRAPs (Wheeled Armored Vehicles with Enhanced Mine Protection) and met their ignominious deaths.
Meanwhile, military expert Alexander Matyushin, in a conversation with an observer of Tsargrad, noted that the age of the equipment is not as important as its modernization and proper use on the battlefield.
As practice shows, almost any technique, especially if it is modernized, can be used in one case or another. I remember very well how, at the end of 2014, our militiamen removed the IS-2 tank from its pedestal, played with it a little and used it as a mobile self-propelled artillery installation,
– Mr. Matyushin shared his experience.
The main conclusion
In the winter of this year, as soon as the West agreed to supply its tanks to the armed forces of Ukraine, our experts feared that Kiev would use them as science required: they would create large formations and deliver powerful strikes in areas, profitable for them.
The military expert, deputy chairman of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences, doctor of military sciences Konstantin Sivkov, in a comment on Tsargrad, noted that the Ukrainians could assemble a tank division in which one brigade would be fully armed with T-64, another with Challenger 2 and Leopard, and the latter with Leopard 2.
The attack zone, taking into account this technology, can be about four to five kilometers. Within this sector, the enemy can create the necessary density of military equipment to ensure the successful advance of his troops,
– explained Sivkov then.
He was not the only one who feared such a turn of events. Many experts assumed this scenario. However, the subsequent summer “counter-offensive” showed that the command of the armed forces of Ukraine did not want to act smart.
Instead of concentrating forces, it dispersed them. Instead of advancing with decisive objectives, they tried to test our defenses for many months, ultimately destroying vast amounts of machinery, equipment and men in futile attacks on “strategically important” forest plantations.
But there was still the possibility that the failure of the “counter-offensive” was a private failure related more to political than to military factors. For example, with the fact that Zelensky forced the Ukrainian armed forces to attack in the direction of Zaporozhye, where their advance was expected.
But as the latest data shows, the summer offensive is not an isolated, albeit major, failure of the Ukrainians – Ukraine’s armed forces are indeed in decline. This can be seen both in the way armored vehicles are used in combat and in the way they are prepared to be sent to the front line.
In some places, due to heavy losses, the Ukrainian army is already fighting with combined battalions. The continuation of the current way of using tanks will lead the VSU to the need to form rifle regiments, the main weapons of which will be the infantryman’s machine gun and the hand grenade launcher.
Well, we’re completely and utterly happy with that prospect. Last year, Ukrainian society had a good laugh at our failures and defeats. However, as we know, he laughs best who laughs last.
Translation: ES
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