The short answer is “no”, but we did send them resources and materials that facilitated their tank production. We also sent American trucks and tanks. The Russians generally liked the M4 Sherman, assigning them to Red Army ‘Guards’ formations.
In DS, they were a flank unit to my brother’s (101st AASLT). They were generally better equipped, supported and at least as well trained as the US infantry. He was surprised (in the 1990 era) to find a number of Americans in the ranks.
The FFL allows French leadership to execute whatever insane Frog foreign policy they like without endangering the lives (and votes) of his Metropolitan Army...
A pretty good article. Two points: 1. The Abrams was designed to fight a defense in depth in West Germany, not punch through Soviet lines. 2. All tanks are most vulnerable on top, and tank commanders are trained to mitigate that weakness by moving as part of a combined arms unit.
I grew up near there (Swarthmore). I don’t recall any Amish, but I do remember the narrow, winding roads that had been there since the Revolution, connecting villages and towns. Not ideal for high-speed driving. Just down the pike is the Apocalyptic wasteland of post-industrial Chester. Pretty sure there are no Amish there either...
The stupid in this article is astounding. What the author described is exactly what is supposed to happen: turret is hit, blow-out panels vent blast/fire away from the crew compartment. Crew escapes to fight another day. It’s how the Abrams was designed.
American tank crews are good because they are usually well trained, which takes time and money. The original Abrams was intended to fight delaying actions, vastly outnumbered and outgunned against red hordes along the IGB. Bottom line was: any engagement the crew could walk away from was a “win”...we could always find remounts. We couldn’t replace trained crews.
American commanders employ tank units (always more than one tank) as part of a combined arms team, mutually supporting one another. If you don’t, your negligence just killed those tanks and their crews.
Ultimately, what we are seeing in this fight is negligence: incompetent commanders, piecemealing single monkey model tanks with half-assed trained crews and little/no support into the fight...then blaming the tank when the plan fails.
I used to joke that a Catholic University’s rise to athletic prowess had a direct correlation to loss in commitment to the faith. A deal with the devil so to speak.