China Youth Daily and China Youth Network reporter Zhang Haotian.
The new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has lasted for more than 100 days. The scene of the Israeli army's armored vehicles burning on the streets of Gaza evokes memories of a war 50 years ago.
During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israel lost a large number of tanks in Egypt's Sinai region, many of which were destroyed by individual anti-tanks**. At the time, many military experts warned that if changes were not sought, the tanks would be obsolete.
In the half-century that followed, countries did everything possible to improve the survivability of tanks, so that these behemoths continued to serve as the backbone of ground forces. With the popularity of social **, the ** of Palestinian militants fighting Israeli tanks in Gaza has sparked heated discussions: Are tanks more vulnerable today?Were their losses due to tactical or technical factors?
Not long ago, the US "Business Insider" pointed out in a commentary that it is too early to assert that tanks have lost their role in modern warfare, but the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has once again revealed a fact that is often overlooked: no matter how advanced it is, it is by no means invulnerable.
Israel learns from history.
Around the controversy over the survivability of tanks, some argue that the tanks used by Israel in 1973 and 2023 cannot be compared. According to the American magazine Popular Mechanics**, the "Centurion" tank, one of the main forces of the Israeli armored forces in the "Yom Kippur War", was designed by the United Kingdom in World War II, and the American-made M48 tank can be traced back to 1952.
At the time of the outbreak of the "Yom Kippur War", these tanks had been replaced with artillery at the level of the 70s of the 20th century, but their defense remained in the 50s of the 20th century and lacked modern means of protection. This means that they are vulnerable to anti-tank attacks with shaped charge warheads.
At that time, the commander of the Israeli army was relatively light on the enemy and sent tanks without infantry support to attack, and as a result, he met the Soviet-made ** newly introduced by the Arab coalition forces. After suffering heavy losses, the Israeli army had to revisit what the Allies had learned during World War II: to avoid allowing tanks to charge recklessly without cover. In addition, although the tanks purchased by Israel from the West have been upgraded, they have exposed numerous flaws in actual combat, such as the hydraulic oil of the M48 tank, which is very easy to ignite after being shot in a vehicle.
In the latter part of the Yom Kippur War, Israeli armored forces returned to fighting hand in hand with infantry and artillery, becoming the key to turning the tide of the war. Statistics show that Israel had less than 2,000 tanks at that time, of which 400 were destroyed and 600 damaged due to the popularity of portable anti-tank **;Of the approximately 2,500 Israelis killed in that war, a significant number were tank crews.
Merkava's design is ingenious.
According to Business Insider, the IDF's poor performance in 1973 was an opportunity to transform the country's armored forces. In order to break the embargo between Britain and France, Israel began to independently develop a new generation of main battle tanks, which place special emphasis on the protection of the occupants of the vehicle. American writer Samuel Katz wrote in his monograph, "Crew protection is paramount, and all aspects of the tank's performance must be adapted to this, with firepower coming in second place and mobility third." ”
The product of this line of thinking is the Merkava tank. As the darling of the Israeli armored forces, many of its designs are ingenious, for example, the engine is placed on the front of the car, which is equivalent to an extra layer of protection;In the rear of the hull there was a ramp to the cabin, which could be used to evacuate the wounded, allowing the tank to replenish ammunition between battles. Each Merkava can carry up to 10 infantrymen.
During the Lebanese-Israeli conflict in 2006, the Israeli army was once again confronted with the threat of anti-tank missiles. Lebanese Allah uses Russian-made Kornet missiles. According to the IDF, about 50 Merkava tanks were damaged, five of which were completely destroyed. The Israeli army is also plagued by problems such as poor maintenance of equipment and insufficient training of personnel.
On October 7, 2023, a new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out. From the field**and**, Israeli troops deployed on the Gaza border are generally equipped with Merkava-4 tanks, which are equipped with 120mm smoothbore guns and advanced sensors, and are protected by layered composite armor and modular defense suites. The tank is equipped with an advanced "Trophy" active protection system, which uses radar to detect incoming anti-tank missiles or rockets, and can quickly fire projectiles to destroy them or deflect them.
There are multiple factors that affect the power of a tank.
Due to the strict secrecy measures adopted by the Israeli military, it is difficult for the outside world to assess the actual performance of the Israeli army's armored forces in the Gaza Strip.
According to Forbes magazine**, Palestinian militants are more commonly used by Palestinian militants than drones to drop bombs, including Russian-made "Kornet" missiles and tandem rockets codenamed "Yasin-105". Hamas has prepared an operational guide for the Merkava tank, which mentions the need to get close range before the tank reacts in order to suppress the "trophies" system. The ** released by the Israeli side shows that the active protection system successfully intercepted the incoming missile;Hamas issued ** showing Israeli tanks occurring**, but it is not possible to confirm whether these ** mean that the missile was intercepted or the vehicle was destroyed.
Military observers believe that the effectiveness of tanks in real combat depends on the way they are used, the level of combat readiness of personnel, and the countermeasures of the adversary. According to Armada Rotta, about 50 Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles were captured by the Palestinian side on October 7, half of which were Tigers converted from Merkava tanks.
Israeli military historian Oleg Granovsky analyzed: "Some tanks are not combat-ready, because the crews are on vacation ......The machine guns on the roof of the turrets of some tanks were removed to prevent theft. He noted that many reserve forces had logistical problems due to personnel shortages, and that the "trophies" defense system did not appear to have been activated at the beginning of the attack.
What's more, the Gaza Strip is mostly urban, and such battlefields are usually more favorable for the defenders and dangerous for the attackers' armored forces. The Times of Israel** revealed that in an exchange of fire at the end of October, a missile fired by Palestinian militants destroyed an Israeli armoured vehicle, killing 11 people and wounding four. This is just one of the few cases that have been **.
History and reality have proven that from the "Yom Kippur War" in 1973 to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in 2023, tanks have never been unimpeded. As the exchange of fire continues, it is inevitable that the Israeli armored forces will suffer greater losses, but given the tougher "shells" and sharper "teeth" of today's "steel beasts", there is reason to expect them to perform better than the tanks of half a century ago.
*: China Youth Daily client.