Since World War I, the tank, as a land weapon that integrates mobility, firepower and defense, has been one of the main operations of the armies of various countries. During World War II, Nazi Germany's tank armor cluster swept across the European continent in a blitzkrieg situation, and fought many tank battles with the Allies. Today, third-generation tanks, including Germany's Leopard 2, Britain's Challenger 2, America's M1, and Russia's T90 tank, have long been the mainstream of the world's tank development. And with the advancement of technology, the former king of land warfare tanks are facing more and more challenges from anti-tank **. From anti-tank missiles to roadside bombs, from armed *** to UAVs, it can be said that even the most advanced tanks in the world in modern warfare can hardly escape the attack of anti-tank **, and the Russian-Ukrainian war has undoubtedly brought us the best example in this regard.
Just in recent days, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian army destroyed 2 American-made M1A1 tanks equipped by the Ukrainian army in the Avdeyevka region. If you count the 1 M1A1 that was destroyed by the Russian army before, the Russian army has destroyed a total of 3 M1A1 tanks equipped by the Ukrainian army. And during last year's Ukrainian army, the Russian army destroyed the Ukrainian army's German-made Leopard 2A6 and British-made Challenger 2 tanks, and now the addition of the M1A1 tank in the battle results book can be said to have collected the mainstream Western tanks in the hands of the Ukrainian army. For the Russian army to destroy the M1A1 tank again, the Russian side seems to be more excited.
According to the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, the Ukrainian command has transferred at least 5 M1A1 tanks in the direction of Avdeyevka, 3 of which have been destroyed, which are overestimated by Western propaganda, and the Russian army has proven that the Russian army can cope with the threat of these tanks. According to the editor-in-chief of the American media "Military Yearbook" and reserve colonel Mershansky, the main reason for the destruction of the American-made M1A1 tank is that the Ukrainian army did not follow the advice of the United States and chose to use these tanks in the Avdeyevka region. Mershansky said that the M1A1 tanks assisted by the United States to Ukraine have removed depleted uranium armor, and their performance has been greatly reduced, making it difficult to resist Russian drone attacks.
The U.S. M1 series tanks were in the limelight during the Gulf War, when the U.S. M1A1 tanks, with the blessing of the U.S. three-dimensional combat system, killed the Soviet-made tanks equipped by the Iraqi army. The T72 tank of the Iraqi army is not at all a match for the M1A1 tank of the US army. The Gulf War also gave the U.S. military a name for its M1 series tanks, which were subsequently supplied in large quantities by the U.S. to its allies. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Ukrainian side is very much looking forward to obtaining advanced Western tanks, and the West is also actively building momentum, as if Western tanks can break the Russian tanks one by one as soon as they arrive, and reverse the situation on the battlefield between Russia and Ukraine.
As a matter of fact, the United States has a very clear understanding of this. On the one hand, the Russia-Ukraine war is a local war involving millions of people, and it is also the largest geopolitical confrontation between NATO and Russia since the end of the Cold War. In a local war of such scale and intensity, the tank is essentially a mobile artillery, which meets the firepower needs of the front line with a certain mobility and armor protection. Even if the protection capability of Western advanced tanks is good, it still has a high risk on the battlefield where the intensity of artillery is extremely high in Russia and Ukraine, and there are many anti-tank ** such as drones and anti-tank missiles, and it is completely normal to be destroyed. On the other hand, due to the previous high tone of the West ** and Ukraine for the advanced tanks of the West, once destroyed, it is easy to form a strong contrast, not only NATO's face cannot be hung up, but also the morale of the Ukrainian army will increase the prestige of the Russian army.
It is precisely because of this that the United States has been vacillating on the issue of supplying tanks to Ukraine. In the face of several urgings from Ukraine, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense said in January 2023 that he would not consider providing tanks to Ukraine for the time being. However, under pressure from Germany and other countries, the United States said a month later that it would provide tanks, but only the M1A1 SA type, which removes depleted uranium armor and depleted uranium armor-piercing shells, and uses an upgraded laser rangefinder and a thermal imager integrated into the gunner's sight. This tank is not far behind the most advanced M1A2 of the US military in terms of performance, and it is only 31 units supplied to Ukraine, and even the first batch of M1A1 will not be supplied to Ukraine until September 2023. Although the tanks were delivered to Ukraine, the United States has been reluctant for the Ukrainian army to put these tanks into combat operations, and with the great loss of Western armored vehicles in the hands of the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian army had to put the M1A1 into the battlefield.
As soon as they arrived in Avdiyivka, the M1A1 equipped with the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Army was immediately greeted by the Russian army affectionately. First, on February 26, the Russian Seahawk-10 UAV found a lone M1A1 tank of the Ukrainian army, and then it was attacked by the Russian FPV traverser, and then it was completely destroyed by the Russian army using anti-tank missiles to replenish the knife. A few days ago, the Ukrainian army's M1A1 tank was first attacked by Russian RPG rockets, which caused the tracks to be blown off, followed by suicide drones. According to the reward order issued by the Russian army earlier, 10 million rubles can be obtained for the first destruction of the M1A1 tank, and 1 million rubles will be awarded for subsequent destruction. This has indeed greatly boosted the morale of the Russian army, and the Russian soldiers even said that they would give Biden some bonuses.
In fact, the destruction of the M1A1 tank of the Ukrainian army is very natural in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The Russian-Ukrainian war, as a modern war with millions of participants, has a very high intensity and firepower density. Any kind of single equipment is a part of the modern combat system, and it cannot fight the opponent's combat system alone. Although the M1A1 tank is advanced, it cannot withstand the three-dimensional strikes of anti-tank means such as Russian artillery, anti-tank missiles, drones, and FPV traversers. This is the same for the Russian army, which suffered from the losses of Ukrainian drones and anti-tank missiles in the early days of the war. Therefore, it is obviously not advisable to be overly superstitious about advanced Western equipment.
High-quality author list War is a contest of comprehensive national strength and combat system, although the Russian army has long been not a Soviet-style steel torrent that makes Europe fearful, but compared with Ukraine, whose battlefield performance is positively correlated with Western aid, the war potential of the Russian army obviously has an advantage in a long-term high-intensity war. With the loss of cameras of advanced equipment such as Leopard 2, Challenger, M1 and Hippocampus rocket artillery, coupled with the loss of Avdiyivka, as well as the problem of soldiers, the current situation facing the Ukrainian army is obviously more difficult. And the approaching United States** has made the situation in Ukraine even more confusing, and the Russian-Ukrainian war seems to have reached a crossroads of fate.