In a sea of tanks, armored personal carriers (APC), infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), armored fighting vehicles (AFV), Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles, it can be easy to overlook the vehicles that are most often responsible for getting soldiers where they need to be on the battlefield—Infantry Mobility Vehicles. Also known as Jeeps.
Well, not actually Jeeps. But these are the vehicles that serve the role somewhere between Willy’s Jeeps and the 6×6 truck “Jimmy” trucks that were workhorses of U.S. forces in World War II. They get soldiers from bases to units a lot faster and more reliably than a lumbering APC. They deliver critical spare parts to where they’re needed. They patrol towns and villages behind the front lines. Depending on the level of armor and equipment, they can even become surprisingly involved in combat.
When Russia invaded, there were already a number of vehicles serving this role in Ukraine. That included the home grown Kozak-2 and Novator, and one that might be surprising—American Humvees.
When the U.S. announced it’s latest package of assistance, it included 200 more Humvees. This may have seemed like another of those “we’re only adding to the complexity of their supply chain” moments, but Ukraine already had about 350 Humvees playing various roles in their military. The reason that Humvees are showing up in some of the images of vehicles destroyed in Mariupol and eastern Ukraine is not because these are vehicles that rolled off the plane outside Lviv and somehow driven through Russian lines to reach the Azovstal plant. It’s because these are what Ukraine was using already.
It’s also one of their principle needs. Missiles, drones, planes, and tanks may all get more press, but IMVs are almost as central to a functional army as food and ammo. When you look at those videos of the Russian military rolling down the road, and see a huge variety of poorly-maintained, cobbled-together vehicles serving in this role, that’s one of the best signs that the Russian military has enormous issues. When it comes to an actual light armored infantry mobility vehicle, Russia has both tens of thousands and almost none. The GAZ Tigr and Iveco LMV theoretically fill this role, but the later has been quite a rare sighting in Ukraine. 80 GAZ Tigr are known dead.
Eighteen Humvees of various configurations are known dead on the Ukrainian side. Several of these seem to have been captured intact and deliberately burned by Russian forces (something they’ve done not just in Ukraine, but in other conflict zones) as a sign of their disdain for America. That’s a good reason to smile. That’s one tough, capable, reliable vehicle that’s not going into service for Vladimir Putin, and Russian forces are depriving themselves.
The level of armor and equipment on a Humvee, or any other light armored vehicle, can vary greatly. They can carry levels of armor that will protect against light machine guns and be beefed up to protect occupants against IEDs. They carry their own machine gun mounts, or launchers for anti-tank missiles.
Now Ukraine is getting a whole new variety of vehicles that are in, or close to, the same category as the Hummvee. On Wednesday, Canada announced they were sending along 8 Roshel Senators (which are based on a heavy duty Ford truck). Those common underpinnings may make this vehicle easier to maintain—but this is a brand new vehicle, so how it will perform in the field is unknown. (Roshel, and Canada, are surely interested in finding out.)
The U.K. is sending along the Husky, which is based on a vehicle by that other producer of hardcore American trucks (that you may never have heard of if you don’t live in the Midwest), Navistar International. The U.K. may be sending as many as 120, hopefully along with some mechanics and a good collection of spare parts. Though if these things are reliable as an old International pickup, expect them to come in for service around 2050.
Sure, these vehicles are definitely not tanks. They’re not flashy. They’re just vital. And they get used up quickly in any serious engagement, especially if they come into contact with a serious armored column.
When they’re reading the list of equipment on the way, drones may be exciting, long range artillery may be a relief, but you can bet the guys in the field are most relieved to see more IMVs on the way.
Markos and Kerry talk Ukraine and speak with Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler on how hitting back at Republicans helps win elections
Oops, I put this in, then realized I had run afoul of the proofreading. Which I asked for. So it disappeared, and was all my fault.
In any case, here it is again. I left this out of the earlier list.
Thursday, Apr 28, 2022 · 1:07:35 AM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
After several days of fighting, Russia has captured Zarichne. Defenders in Oleksandrivka and other towns along the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River have moved south to better defensive systems, allowing Russian forces to move into a whole series of towns.
Further east, Russia consolidated gains in Rubizhne (though the town has not been completely taken) as well as driving forward through a number of villages. Popasna continues to be the scene of intense fighting. Russia has captured more of the town, but Ukraine holds the western areas.
By pressing south from Zarichne toward Yampril, where fighting is going on now, Russian forces are threatening to create what would seem a much more possible route to connect with forces pushing up from Popasna, which would allow them to cut off Ukrainian troops along the eastern border. However, Russia’s insistence on mounting attacks west of Izyum, as well as southwest and south, certainly makes it seem that there’s not yet any fixed goal for any of the actions underway.