“Leopards” in the steppes of Ukraine: unfulfilled dreams and fulfilled forecasts
You know, there is something mystical about this. Starting from the failures near Kharkov in 1941 and 1942 of the last century until 2022. From hopes to hunger for a “miracle”weapon”, which is about to come, which will allow you to win, until complete (or not quite complete) disappointment.
In anticipation of the so-called “counter-offensive,” Western countries carried out an extremely large supply of armored vehicles to Ukraine, both in terms of quantity and range. One of the “first signs” was the German main battle tank “Leopard”. And, perhaps, a lot of hopes were placed on this car. We'd say too much.
Throughout the past year 2023, the topic of supplies of Western military equipment, as well as the fight against it, was one of the most popular and discussed on the pages of our Military Review. And messages and articles directly or indirectly relating to German tanks “Leopard”, of various modifications, has always enjoyed great interest from readers and often initiated heated debates, discussions and debates.
This material is a kind of compilation of materials taken by one of the authors from German sources (which is understandable, since he has been living in Germany for almost thirty years), the second feels good in the enemy’s information field, since he has been hanging out in it for more than ten years.
In general, it is useful to get information about sentiments from official and (especially) unofficial statements of politicians, statements of ordinary people on social networks, in general, to feel as closely as possible everything that is happening in the country. And this applies to both Germany and Ukraine.
With Germany it is easier in terms of information. There “Alles sollte in Ordnung sein”, that is, there must be a certain order or even Order. Catching edible information fish in the muddy cauldron of the Ukrainian media is a very so-so activity. However, “Observer”, “Segodnya”, “Ukrainian Pravda” and UNIAN sometimes allow (I admit, with the help of friends-advisers from that side) a sane presentation on the topic.
On January 2, the Internet portal “Die Welt” published a very short, but deep, in many ways, article. Not even an article, but a note:
“Only a “small number” of German Leopard tanks are taking part in combat operations in Ukraine.”
Late in the evening, short excerpts from this article have already been published on our website. People actively, at times on the verge of a foul, rushed to comment on the content, which prompted the authors to translate and publish in full, with small comments and additions, what “Die Welt” wrote below:
“Of the 18 Leopard tanks Germany delivered to Ukraine in March 2023, only a “very small number” are still in service. This is the conclusion reached by Green Party defense expert Sebastian Schäfer. In this regard, he sent an official letter to Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), manufacturers of armored vehicles.”
And what, excuse me, does the biodefender care about tanks? Is the main “green” expert really so worried about environmental pollution from the exhaust gases of twelve-cylinder 1500-horsepower MTU engines? Or the fields, forests and roads of Ukraine plowed by Leopard caterpillars?
Not at all. A peace-loving member of a party that once, in the last century, stood up for peace, was concerned about something completely different:
“Unfortunately, it should be noted that Ukraine can now use only a very small number of the delivered battle tanks. Repairs take a very long time because, according to the Lithuanian industry repair company, there are not enough spare parts needed to repair armored vehicles.”
Before Christmas (December, of course), Schaefer, together with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, visited this repair facility in Lithuania. It is difficult to say why the gentlemen ended up in Lithuania, and not in Poland, where a repair enterprise of approximately the same essence and larger in size was opened, but following the visit, the “fighter for a bright, environmentally friendly future” writes in despair that
“There is an urgent need to take effective action” to rectify the spare parts situation as quickly as possible. After all, the tanks are standing idle...
But then something somewhat unexpected began to happen. Next, Mr. Schaefer determined whose fault it was that the bulk of the Leopards became incapable of combat.
You probably think these are minefields, strikes aviation Russian Aerospace Forces, ATGMs, UAVs, artillery of the Russian Armed Forces?
No, you didn't guess. Not a word about this. Here it is, one of the main reasons:
Attempts to repair the tanks by the Ukrainian army led to further damage to them. It should be explored to what extent this could be prevented by better training of mechanics or provision of the necessary instructions, and whether at the same time it is possible to organize qualified restoration of equipment on the territory of Ukraine
Very few of the modern Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks delivered from Germany are still in use in Ukraine.
Now, if this is not the picture “We have sailed,” then “We have arrived” for sure. That is, the German today is talking about the same thing that we talked about on our pages a year or two ago: it is not enough to supply expensive military vehicles, tanks, or airplanes. It is not enough to train the crews; it is much more important to prepare high-quality engineering and technical personnel for repairs, and, even more important, for servicing tanks!
Leopard is a complicated thing. This is not a T-55, not a T-64, this is a machine that does not ask - it requires full care and maintenance.
Well, Die Welt ends the article on a completely pessimistic note:
“After much hesitation, in March, the federal government transferred to Ukraine a total of 18 Leopard 2 tanks from the Bundeswehr arsenal. The supply is part of assistance against the Russian attack. Now the vehicles have battle damage, but there is also significant technical wear and tear due to driving and shooting.”
As we understand, this is such a veiled message to Ukrainians:
“Guys, please, screw this front. The tanks are excellent, but you don’t need to drive them, shoot them, otherwise you’ll break them, who will repair them and where?”
But back on January 30, 2023, in an article for “VDI nachrichten” (this is a weekly German newspaper that reports on achievements in the field of technology and technology), the author, Peter Steinmüller, warned that the supply of Leopards to Ukraine would include Many problems are immediately integrated:
“With some preliminary work, a Leopard engine swap can be completed in about 30 minutes.
But in order to carry out repairs in a workshop behind the front line, a damaged tank must first be towed there. But in Ukraine it will be difficult, because the evacuation means of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are designed for much lighter tanks. Again, the Federal Government stated that it had already supplied 15 Bergpanzer 2 armored recovery vehicles to Ukraine, which the Bundeswehr has been using to tow its Leopard 2s for decades.”
But in order to carry out repairs in a workshop behind the front line, a damaged tank must first be towed there. But in Ukraine it will be difficult, because the evacuation means of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are designed for much lighter tanks. Again, the Federal Government stated that it had already supplied 15 Bergpanzer 2 armored recovery vehicles to Ukraine, which the Bundeswehr has been using to tow its Leopard 2s for decades.”
Bergepanzer 2 recovery vehicle
This is a reasonable move, we will only allow ourselves to note that the ARVs arrived with a real delay, when the Leopards had already begun to be used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As an example of an interim result, we can cite data from the Ukrainian side on the events of June 8 last year, when several Leopard tanks and infantry fighting vehicles were damaged and abandoned by Ukrainian forces in the Malaya Tokmachka area.
The reason was that there was simply nothing to evacuate the cars with. And after certain events, Ukraine’s allies began to take certain steps.
“The tanks can be transported on 13 heavy-duty semi-trailers from the American manufacturer Oshkosh, which were supplied to Ukraine by Germany and for German money. 16 other heavy-duty semi-trailers are waiting to be dispatched.”
Heavy Equipment Transporter System (HETS) with Oshkosh tractor
“However, the total weight of the Leopard 2 and the tractor poses a problem for Ukraine: the country’s roads and bridges are designed only for vehicles with a maximum weight of 44 tons. Crossing rivers and ravines with the help of the already installed Biber bridge layer is also not possible; it is intended only for Leopard 1.
Tank bridge layer "Biber"
In general, the problem is as old as Europe itself. All this was discussed back in the seventies of the last century, and no significant changes have occurred over the past fifty years. In general, it’s very strange to watch this dance on rakes, or more precisely, on bridges, but it is what it is.
“It’s even scary to imagine how hard it is now for Ukrainian military personnel who carry out logistics deliveries from NATO countries.”, weapons expert Lars Winkelsdorf tweeted earlier this year.
Since NATO countries supply Ukraine with everything they have in stock, there is little opportunity to standardize spare parts and maintenance. Moreover, cars from the USA and Great Britain are produced according to the imperial system (yards, feet, inches, etc.), and cars from mainland Europe are produced according to the metric system - even the smallest screw is not interchangeable.
The situation is different with members of the Leopard family, a number of variants of which Germany has already supplied: the Biber bridge laying vehicle, the Bergepanzer 2 armored tow truck, the Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery gun have interchangeable components, for example in the chassis.”
Anti-aircraft self-propelled gun "Gepard"
“In Michalovce (Slovakia), the Bundeswehr has a maintenance center for large equipment supplied to Ukraine, which can simultaneously service six to eight large equipment units.”
Self-propelled artillery unit "Panzerhaubitze 2000“
Less than a year has passed since the publication of this almost prophetic article. Today we can draw some conclusions. The mood in the West and directly in Germany imperceptibly changed from “we will help as much as necessary” to “as much as we can.”
Imperceptibly, it seems to be so that no one will feel it, since the Bundeswehr warehouses are catastrophically empty, and industry, despite gigantic financial injections, is simply not able to fill them.
And if just a year ago, both in Germany and Ukraine, there was euphoria about the future victories of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which would crush Russian troops using Western-supplied equipment, now not only journalists, but also some politicians began to say that something had gone wrong not this way.
We started with the fact that bushes, trees, dirt, and frost were in the way. Now, as Green Party defense expert Sebastian Schäfer and his ilk, the online publication Die Welt, determined, the Ukrainians themselves are to blame: they don’t know how to turn the nuts, and they steer the Leopards incorrectly.
And what about the Ukrainians, by the way? In general, it would be worth hearing the opinion of the opposite side, especially if it is accused of all mortal sins and a failed counter-offensive.
At the very beginning of deliveries, when tankers who were trained at NATO bases in Europe arrived and had not yet gone into battle, many enthusiastic opinions of the Ukrainian military were published. Even a lot. They also promised to supply a lot of tanks. And they did, but the question is – which ones?
Basically the 1A5 model... No, this is a very good tank, even today it is a combat unit, even though it is very old. And the Ukrainians quite rightly noted in their interviews the strengths of the Leopard, such as a powerful and responsive engine, excellent control and maneuverability, a simply magnificent and accurate gun with an aiming system. In general, there is something to praise this car for.
But the further into the “counterattack”, the more disappointments there were. And most importantly - 70-mm armor, which does not protect against practically anything from the Russian range of anti-tank weapons. Yes, at one time (70s) they tried to solve this issue with the help of reinforcement kits installed on top of the main armor, but today it is laughter and tears.
The first Leopards entered service with the battalions of the 44th Mechanized Brigade, and it was there that the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters experienced first-hand the “modernity” of the Leopard 1A5. After which, Ukrainian engineers began urgently working on installing Soviet dynamic protection kits on German tanks, which we have already written about.
A truly modern Leopard 2A4, which uses the same fire controls as the Leopard 1A5, but weighs fifteen tons more, although it has a more powerful gun, boasts several times more armor than the lighter 1A5. But still, the 2A4 is still vulnerable to Russian anti-tank weapons.
When asked how he felt about his Leopard 1A5 tank, one Ukrainian tankman from the same 44th infantry brigade replied: "Great! But Bulat would be better.”
No, seriously, Leopard tanks are excellent vehicles, but for some reason those who sent them to the soil of Ukraine did not “click” in their heads that the tanks would need to survive more than one battle. Yes, if it’s for one or two fights, then everything is fine, if more...
Politicians were talking about Leopards. High-ranking military personnel. Commanders of tank and motorized rifle units. Tank commanders and crew members. The only ones who did not give high-profile interviews were Ukrainian technicians and engineers. Perhaps there was no time for them among the bravura marches and promises, or perhaps due to the complete absence of such: technicians ready to service and repair the Leopards.
Everything is transparent here: a different school. The Leopard is not such an advanced tank, at least not the same age as the T-64, the base tank of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But it was developed by people who looked at the tank, as such, differently. Roughly speaking, the descendants of those who built the T-34 will not create something “panther-like.” And vice versa, for those who studied with the Tiger designers, the T-72 will never work.
And so it happened! Everything is natural story - a harmful thing, but its laws are also the same for everyone. German designers came up with a beautiful Leopard 1 tank in its own way. Fast, lightweight, with a great sighting system. Yes, but the T-64 from Soviet designers turned out to be more effective. What is the value of the frontal armor, which was not taken by a NATO tank gun with a caliber of 105 mm. But the T-64 “took” the Leopard easily and naturally with its 115 mm.
But the main thing is that, like all its predecessors, the T-64 was easy to maintain when compared with NATO equipment.
And if we take into account the fact that the Leopards were hastily assembled throughout Europe, where they were defended in different conditions, it is not surprising that Bundeswehr specialists were promptly tasked with putting the tanks in storage in order, and only after the first deliveries did Ukraine send soldiers to learn how to use them. So reports Der Spiegel, and again not a word about the technical composition.
More precisely, Der Spiegel notes that in the rush to get the tanks on the battlefield, it turned out that there were problems obtaining the necessary spare parts and training Ukrainian technicians for repairs.
And today we are seeing how the Germans, in addition to supplying tanks (note – their own tanks!) had to organize supplies of ammunition, spare parts, and replacement fluids. And organize training, not only for drivers, gunners and commanders, but also for technicians.
It turns out that not everything was done. And as a result, Ukrainian technicians were forced to work with Leopards by analogy with the T-64. Which led to simply fantastic results: broken “new” tanks that did not reach the battlefield.
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