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Seasoned Vet
 
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http://www.g2mil.com/tracked-resupply.htm
In 1948, famous British military historian B. H. Liddell Hart wrote about his post-war interviews with German Generals in a book "The German Generals Talk". In Chapter 8 he writes about the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union: "The Germans lost the chance of victory because they had based their mobility on wheels instead of on tracks. On these mud-roads the wheeled transport was bogged when the tanks could move on. Panzer forces with tracked transport might have overrun Russia's vital centres long before autumn, despite the bad roads. World War I had shown this need to anyone who used his eyes and his imagination."
He later wrote that even though the German army was modern, "it had not yet caught up with ideas that were twenty years old." Apparently, the US Army will relearn lessons that are now 80 years old since it has no tracked resupply vehicles for its armored forces. This is very important for the M1A1 Abrams tank, whose gas turbine engine burns three times more fuel per mile than traditional diesels, and only carries 40 rounds for its 120mm main gun. Tank commanders will not want to push forward if they have only ten rounds left, or even twenty.
Each US Army M109A6 155mm howitzer has a tracked FAASV supply buddy to keep it in action (above). Tanks needs something similar, perhaps the same FAASV design. A tracked vehicle to move bulk liquids is also needed for fuel and water. Two M113 armored personnel carrier variants have already been modified for logistical support: the XM1108 (left) and the M548A3 (right). However, neither has an armored cargo section, and are found in just a few support units. Forklifts are extremely useful in loading trucks which explains why the armored sides were removed. Perhaps the larger Bradley with its powerful engine could also be modified to carry cargo with pop up armored sides like garage doors. Some could just be fitted with a removable bladder, making it easy to shift from water to fuel depending on the tactical situation. Bradleys will prove more useful supplying tanks with ammo and fuel than with 25mm chain gun and TOW fire support.
The US Army recently downsized its armored units from four companies to three. This was done to lessen logistical demands for expeditionary operations, and to preserve units. If any army wants truly mobile armored forces, it should add a tracked logistics company to each armored battalion. A typical "Log" company could consist of 16 tracked vehicles: six fuel, four ammo, two rescue, two maintenance, and two water/food variants. The rescue variants will pull up to a damaged tank in combat to extinguish any fire and allow medics in fireproof suits pull out wounded. During World War II, it was common for mechanics to repair tanks while engagements continued. Armored tracked mechanics variants can pull up to tanks minutes after they are immobilized by breakdowns or enemy fire. TLAV has proposed such variants for the M113.
This Log company is far too small to resupply an entire battalion at once, but it can immediately support key elements near enemy forces. Vehicles can then dash toward the rear to load more supplies. This is far better than requiring combat units to withdraw to the nearest road in rough or muddy terrain. Tracked vehicle resupply can boost the combat power of armored units by providing them supplies and support to keep them in action.
Carlton Meyer editor@G2mil.com
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Trooper
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I seem to remember seeing somewhere how the Canadians in Afghanistan were using a BV26 (correct name?) for resuply missions.
Proud Canadian Redneck
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Seasoned Vet
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BV-206.
Make The Voices Stop!
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Seasoned Vet
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| That is correct. The 101st ABN actually air assaulted some Canadian BV-206s in Afghanistan using CH-47s. They were loaded inside the CH-47. It was the first time that the US Army has ever air assualted tracked armor in a conflict.
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Still here since July 2000
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I always said that the Bradley Infantry Platood Sergeant should have a tracked vehicle on the Brad chasis and engine. Each Bradley carries only 900 rounds of 25mm ammo - in an engagement with a determined and armored enemy on a low rate of fire, that's only 9 minutes of ammo - in three iterations of uploads.
Currently, the platoon sergeant also has a Bradley with 10 crew members and there's no room for extra ammo or chow or water. We couldn't get the First Sergeant to come forward with ammo in his duece-and-a-half and HummV(who could blame him) during one night engagement. It only makes sense that the beans-and-bullets guy be focused on beans and bullets during a battle while everyone else is engaged.
“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.”-Gen. George Washington
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Trooper
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Are there any pictures of the BV-206 in action in afghanistan? I have only seen one.
Proud Canadian Redneck
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Seasoned Vet
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We also have to remember the Germans had over half of the force horse drawn. That slowed down the whole thing.
Go with God, but make Him walk the point.
If you load a mudfoot down with a lot of gadgets he has to watch somebody a lot more simply equipped - say with a stone axe - will sneak up and bash his head in while he is trying to read a Vernier. - Robert Heinlein
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