Allies Outgunned, OutmaneuveredĪs their British and Canadian allies had already learned, the GIs and their officers soon came to respect the resolute fighting qualities of their enemy. With their long range and thick armor, German Tiger tanks would prove throughout the war that one could hold off ten or more M4 Sherman tanks. In combat, however, from the tangled Normandy hedgerows all the way to the gates of the Third Reich, the Americans found themselves learning bitter lessons and losing their innate naiveté. The GIs believed that, man for man, they were better soldiers than their foes and that they had more and better weapons and vehicles. But, like their fathers two and a half decades earlier, they were in for a rude awakening at the hands of the seasoned, ruthless German Army. Washington’s reported promise on 24 February to deliver a significant number of its own Abrams tanks appears to have broken the deadlock.Īn official US announcement on delivering Abrams is expected in the coming days.When American soldiers landed in France in June 1944 as part of the great Allied crusade to liberate Europe, they were well trained, fully equipped, and brimming with confidence. Germany has tried to tie the supply of Leopards to a wider coalition that would supply other tanks, including US Abrams – a tank viewed by experts as being less suitable for the war in Ukraine because of its heavy consumption of fuel. The supply of main battle tanks had been seen as problematic because of their much more obviously offensive capabilities. It prefers a multilateral approach on arms supply to Ukraine rather than being seen to be moving unilaterally.Īlthough Germany has supplied a large amount of equipment to Ukraine, including armoured cars, it has also been wrestling with its post-second world war tradition of anti-militarism. Germany’s position on sending heavy weaponry has been conflicted. Chart of Leopard 2 inventories of European and Nato countries Why the delay?
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