Why Tanks Are The Steel Fist Of War | Combat Forces | War Stories

[Music] heavy armor tanks fast powerful lethal they are the armored fist of coalition forces modern tanks provide incredible direct fire support to infantry and battle they have proven to be an invaluable tool in the arsenal of any military the intensity of recent conflicts in central asia and the middle east have proven that tanks provide protection that can't be matched by more lightly armored vehicles advanced tanks such as the american abrams m1 and german leopard 2 are the answers to high-intensity ground conflicts [Music] heavy armor the steel fist of battle [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] world war one was the birthplace of the modern tank after years of being bogged down in trench warfare the british looked to technology wanting a means of effectively breaching german lines the mark series of tanks were first seen in battle in 1916. the rhomboid-designed hull allowed it to easily cross trenches and obstacles they were slow cumbersome and had a nasty habit of incinerating their crews when hit by artillery or mortar fire after several years and numerous engineering improvements the mark v version was significantly better than its predecessors during the battle of amiens in 1918 this tank truly showed its capabilities with supporting australian and canadian infantry the tanks helped penetrate german lines over seven miles in one day farther than any battle before by the time of world war ii the mechanized combined arms force had come of age but initially only for the germans they had learned from the lessons of the first world war they truly understood the full combat potential of tanks supported by mechanized infantry and specialized tactical attack aircraft it became known as blitzkrieg or lightning war these combined tactics were to forever change modern land combat during the second world war tank engineering dramatically evolved from tough and often brutal frontline combat experience designers realized that tanks needed to be faster more reliable heavily armored and absolutely lethal by the end of the war tanks had truly proven their worth in battle [Music] in conflicts during the last half of the 20th century in places such as korea and vietnam tanks were only of limited use virtually impassable mountains and jungles made the tactical use of armor almost impossible [Music] but one place tanks had tactical importance was during the cold war buildup in europe in fact it was the cold war that was the catalyst for the development of today's modern armor in order to effectively confront the massive numbers of tanks the soviet military could field western armies decided to invest in technology technology led gradually to the concept of the main battle tank two of the best came from the united states and germany the abrams m1 and leopard a1 they both featured refinements in targeting and ranging gun stabilization communications crew comfort and protection their weapon systems were second to none the design principle was simple destroy soviet armor through superior firepower and armor protection fierce combat in the first gulf war proved western tanks especially the abrams m1 and leopard a1 were total killing machines virtually invincible to direct fire they easily tore apart enemy tanks skeptics became believers tanks once again ruled supreme well many people believe that their day is gone but as we're seeing recent experiences in iraq they're still a very useful tool and it's it's a piece of equipment that most nations have got to keep to be able to have an effective army and fighting force they're still a very effective weapon on the battlefield have a huge effect on the enemy both psychologically and as well if we need to fire obviously in a physical sense as well the key to modern tanks incredible success was technology and what they brought to land combat capabilities beyond compare tanks are a blend of firepower mobility and protection and if you look at a tank from from those three perspectives it is probably the best piece of equipment on the battlefield from that perspective it provides you with a direct fire platform that is able to engage whatever it is you find out there be it lightly uh armored vehicles all the way up to an enemy tank if you're dealing with that it has the protection to deal with the ied threat or the rpg threat and it also has the mobility to get to a location fairly quickly deal with threat and then get out of there but tanks and technology are nothing without superior crew training training that can literally mean the difference between life and death in combat the abram m1 tank weight 67 tons crew 4 armor chopham composite armor plate primary armament 120 millimeter m256 smoothbore cannon secondary armament one 50 caliber m2 hb heavy machine gun two m240 7.62 millimeter coaxial machine guns engine honeywell agt 1500c multi-fuel turbine engine capable of 1500 horsepower the latest version is the m1a2 it features improved commander's display unit forward-looking infrared thermal bio-ocular image unit gunner's primary site citv electronic unit all these features help tank commanders quickly identify and prioritize targets [Music] [Applause] the m1 strikes fear in the hearts the enemy because of the capabilities it brings due to the professionals that operate it and the speed the firepower and the pure again intimidation that it brings to the battlefield it just scares the living crap out of the enemy if you drive a tank over a ridgeline all sudden the enemy sees m1 tank he's going to want to turn around and run at least if he's a smart enemy the german leopard 2 is the latest version of this very popular and lethal tank countries around the world have bought it for their armies including australia and canada german leopard 2a6 tank weight 62 tons crew 4 armor 3rd generation composite composed of steel tungsten and ceramics primary armament 120 millimeter l55 smoothbore cannon secondary armament 2mg 3a1 7.62 millimeter coaxial machine guns engine mtu 12 cylinder diesel capable of 1500 horsepower leopard tanks are extremely important it's not so much that you need the leopard tank i think you need a tank on a battlefield for a variety of reasons if you look at the current conflict that we're in tanks are extremely important because of the presence that they bring to a battlefield the psychological edge if you will they bring it's that psychological edge that can make all the difference in battle today's modern tanks have that and more first of all they bring firepower and unless you are on the ground if you've never had a 60 or 70 ton main battle tank rumble by you you don't understand how intimidating that that weapon platform is and of course you never want to be on the receiving end of either bradley or abrams because that would mean that you're sitting in a vehicle and about three kilometers away somebody has you in their sights where has the vehicle to your right or left in your sights the first time you know that you're in harm's way is when the vehicle to your right or left explodes in a fireball it's not a good place to be so they bring tremendous capabilities the other advantage is it provides protection to the the soldiers if we couple that with good tactics the casualty rates in our current uh conflicts are historically the lowest they've ever been and part of that is because the equipment we have is the best that the money can buy and american ingenuity can can produce modern tanks instill fear in the enemy but they also give comfort to coalition infantry for our own infantry it um it gives them a warm feeling of they've got something there that can protect them has got very efficient firepower that is able to shoot at distance as well as accurately and also is able to go in front of them and provide the support that they need really in the operations that they're doing and because of the psychological effect it has on an enemy you know it just works really well if you look at a main battle tank on a battlefield it's a huge honking piece of kit okay bigger than just about anything else out there plus it mounts a huge gun a 120 or in the case of the leopard ones that we initially used at 105. and in both cases the firepower that it brings is intimidating to anybody who goes up against it plus if you look at the mobility and the protection that it provides it's not something you want to take on on the modern battlefield if you're an insurgent it's much easier to go up against a lightly armored vehicle than it is to go up and try and take out a tank from that perspective a tank is an extremely valuable piece of kid fort knox kentucky current home of the u.s army armor center this is where tank crews are trained trained to win in battle major tim groves is in charge of training a new group of junior officers some of these officers will soon see combat currently uh today we have armored second lieutenants who will be out shooting their first tank gunnery these lieutenants have been trained for the past two weeks on how to move shoot and communicate within a tank and act as a member be a member of a tank crew today will be their first time ever firing live 120 millimeter rounds downrange so it's a hell of an experience for these guys today as they build into their career they'll soon be tank platoon leaders in charge of not just their tank but three other tanks underneath them day and night the junior officers train learning the commands using the thermal sights firing the weapon systems it's exhausting work but it still has a special appeal the appeal of being a tank commander being on a tank being a member of tank platoon is first of all you're on 70 tons what else would you want to face the enemy with i mean you can face the enemy on foot with just body armor or do you want to go in on a tank with 70 tons of steel around you to protect you and 120 millimeter main gun weapon along with your 50 caliber weapon and several other 762 machine guns the amount of firepower that you bring to the battlefield is just absolutely incredible plus you're out riding around all day the system here the m1 series tank it's like riding on a catalog it's a great system great tank to be on today's modern tanks are all about offensive and defensive power but they have an achilles heel a weakness that can kill modern tanks are protected by sophisticated armor systems this protection is the best but it's not enough there are still threats that will kill kill even the best protected tanks the threat is not necessarily another tank there are other far deadlier threats hunter killer teams armed with anti-tank weapons ieds tank destroyers artillery if you're looking at the current fight then what you're dealing with is the ied threat the improvised explosive device threat anything from stacked anti-tank mines to improvised explosives on the side of the battlefield that's predominantly your main threat but you've also got the rpg threat rocket-propelled grenades and just about anything else that people want to try and throw at it by far the most lethal anti-tank weapon system is aircraft [Music] just as in world war ii aircraft are the number one danger to tanks today there are purpose-built aircraft whose sole role is tank killing probably the best the a-10 thunderbolt considered the deadliest anti-tank aircraft in the world its 30 millimeter cannon and maverick missiles can easily destroy any modern tank a-10 thunderbolt nickname warthog crew one engine two general electric tf-34 turbo fans maximum speed 380 knots armament 30 millimeter cannon two aim nine sidewinder missiles eight agm-65 maverick missiles in order to protect themselves from aircraft tanks work in tandem with anti-aircraft resources as well they practice shooting down targets such as helicopters so how do tanks kill other tanks it's the rounds fired from the 120 millimeter gun that does all the destructive work the primary tank killing round fired by coalition armor is the hundred and twenty millimeter armor piercing fin stabilized discarding sabo tracer the sabo round is much like an arrow only this arrow is made of tungsten or depleted uranium the round is fired the sabo known as the shoe falls off and the fin stabilized penetrator rod flies towards the target at over 3 500 miles per hour the penetrator focuses its full force into a very small area plowing straight through heavy armor as the penetrator enters the tail heated fragments of metal fly off in all directions hitting anybody and anything inside this is our m865 pip training round sabo everything in the blue are called sable pedals that's what keeps the main penetrator centered in the gun tube after 400 meters those fly off and the penetrator continues to go down towards the target so what type of soldier wants to be a tanker what does it take i would say that your your modern armored soldier is extremely proficient in terms of technology dealing with new technologies that are being thrown at them the leopard tanks are an extremely technologically advanced tank takes a soldier with a high degree of intelligence with highly educated to be able to deal with that plus there's the aspects of the teamwork that is required working together to maintain the 60 some odd ton vehicle that's a lot of work and you have to have a motivated person who's part of your team in order to accomplish that successfully [Music] today's modern tanks showcase the best of technology mobile fast lethal [Music] coalition tanks are incredible assets on any battlefield the technology on the tanks nowadays is very very good very modern the guns are stabilized so we're able to fire on the move whereas back in the second world war they were effectively just a cannon in an armored vehicle because you can fire on the move because you can fire it accurately at extended ranges the armored vehicle nowadays has moved on tremendously and the mobility of that vehicle is just far beyond anything that was ever out there before m1 series tank most incredible vehicle uh out there to ride on and be in battle with you're with soldiers every day and you're building a team around the most incredible people in the world united states army soldiers and members of the greatest team in the world tanks are still effective and i'll use the way they're designed as an example of why they're so effective nowadays and they're designed using firepower protection and mobility in mind and if a tank's designed with all those three things put together very well then it's such an effective fighting machine it's going to do its job wherever you put it in whichever condition heavy armor the steel fist of battle [Music] they are quiet observers who creep within meters of the enemy and can take out a target [Music] from nearly a mile away their actions can change the outcome of battles even wars they take lives to save lives silent hidden deadly one shot one kill [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] in modern warfare there is a single soldier that relies on stealth camouflage and marksmanship within coalition armies they are considered one of the most feared weapons systems and often their most effective the modern sniper their presence changed the face of the battlefield forever no one was safe from their bullets no matter how far behind the front lines of particular importance was the psychological impact snipers could have on an advancing army literally grinding it to a halt today snipers are one of the most relied upon assets a battle commander can field but it wasn't always that way snipers date back hundreds of years even to the days of the american war of independence american militia marksmen targeted british officers with deadly accuracy their musket balls had a devastating effect on british battlefield leadership the american civil war the deadliest war in american history over 600 000 soldiers died in battle during the civil war snipers on both sides of the conflict took a deadly toll once again proving their effectiveness no one seems safe from these marksmen [Music] world war one the war of attrition and stalemate it was in this horrific war that snipers truly proved their value the imperial german army were first to use snipers they had a devastating effect on allied soldiers killing anyone foolish enough to expose themselves the british quickly formed their own sniper schools they developed unique camouflage systems known as ghillie suits to help a sniper blend in with the terrain within months the british had even the score [Music] world war ii during the second world war snipers again proved their tactical value in the pacific in europe and even in russia snipers played a decisive role in the battlefield the russians in particular used snipers with rootless efficiency in famous battles such as stalingrad russian female snipers made many german soldiers pay the ultimate price but snipers were not well liked even by their own troops with a reputation as ruthless loners who would kill their own mothers they were shunned and misunderstood even worse military leaders didn't understand how to tactically employ snipers but that was all about to change [Music] vietnam during the vietnam war u.s snipers gained notoriety snipers helped keep the enemy away from critical installations killed vietcong leaders and helped protect american soldiers hated by the enemy more than any other a bounty was put on their heads but u.s military leaders and soldiers loved them because of what they had proved in the jungles of vietnam the sniper had finally earned his place as one of the most respected and feared warriors on the battlefield today snipers are an integral component of all coalition armies in afghanistan and iraq snipers are making a profound difference using covert tactics they gather information about the enemy with a single bullet they can wreak havoc on attackers stop suicide bombers from reaching their intended targets saving lives by taking lives they're force multipliers who've earned their place in top combat units good training it's critical to success it all begins at school sniper school fort benning georgia home of the u.s army sniper school at this school barely passing is not an option only the best of the best make the grade because in the field mistakes cost lives fort benning georgia one of the largest bases in the u.s army over 181 000 acres 63 firing ranges over 20 000 troops in the field every day [Music] basic infantry school u.s rangers airborne training armor training this is truly the training ground of the warriors it's here at fort benning that the u.s army established their sniper school considered by many to be the best in the world here soldiers are taught the essentials of being a sniper but snipers are far more than marksmen well the sniper brings several things to a commander into the battlefield first of all the world trained sniper team is a great reconnaissance asset for the commander they can infiltrate into an area they can stay in an area and they provide uh reconnaissance that our current isr intelligence surveillance reconnaissance platforms your uavs and and other uh such platforms can't because they don't have persistence you could put a team in for 24 48 72 hours and let them observe a known or suspected area of interest the other thing that they bring to the battlefield is the ability to selectively take out known or suspected threats sometimes at long distances nothing instills more fear in the enemy than that see the the guy he's talking to his head explode it's pretty demoralizing especially if you're the guy who whose head explodes one of the essential skills taught to snipers is stalking it's a grueling class many don't make it to the end a sniper has to be strongly motivated to succeed where others would quit today camouflage and route choices are everything snipers have to be able to sneak right up to the enemy unseen in order to do this they have to conceal their presence this is known as vegging up yeah you want to veg up a little bit here just consider you're moving on your way up there but once you get up there the veg usually changes so you want to get into a good position take off your top and put a lot more veg up there before you get to your final firing position the sniper students wear ghillie suits a special suit designed for attaching vegetation to it the idea is to break up the outline of your body blend into your environment and creep around unnoticed this young sniper is learning the essentials of this critical field craft what you do is you jut up your ghillie suit and then you put these tie downs here for your veg tie them off you don't want to do too much here because the veg usually changes about 300 meters out and at that point you just look like something that doesn't belong there and these guys that are spotting us they've been doing this for you know 20 some odd years they really know how to pick things like that out especially the two guys that are on glass right now oh vietnam guys i can see anything out there so uh you just hope not to get caught all right three hours stalk time starts now the students silently head off into the forest one by one each focused on a mission deep in the woods sits the sniper's targets two men in a truck but they're not sitting ducks they know there are snipers out there they carefully scan the forest closely examining every detail veterans of the vietnam war and expert snipers the student's goal is to creep up without being seen and take a shot at the instructors they successfully do this by identifying a letter then they creep back to where they started all undetected it's one of the hardest events in sniper school pretty sure i got his attention [Music] instructors walk the forest they help the veteran snipers in the truck bust the students they watch for telltale clues which give away the sniper's positions there are many challenges for the sniper to consider one is overhead movement freeze them freeze them [Applause] continue to move this time the student is given a warning overhead movement all right look back real quick you won't be soon see that big tall tree just those two trees you just moved roger the thing was shaking big time all right that's exactly what they're looking for in the truck they're looking for that overhead movement that's a huge target indicator the next time he is busted he'll be forced to start his crawl all over again like in the real world these snipers can't make movement mistakes good field craft techniques all are important the key is not getting caught if they're using the improper movement techniques and moving too fast then it's easy for the eye the human eye to quickly zoom in on that and then just exploit it that's where these observers are very very highly trained to do this exercise that's why it's easy for them to spot it as far as time limit right now it's been an hour and 47 minutes and some of the guys haven't even taken a shot um they haven't they're not using the veg natural veg around them in my opinion not really good right now because this is a third full stop and it's still not doing as good as it's supposed to be doing doing about phase one step forward one more inch forward before sniper man just recall back here a little bit about 56 yards uh go ahead again all right five steps forward i'm not going to let this get this bullet off roger this time the students did so poorly the entire group is nuked it means everyone has to go back to the start line and begin their crawl again these guys are pretty good they're really really good repetition is the key to learning it ingrains key lessons lessons that will save these snipers lives on future operational deployments all right break it up the challenge for me was uh getting as close as i could setting up to take a shot without getting detected unfortunately for me that didn't happen [Music] a sniper is able to stay focused to get that one well-aimed shot the job is mentally and physically tough you have to be above average in all ways you have to make a lot of right decisions under intense pressure the most dangerous threat for a sniper is another sniper this is when the hunter [Music] becomes the hunted [Music] the sniper rifle has changed very little since world war ii currently the most popular weapon is the venerable m24 it's a total firing system it sets standards for accuracy dependability and durability the m24 was designed by the united states military and has been sold to armies around the world m24 sniper weapon system bolt action five round magazine cartridge nato 7.62 millimeters muzzle velocity 2580 feet per second weight 12.3 pounds sights loopholed mark 10 by 40 millimeter scope effective range over 800 meters it's a 762 nato caliber it's got a range of 800 meters and that's shooter dependent uh good shooters can take it out to a thousand meters 000 meters away from the target the length of about 10 football fields an extremely impressive standard but some have gone even further afghanistan 2002 operation anaconda a canadian sniper makes the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat history 2430 meters that's over 26 football fields the sniper used a long-range weapon system for the shot the barrett m107 sniper rifle weight 30.9 pounds cartridge 50 caliber action recoil operated semi-automatic 10 round detachable magazine [Music] the 50 caliber sniper round was principally designed for destroying and disabling military hardware primary difference between a 50 caliber round and a 762 is obviously size our 762 round is a 175 grain weight whereas this is 660 grain weights armor piercing incendiary so what you're seeing on the target is a there's a flash of the chemicals burning off where it's burning through the steel okay this it's used to penetrate light-skinned vehicles with an armor-piercing incendiary around there's not a whole lot that we can't get a hold of today sniper students are learning how to quickly and accurately fire the barrette 50 caliber working with their spotter each student gets only two chances to hit the target if their score is too low it will result in an automatic failure [Music] engaged [Music] urban warfare the most dangerous type of combat the reality of modern conflicts is urban warfare even we're snipers urban battlefield is what we have today in iraq it's mostly used uh my snipers are set up in blown out buildings abandoned buildings and stuff like that it's any kind of structure that they can get some cover in and they'll stay there for anywhere from 24 to 48 hours or longer and sit there and observe urban warfare is also home to intense sniper on sniper battles the ultimate sniper test one mistake would probably be your last which is why they spend a lot of time training in urban operations tactics concealment marksmanship booby traps field craft techniques that could save their lives dangerous for a sniper the most dangerous would be another sniper an enemy sniper counter sniping is so dangerous to another sniper because anytime you're going up against a trained individual you're not sure what his capabilities are what what weapon system he has how long he's been trained how long he's been actually active there's a lot of factors that go into counter sniper and the more you can learn about the subject the better off you're going to be the last thing a sniper actually wants to do is engage an enemy sniper one on one there should be other alternate means or any kind of other measure we can use against them to take out that sniper before we actually send one of our own out to find them and kill them the lessons these students are learning at sniper school will help keep them alive [Music] snipers highly trained highly specialized highly disciplined today snipers are one of the most respected and valued assets in battle they are a special breed different from other soldiers we've got great soldiers across the army and from that we select the very best those that are driven those are that are intelligent because a sniper operates independently he has got to be able to go out and make some very mature very reasonable decisions because a sniper's job doesn't stop when he pulls that trigger that's only half the job you know getting into position and taking that high precision shot it's only half the mission you're no good to us unless you can exfiltrate and get back home safely [Music] you've got to be mentally prepared is probably the biggest one is you know the physical aspect we can work on that but it's the mental being mentally prepared to conduct military operations to be able to look through the optics at your enemy and pull the trigger coalition snipers silent covert deadly one shot one kill [Music] you

Channel: War Stories

Views: 94,554

Keywords: military history, war, war documentary, military tactics, war stories, history of war, battles, wwi, wwii, tanks in war, war tanks, battle tanks, m1a1 abrams, german leopard tank, canadian armed forces, us tanks, us armed forces, british army, british tanks, iraq war, Tanks of WW2, us army, combat forces, full length documentary

Id: NusKIzwm8iA

Length: 44min 56sec (2696 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021