Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs), or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. ... East German BRDMs on parade during celebrations of the 40th anniversary of East Germany in 1989 Armoured personnel carriers (APCs) are light armoured fighting vehicles for the transport of infantry. ... A Warrior vehicle with UN markings, during the making of the eponymous film. ... Combate Naval de Iquique - oil on canvas painting by Thomas Somerscales, XIX century Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violent conflict between one or more persons or organizations, often intended to establish dominance over the opposition. ... Motorized forces or military units are those that have trucks, or other wheeled, un-armoured transport as an integral part of their organization. ...

They are distinguished from motorized infantry in that their vehicles provide a degree of protection from hostile fire, and are often fully tracked. As opposed to "soft-skinned" wheeled vehicles (trucks or jeeps). Their support weapons are also provided with motorized transport, or are built directly into combat vehicles, in order to keep pace with the mechanized infantry in combat. For units equipped with most types of APC or any type of IFV, fire support weapons such as machine guns, autocannons, or small-bore direct-fire howitzers are often mounted directly on the infantry's own transport vehicles. Motorised infantry is an infantry unit which is transported by trucks or other fast motor vehicles. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... M242 Bushmaster autocannon on an M2 Bradley. ... Loading a WW1 British 15 in (381 mm) howitzer 155 mm M198 Howitzer A howitzer or hauwitzer is a type of field artillery. ...

History

Arguably, the first Mechanized infantry were 36 two-man infantry squads carried forward by Mark V* tanks at the Battle of Amiens in 1918. In a battle of such scale, their contribution went unnoticed. Combatants United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia Germany Commanders Henry Rawlinson Georg von der Marwitz Strength 4 Aus. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Towards the end of World War I, all the armed forces involved were faced with the problem of maintaining the momentum of an attack. Tanks, artillery or infiltration tactics could all be used to break through an enemy defense, but almost all the offensives launched in 1918 ground to a halt after a few days. Pursuing infantry quickly became exhausted, and artillery, supplies and fresh formations could not be brought forward over the battlefields quickly enough to maintain the pressure on the regrouping enemy. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

It was widely acknowledged that cavalry were too vulnerable to be used on most European battlefields. Motorised Infantry could maintain rapid movement, but their trucks required either a good road network, or firm open terrain (such as desert). They were unable to traverse a battlefield obstructed by craters, barbed wire and trenches. Tracked or all-wheel drive vehicles were to be the solution. Motorised infantry is infantry which is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. ...

Practical soldiers such as Heinz Guderian in Germany and Mikhail Tukhachevsky in the Soviet Union recognised that tank units required close support from infantry and other arms. As the Germans rearmed in the 1930's, they equipped some infantry units in their new Panzer (armoured) divisions with the Half-track SdKfz 251, which could keep up with tanks on almost any terrain. The French Army also created Light Mechanised divisions in which some infantry units possessed small tracked carriers. Together with the motorisation of the other infantry and support units, this resulted in highly mobile formations in both armies that could keep pace with armored formations. The Germans used these to exploit breakthroughs in Blitzkrieg offensives, the French envisaged them being used to shift reserves rapidly in a defensive battle. Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (ca. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky (Russian: Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Polish: Michał Tuchaczewski) (February 16, 1893 [O.S. February 4] – June 12, 1937), Soviet military commander, was one of the most prominent victims of Stalins Great Purge of the late 1930s. ... Panzer IV Ausf. ... M3 Half-track A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. ... Sd. ... The defining characteristic of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is that it is a highly mobile form of mechanized warfare. ...

The Soviet Red Army did not immediately follow this trend because of the confusion of the Great Purge, although they did practice tank desant. The British Army had established an Experimental Mechanised Force in 1927 but failed to pursue this line due to budget constraints and the prior need to garrison the frontiers of the Empire. The Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. ... The Great Purge (Russian: , transliterated Bolshaya chistka) is the name given to campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the late 1930s. ... Soviet tank desant drill, on a BT-7 Model 1935 Tank desant is a military combined arms tactic, where infantry soldiers would ride into an attack on tanks. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

World War II

From the outset of World War II, German mechanised infantry had a disproportionately large number of successful operations. Because their half track APC was more expensive and time-consuming to manufacture than a truck, it should be noted that barely a quarter or a third of the infantry in a Panzer division was mechanized, except in a few favoured formations.

As World War II progressed, the Germans integrated tanks or assault guns with mechanized infantry as combined arms Panzergrenadier Divisions, providing mobile anti-tank defense and close-up direct fire support for the infantry. German StuG III with high-velocity 75 mm gun, 1943 An assault gun is a gun or howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis, designed for use in the direct fire role in support of infantry when attacking other infantry or fortified positions. ... Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to twenty thousand soldiers. ... Anti-tank, or simply AT, refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. ...

Most other armies of the period also fielded mechanized infantry in units up to brigade in size. Their armored divisions and some armored brigades also included a mechanized infantry element for combined arms support. For example, British armoured brigades had a "motor infantry" battalion mounted in Bren carriers or Lend-Lease halftracks. Later in the war, the United States Army used large numbers of M3 Half-track vehicles to give their infantry mobility. All US Armored Divisions had three battalions of 'Armored Infantry' fully mounted in M2 and M3 halftracks. The British and Canadians also used expedients such as the Kangaroo APC. General characteristics Length 12. ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The Carrier, Personnel Half-track M3 was an armoured vehicle used by the United States during World War II. // The US Army Ordnance Department had evaluated the half-track design by testing French Citroën-Kegresse vehicles. ... Kangaroo personnel carrier A Kangaroo was a World War II British or Commonwealth armoured personnel carrier, created by conversion of a tank chassis. ...

Like the Germans, the Soviet army fielded division-sized mechanized infantry units which they called Mechanized Corps, usually consisting of one tank brigade and three mechanized infantry brigades, plus artillery and other support units. New Zealand fielded a division that was sent to Italy, with an organization intermediate between an armored division and a mechanized infantry division. The Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. ...

The Cold War

US M113 APC, with added .50 calibre machine gun, in Vietnam.

In the post-war era, the Soviet Red Army and NATO further developed the equipment and doctrine for mechanized infantry. Though not the first tracked APC, the American M113 was the first in widespread use which gave the infantry the same mobility and almost the same protection as tanks (including against Nuclear, Biological and Chemical, or NBC threats). Even more important was the Soviet BMP-1, which was the first Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Unlike the APC which merely transported the infantry from place to place, and had no firing ports for the transported infantrymen to fire their weapons from inside their carrier. The IFV possessed firepower, and firing ports from which their infantry could fire their weapons from inside, becoming an integral part of the IFV's fire power, supporting the infantry in attack or defence. The introduction of this vehicle prompted the development of similar vehicles in Western armies, such as the West German Marder and United States M2 Bradley. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... M113 in Vietnam, Public domain image from army. ... M113 in Vietnam, Public domain image from army. ... The Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[2] (NATO; French: ; also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance, the Western Alliance, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. ... The M113 is an armored personnel carrier family of vehicles in use with the US military and many other nations. ... The BMP-1 is a Soviet infantry fighting vehicle which was first introduced in the early 1960s. ... West Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include East Germany. ... Marder is a German infantry fighting vehicle operated by German Army from the 1960s through the present day. ... The M2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and M3 Bradley CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle) are American infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, (formerly United Defense, originally FMC). ...

Vietnam, the second "hot battle" (Korea being the first), of the Cold War, became the test-bed of the currently used M-113 family in 1962, when it was first fielded with the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) and their US Advisors. In 1965, US Mechanized Infantry began their operations in South Vietnam. During that time one proto-type M-113 was fielded which had factory installed firing ports on each side of the APC. Reports from the field were reportedly not enthusiastic; but the seed had been planted. The Australian mechanized units in Vietnam did convert some of their US supplied M-113's with a turret and 20MM, creating "field expedient" light tanks. Which in actual use, was comparable to a WWII US Stuart light tank. In actuality, the US M-113's that had been equipped with the ACAV set, and no Australian turret, were utilized by Mechanized Infantry units as light tanks. The M-113's were often manned by four to five men, and a normal US tank crew is four crewmen. The M-113 crews fought mounted, firing machinguns from their APC's instead of tank cannons, however it must be noted, that the first tanks to enter combat in WWI were armed with machinguns. The British Army named their cannon armed Mark tanks as males, and their machingun armed Mark tanks as females. It is no accident, that the current M2 IFV Bradley looks like a tank to the casual observer.

Soviet organization led to different tactics between the "light" and "heavy" varieties of mechanized infantry. In the Soviet Army, a first-line "Motor Rifle" division usually had two regiments equipped with the wheeled BTR-60 APC and one with the tracked BMP-1 IFV. The "light" regiments were intended to make dismounted attacks on the division's flanks; the BMP-equipped "heavy" regiment supported the division's tank regiment on the main axis of advance. Both types of infantry regiment nevertheless were officially titled "Motor Rifle" units. The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers. ...

A line of development in the Soviet Armed Forces was the provision of specialised IFV's for use by their airborne forces. The first of these was the BMD-1, which had the same firepower as the BMP-1, but which could be carried in or even parachuted from the standard Soviet transport aircraft. This made airborne formations into mechanized infantry, at the cost of reducing their "bayonet" strength. They were used in this role in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. This trend was not followed by Western nations. The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1969 and first seen by the West in 1970. ... The BMP-1 is a Soviet infantry fighting vehicle which was first introduced in the early 1960s. ... Combatants Soviet Union Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Afghan and foreign Mujahideen rebels supported by nations such as: United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran (From 1983), Commanders Soviet forces only Boris Gromov Pavel Grachev Valentin Varennikov Abdul Haq Jalaluddin Haqqani Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Mohammed Khalis Ismail Khan Ahmed Shah Massoud Abdul Ali... For the song by The Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ...

For nearly 45 years the US/NATO and the USSR/Warsaw Pact readied themselves for a war that never came. During those years, US units on maneuvers used the Prophetic title of "Threat", as the wargame enemy was called. A term which turned out to be real more than once since WWII, but in the end never did happen. Today's hi-tech IFV's, MBT's, and Mechanized/Armor units that employ them, are a direct result of that Cold War "arms race." Conventional TO & E oranizations for the US Army Mechanized/Cavalry/Armor units will have to realign themselves with todays 21st Century warfare. That re-organization would be the IFV Bradley "type" vehicle currently used in Mechanized Infantry units. As stated previously, the M-113 (the seed of the IFV) performed the duties of a light tank, the Bradley and the mechanized infantry unit that it is assigned to can do the same. It is far more suited to today's current events (Southwest Asia) than armored vehicles designed to fight an enemy that no longer exists.

The Present Day

Swedish-designed CV9030 IFV. Widely exported

At present, almost all infantry units from industrialized nations are provided with some type of motor transport. Infantry units equipped with IFVs rather than lighter vehicles are commonly designated as "heavy", indicating more combat power but also more costly long-range transportation requirements. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (820x613, 119 KB) Finnish Combat Vehicle 90, type CV9030. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (820x613, 119 KB) Finnish Combat Vehicle 90, type CV9030. ...

In the British Army, "heavy" units equipped with the tracked Warrior IFV are described as "Armoured Infantry", and units with the wheeled Saxon APC as "Mechanised Infantry". This convention is becoming widespread; for example the French Army has "Motorisées" units equipped with the wheeled VAB and "Mécanisées" (armoured) units with the tracked AMX-10P. The FV510 Warrior tracked vehicle family, are a series of British armoured vehicles originally developed to replace the older FV430 series of armoured vehicles. ... The Saxon is an armoured personnel carrier used by the British Army and the Hong Kong Police Force. ... The French Army (French: Armée de Terre) is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces. ... Medical evacuation version detail of propeller for amphibious operation Milan anti-tank missile variant 25 mm Dragar turret variant The Véhicule de lAvant Blindé or VAB (Armoured Vanguard Vehicle in French) is an armoured personnel carrier manufactured by the Euro Mobilité Division of GIAT Industries of France. ... The AMX 10 P is a French armoured personnel carrier. ...

The transport and other logistic requirements have led many armies to adopt wheeled APC's when their existing stocks of tracked APC's require replacement. An example is the Canadian Army. The US Army is also following this trend, forming brigades which use the Stryker wheeled IFV (although they will continue to field "heavy" formations for many years to come). On the other hand, the Italian, Spanish and Swedish armies are adopting (and exporting) new indigenously-produced tracked IFV's. Canadian Forces Land Force Command (LF) is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Armed Forces. ... The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled all wheel drive (AWD) armored combat vehicles (ACVs) produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, in current use by the US Army. ...

Many APC's and IFV's currently under development are intended for rapid deployment by aircraft. New technologies which promise reduction in weight, such as electric drive, may be incorporated.

Conversion of MBTs

By contrast, a recent trend seen in the Israel Defense Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is the introduction of exceptionally well-armoured APC's such as the IDF Achzarit which are converted from obsolete Main Battle Tanks (such as the Russian T-55). Such vehicles are expedients, and lack of space prevents the armament of an IFV being carried in addition to an infantry section or squad. In the Russian Army, such vehicles were introduced for fighting in urban areas, where the risk from short range infantry anti-tank weapons such as the RPG-7 is highest, after Russian tank and motor infantry units suffered heavy losses fighting insurgents in Grozny, Chechnya in 1995. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: ‎  , [Army] Force for the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels military forces, comprising the Israeli Army, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Sea Corps. ... The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (UTC) (Russian: Transliteration: Vooruzhénniye síly Rossíyskoy Federátsii) is the military of Russia, established after the break-up of the Soviet Union. ... Achzarit in Yad la-Shiryon museum, Israel. ... Soldiers from U.S. 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment provide overwatch for other troops with their M1 Abrams main battle tank in Biaj, Iraq. ... The T-54 and T-55 tank series was the Soviet Unions front-line main battle tank from 1947 until 1962, and remains in service throughout the world to this day, especially by former client states of the Soviet Union. ... An RPG-7 captured by the US Army The RPG-7 (Russian: ) is a widely-produced and used handheld anti-tank grenade launcher designed by the Soviet Union. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Capital Grozny Area - total - % water Ranked 78th - 15,300 km² - negligible Population - Total - Density Ranked 49th - est. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

As support for armored formations

It has been discovered repeatedly that armored formations are much less effective without the support of infantrymen; the pre-WWII notion of "tank fleets" has not proved to be sound. Though many nations' armored formations included an organic mechanized infantry component at the start of World War II, the proportion of mechanized infantry in such combined arms formations was increased by most armies as the war progressed. In military terminology, organic refers to a military unit of one type within a larger unit predominantly of a different type. ...

The lesson was re-learned by the Israeli Defense Force in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when a doctrine that relied primarily on tanks, paratroopers, and aircraft proved inadequate. As a makeshift remedy paratroopers were provided with motorized transport and used as mechanized infantry in coordination with the armor; after the war the IDF reorganized its armored formations on the basis of the lesson learned. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces... Combatants Israel Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq Commanders Moshe Dayan, David Elazar, Ariel Sharon, Shmuel Gonen, Benjamin Peled, Israel Tal, Rehavam Zeevi, Aharon Yariv, Yitzhak Hofi, Rafael Eitan, Abraham Adan, Yanush Ben Gal Saad El Shazly, Ahmad Ismail Ali, Hosni Mubarak, Mohammed Aly Fahmy, Anwar Sadat, Abdel Ghani el-Gammasy, Abdul... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... An American Paratrooper using a MC1-B series parachute Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. ...

The doctrine is now universal in nations capable of supporting armored formations. Recently the United States Army has fielded both armored divisions and "heavy" infantry divisions; the organization of the two types was almost identical, except that the ratio of armored battalions to mechanized infantry battalions is slightly higher in the armored divisions and slightly lower in the heavy infantry divisions. The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

See also

• Armoured warfare

egory:Infantry]] It has been suggested that Mechanized warfare be merged into this article or section. ...