Motorised infantry is infantry which is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured half-tracks or armoured personnel carriers. 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. ... The driver of this DAF tractor with an auto-transport semi-trailer truck prepares to offload Å koda Octavia cars in Cardiff, Wales A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle for transporting goods. ... Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs), or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). ... 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. ... Image:APCTalha. ...

Motorising infantry is the first stage towards the mechanisation of an army. Civilian trucks and lorries are readily adaptable to military uses of transporting soldiers, towing guns, and carrying equipment and supplies. This greatly increases the strategic mobility of infantry units, which would otherwise rely on marches or railroads. Marching (drill) refers to the organised and uniformed rhythmic walk to march (music), often associated with military troops and parades. ... This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ...

Motorisation provides no direct tactical advantage in combat, because trucks and jeeps are vulnerable to artillery and small arms fire. But it does increase the infantry's flexibility, because motorized elements can travel with their own integral support weapons (heavy machine guns, mortars and artillery, anti-tank weapons, etc.). The driver of this DAF tractor with an auto-transport semi-trailer truck prepares to offload Å koda Octavia cars in Cardiff, Wales A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle for transporting goods. ... Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of DaimlerChrysler. ... Small arms captured in Fallujah, Iraq by the US Marine Corps in 2004 The term small arms generally describes any number of smaller infantry weapons, such as firearms that an individual soldier can carry. ...

The disadvantages of motorisation is that the formation becomes dependent on supplies of fuel. Fuel is any material that is capable of releasing energy when its chemical or physical structure is changed or converted. ...

The speed advantages of motorised infantry first became important in WW2 in the German Blitzkrieg. While in combat effectiveness not more robust than regular infantry (which was foot infantry), its speed component became decisive in the Blitzkrieg strategy, because it could follow the panzer forces and defend its flanks. One of the defining characteristics of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is close co-operation between infantry and tanks. ...

Currently in the post-Cold War world, motorisation of infantry is becoming more popular since humanitarian deployments are more prevalent with troops acting as quasi-police units. There is also a trend for motorised infantry to be up-armoured due to the experience of the post-invasion of Iraq.

See also

• Tank desant