Don’t expect a little extra training to significantly extend bike troops’ life-expectancy.
Jul 21, 2024
As the Russian military runs low on purpose-made armored vehicles and increasingly turns to civilian vehicles—most notably, golf carts and motorcycles—one Russian army brigade is making motorcycle instruction a routine part of its training regimen.
“The motorcycle school is real,” one Russian blogger wrote in a recent post about the 5th Donetsk Brigade, which fights in and around the town of Krasnohorivka in eastern Ukraine. Estonian analyst War Translated helpfully translated the post into English.
Don’t expect the training to significantly extend the shockingly short life-expectancy of Russian bike troops. Unarmed and lacking in protection, bikes tend to get their riders killed when deployed in direct assaults on enemy positions.
The Russians began assigning large numbers of Chinese and Belarusian dirt bikes to front-line troops back in the spring. The bikes, along with Chinese Desertcross all-terrain vehicles—golf carts, effectively—are helping mitigate growing shortages of armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds toward its 29th month and vehicle losses deepen.
The Russians have written off more than 16,000 armored vehicles and other heavy weapons in Ukraine. That’s more heavy equipment than many armies have in their entire inventories.
The bike troops’ assault tactics are simple. They ride as fast as possible across the mine-strewn no-man’s-land separating Russian and Ukrainian lines, hoping their mounts’ small size and high speed will help them avoid detection by Ukrainian drones.
If they manage to cross the mine and drone zone, they ditch their bikes and fight on foot. “A new military specialty is appearing,” a second blogger wrote. “Motorized rifleman.”
But the bike tactics, while sound in theory, haven’t worked very well in the heat and stress of actual combat. Ukrainian mines and drones are everywhere—too thick in the air and under the ground for even the nimblest biker to avoid.
According to data from analyst Andrew Perpetua, the Russians lost—destroyed, damaged or abandoned—at least 18 motorcycles in April, 80 in May and 55 in June. During one Russian assault around Vuhledar on June 28, Ukrainian mines, drones, artillery and missiles knocked out at least 19 dirt bikes, killing or maiming many riders.
Golf cart losses have been only slightly lighter, according to Perpetua’s tally. One botched Russian attack on or around July 15 ended with five of the ATVs in flames—and their occupants dead, wounded or retreating.
The consensus among Russian forces seems to be that, if they can’t acquire enough armored vehicles and must continue equipping troops with golf carts and bikes, they should at least try to improve their tactics.
The 5th Donetsk Brigade seems to be the first to set up a school for this purpose. “The 5th Brigade and its motorcycle school are awesome,” the first blogger wrote, adding that other units might copy the brigade’s reforms.
It’s possible to imagine tactical refinements that might improve the bike troops’ survivability. Better situational awareness and improved cross-country riding skills might help them avoid mines. Riding at night, while difficult even with night-vision goggles, may help them avoid drones, most of which lack infrared sensors.
But remember, special training didn’t help much the last time a major army sent bikers into direct combat. The German army trained a few troops for bike assaults during World War I. But the actual results in combat were “pretty tragic” for the riders, according to Ends Cuoio.
“Needless to say: the idea of deploying motorcycles for direct combat was abandoned,” Ends Cuoio noted. But not forever. More than a hundred years later, assault bikes are back—and apparently here to stay as Russian brigades formalize the training for their riders.
Even with a little more training, it’s likely the outcome for Russian bike troops will still be pretty tragic.
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Sources:
1. War Translated: https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1815025338864333037; https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1812416095694778468
2. Andrew Perpetua: https://x.com/bentanmy/status/1807648466182750403
3. Ends Curio: https://www.endscuoio.com/military-motorcycles-in-world-war-one/?v=7516fd43adaa
Not sure how a little training will help motorcyclists against zipping bullets, zinging shrapnel, and cracking blast waves.
“Even with a little more training, it’s likely the outcome for Russian bike troops will still be pretty tragic.”
No, it’s not tragic. It’s never tragic when murderous, criminal, brutal, and vicious invaders get slaughtered. It’s wonderful, highly welcome, and essential.
Hungary stripped of EU meeting over Ukraine stance
The European Union has stripped Hungary of the right to host the next meeting of foreign and defence ministers over its stance on the war in Ukraine.
It comes weeks after Hungary assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union, a role in which it would normally host the event, and amid anger over a meeting Prime Minister Viktor Orban held with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this month.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Hungary’s actions should have consequences and that “we have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal”.
Hungary described the move as “completely childish”.
Every six months, under each new council presidency, the EU’s foreign and defence ministers hold informal meetings to discuss the biggest global issues facing the bloc.
The next set of meetings will take place on 28-30 August and were to be held in Budapest, but on Monday Mr Borrell announced they would instead take place in Brussels.
Citing comments made after the meeting with Mr Putin in which Mr Orban accused the EU of having a “pro-war policy”, Mr Borrell told reporters: “If you want to talk about the war party, talk about Putin.
“I can say that all member states – with one single exception – are very much critical about this behaviour.
“I think it was… appropriate to show this feeling and to call for the next foreign and defence council meetings in Brussels.”
Of the 26 other countries in the EU, only Slovakia has backed Hungary in the dispute.
Following the decision, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote on Facebook: “What a fantastic response they have come up with.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but it feels like being in a kindergarten.”
Mr Orban’s meeting with Mr Putin came as part of what he described as a “peace mission” – launched days after Hungary assumed the council presidency – that also saw him visiting the leaders of Ukraine and China as well as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the US.
The trip sparked condemnation from leaders across the EU, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen describing it as “nothing but an appeasement mission”.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Mr Orban had “no mandate to negotiate or discuss on behalf of the EU”, while Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the trip sent “the wrong signal to the outside world and is an insult to the Ukrainian people’s fight for their freedom”.
The episode is one of numerous occasions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on which Hungary has been at odds with most of the rest of the EU about the appropriate response.
After winning re-election in April 2022, just months after the invasion, Mr Orban told a crowd of supporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was among the people he would have to “battle” in his fourth term.
Last year, he repeatedly used Hungary’s veto to delay a €50bn (£42bn) package of non-military financial aid to Ukraine.
[From BBC News, via MSN]
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/hungary-stripped-of-eu-meeting-over-ukraine-stance/ar-BB1qrGj5
“I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but it feels like being in a kindergarten.”
In which the fat toad, Orb-anus, is playing in the sandbox with all of his diapered brat friends.
Before this trash country assumed the EU presidency, I read somewhere that the EU had contemplated preventing Hungary from taking this position. Of course, I knew the EU wouldn’t and that it would bring only headaches. I’m not sure why they put up with a country that shares zero values with the union and causes only trouble.
Thanks for sharing, Larry.