By: Rishaan Chowdhury
During the Nazi regime, Chancellor Adolf Hitler committed horrific crimes against humanity across Europe. One of the most brutal battles of World War Two (WWII) was the fight for the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The Soviet Union at its height controlled many countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belorussia (now Belarus), Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgiziya (now Kyrgyzstan), Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia (now Moldova), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. As German and Soviet forces clashed throughout the western U.S.S.R., two of the most barbaric, inhumane armies in the world at the time fought over massive territory filled with many civilians that neither side cared for. In Ukraine, an area that the Soviet leadership neglected, civilians were treated poorly- even before the war. They were used as slave labor and deprived of basic human needs like food and clothing. When the Wehrmacht (German army) marched through Ukraine they didn’t treat the Ukrainians any better, treating them as the “inferior” Slavic people that Nazi ideology considered subhuman. Ukrainians in these parts were victims of unimaginable atrocities committed by both sides. While a significant number of Ukrainians joined the German Armed Forces in order to fight their tyrannical Soviet masters the majority of Ukrainians and others that resided in these parts were abused.
In February 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine in what the Russians called a “special military operation.” Since then Ukrainian leaders - Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyz in particular - have been pleading with the west for more weapons and defense systems to help repel the Russian attack. In summer of 2022 the United States gave Ukraine the highly advanced High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). This advanced missile system can be used to strike bridges and other strategic targets at a long distance. With missile and rocket systems, distance is key. Rocket systems like HIMARS need to be able to have a large enough range to strike targets farther away. A key advantage of HIMARS as opposed to other missile systems and those used by Russia according to BBC is that “Himars fires GPS-guided missiles which can be more accurately targeted.” HIMARS also has a range of about fifty miles which is enough for Ukraine to strike far into occupied territory.
Over the last few months Ukraine has been pressuring western countries to send tanks to Ukraine, particularly the United States and Germany. Germany has a long history of designing highly effective tanks. During WWII they created the infamous Panzers which were at the time some of the most modern and technologically advanced tanks in the world. After WWII ended West Germany - even under military restrictions from WWII - developed a small but mighty tank fleet, as confrontations between world superpowers the United States and the Soviet Union frequently occurred on German soil. If a war or nuclear weapons were to be used they most likely would occur on West German soil. The Soviet military was massive and was unmatchable tank for tank by West Germany, but it was possible for West Germany to design a tank that was strong enough to be effective in fighting, even if the ratio of West German tanks to Soviet tanks weren’t 1:1. During this time period Germany designed the Leopard tanks. To understand why Leopard tanks are so powerful, one has to dive into what makes a tank strong.
A tank is made up of three components, speed, firepower, and armor. A delicate balance between these three components is how a good tank is created. If a tank has very strong armor it may be able to withstand heavy fire but it could be quite slow and sluggish on the battlefield. Tanks with light armor may be able to move very fast but are also much easier to destroy. Furthermore, if a tank does not have much weaponry then even if it is heavily armored and speedy it might not be as effective on the battlefield. According to Dr. Christian Mölling, head of the Centre for Security and Defence at the German Council on Foreign Relations, the Leopard 2 is “quite powerful with regard to firepower. So, it can fire quite a long range with different types of ammunition that you can basically shape towards your target, so what you want to hit, you can choose different types of ammunition for that”. Leopard 2 tanks also have multilayer armor, which can offer quite strong protection against machine gun fire and anti-tank weapons. Additionally, Leopard 2 tanks have a top speed of 45 mph (72 kmh) with a 1500hp/1,100kW diesel engine. All of this shows how powerful and effective Leopard 2 tanks are.
Now the United States isn’t just standing by while Germany is sending heavy armor. Quite the contrary is occurring. Due to the historical significance of heavy German weaponry being in these regions, German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz did not immediately approve Ukraine’s request. While Leopard 2 tanks are spread across many countries the weapons deals signed with Germany state that Germany has to agree to the tanks being sent before any other country can send these tanks. Because of this, pressure mounted on Germany to agree to allow these tanks to go to Ukraine, as all of these nations with Leopard 2’s could send tanks, which would create a large fleet of advanced heavy weaponry being sent to the frontlines of Ukraine’s struggle. Prime Minister Scholz claimed that Germany would send tanks if the U.S. did. The U.S. initially refused, citing logistical issues. While Germany and the U.S. were trying to dodge the issue, both countries’ leaders understood the significance of sending these tanks. For Germany there was the historical significance as well as the issue that the United States faced, what would Russian leader Vladimir Putin think of these actions and how provocative would he consider this action to be? The consequences are extreme, nuclear war and the future of world peace is on the line. Sending these tanks is a major escalation, Ukraine now is fighting with heavy armor that could turn the tide of the war.
The United States and Germany changing their minds and sending these tanks is an example of how smaller, less powerful nations managed to pressure these powers into sending the tanks. Countries such as Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia that are on the front lines of this conflict urged these larger NATO nations to do their part. In the United States we don’t see much of the impact of the Ukraine war. At the beginning of the war, oil prices surging was the only major impact this war had on our daily life. Germany, though closer to the conflict, also didn’t experience as much. While Poland and Lithuania both experienced an influx of refugees, smaller northeastern countries in Europe like Estonia lived in fear that this conflict would spill into their territory. In the United States we don’t experience any of this and it’s important that apart from the photographs in the newspaper or the politics on Capitol Hill regarding U.S. support in this conflict that we recognize how this invasion of Ukraine affects millions in their daily lives, turning software engineers into soldiers, and teachers into refugees. This conflict is changing lives forever and the continued support of the United States and other countries is important because this battle isn’t just a battle of Ukraine, it’s a battle for all the values the United States stands for versus the dictatorial, tyrannical powers of the world.