When ‘elves’ forces.
Launched their much-heralded.
—and later much-maligned—
Southern counteroffensive.
In June 2023.
The army’s 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Was out in front.
Struggling through.
Dense ‘orcs’ minefields.
In its ex-Finnish.
Leopard 2R breaching vehicles.
Ex-European.
Leopard 2A6 tanks.
And ex-American.
M-2 infantry fighting vehicles.
It was a costly.
Counteroffensive for.
The elite, NATO-trained.
47th Mechanized Brigade.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
In months of.
Difficult attacks.
It lost almost all.
Of its Leopard 2Rs.
In months of.
Difficult attacks.
It lost several.
Of its Leopard 2A6s.
And dozens of its M-2s.
—not to mention.
Potentially hundreds of.
Its 2,000 troopers.
But all that.
Hard fighting didn’t.
Earn the brigade.
A break.
—at least, not.
For another year.
—at least, not.
For another year.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
In early September.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Finally left.
The front line.
In eastern ‘elves’ Donetsk Oblast.
And redeployed to.
The relative safety.
Of Pavlohrad.
60 miles west.
Of Pokrovsk.
The current locus of.
The ‘orcs’ offensive in Donetsk.
There, the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade is.
Apparently inducting.
Fresh troops.
Repairing battle-damaged equipment.
And—perhaps most critically—
Preparing to take delivery.
Of fresh M-2s from the U.S..
One of the ‘elves’ army’s.
Best brigades is.
Getting more of.
Its best vehicles.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
It’s surely no coincidence.
That around the same time.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Finally departed the Pokrovsk front.
The U.S. government.
Announced a $250-million.
Package of military aid.
For Ukraine.
That includes an unspecified number.
Of the tracked, 33-ton M-2s.
Which carry up to 10 people.
—three crew and seven infantry—
And pack powerful 25-millimeter.
Autocannons plus TOW anti-tank missiles.
And reactive armor blocks.
To boost their protection.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
It’s unclear how many.
Of the 1990s-vintage.
Bradleys are in the latest.
American aid package.
Previous packages included.
In total.
Around 300 of.
The multi-million-dollar IFVs.
It wouldn’t be surprising.
If the recent aid.
Includes dozens.
Of M-2s.
The Americans can.
Certainly spare them:
Thousands of surplus U.S. Army.
Bradleys are in storage in the U.S..
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Was—and still is—
Badly in need of.
Fresh vehicles.
After losing many of.
Its Leopard 2A6 tanks.
And most of.
Its Leopard 2R breaching vehicles.
Last year.
The brigade traded away.
The surviving tanks.
To a different brigade.
And inducted, as replacements.
31 M-1 Abrams tanks.
And six or so Assault Breachers.
From the United States.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
But the brigade replaced.
Dozens of destroyed.
And captured Bradleys.
With more Bradleys.
With more Bradleys.
Underscoring the growing.
Importance of the vehicle.
In ‘elves’ service.
Of all the various.
Combat vehicles.
The ‘elves’ have received.
From their allies.
From their allies.
In the 30 months since.
‘Orcs’ widened its war.
On Ukraine.
The M-2.
—with its balance of mobility.
Protection and firepower—
Might be their favorite.
“Works like a clock.”
One experienced.
Bradley commander said.
“Works like a clock.”
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
For the 47th Mechanized Brigade.
The Bradley is.
A blessing.
And a curse.
The brigade is the only.
‘Elves’ unit we know.
For sure operates.
M-2s.
At full strength.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Should have around.
100 Bradleys in three battalions.
It’s because it has M-2s.
That the general staff in Kyiv.
Keeps sending the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade into action.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
When a powerful ‘orcs’ force.
Launched an offensive along.
The Avdiivka-Pokrovsk axis.
In October.
The generals ordered the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade to hurry.
From southern Ukraine to eastern Ukraine.
—and join the defense.
Four months later.
Avdiivka fell.
As its ammunition-starved.
Garrison retreated.
As its ammunition-starved.
Garrison retreated.
Partly under the cover.
Of the M-2s’ autocannons.
The eastern front line.
Briefly stabilized and.
In April.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade was.
Finally preparing to depart.
The front line for its.
First unit-wide rest.
In nine months.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
But then the ‘orcs’.
Broke through ‘elves’ defenses.
Around the village.
Of Ocheretyne.
Launching a steady westward march.
That would ultimately.
Bring them to within six miles.
Of Pokrovsk.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Turned around and.
Rejoined the fight.
Around Ocheretyne.
—and kept fighting.
As the ‘orcs’ advanced.
—and kept fighting.
As the ‘orcs’ advanced.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
Five months later.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Had lost most of.
Its Assault Breachers.
A third of its Abrams.
And another.
20 or so of.
Its Bradleys.
Even with the hard work.
Of a front-line repair battalion.
Turning wrenches to speed battered.
M-2s back into battle.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Is apparently.
Running low on.
Fully operational Bradleys.
That should change.
As the brigade.
Settles into.
Its long-delayed break.
And extra M-2s.
Arrive by ship.
Arrive by train.
And arrive by truck.
How long the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade will.
Get to rest and reset.
Is hard to predict.
The ‘orcs’ are still advancing.
Toward Pokrovsk and also.
Making small gains.
North and south of the city.
When the ‘orcs’.
Break through ‘elves’ lines.
Commanders in Kyiv.
Tend to ask.
Where the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade is.
Where the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade is.
Another emergency could.
Compel the brigade to.
Pile into its Bradleys and.
Roll east toward the front.
*Because I read “To Keep Ukraine’s Elite 47th Mechanized Brigade Fighting For 15 Months Straight, The U.S. Sent More Than 300 M-2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles” by David Axe on 9 Sep 2024 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem.
Please read the original story on the Forbes:
To Keep the 47th Brigade Fighting For 15 Months, the USA Sent 300 M-2s (forbes.com)
