To surround.
The eastern fortress city.
Of Pokrovsk.
From the south.
‘Orcs’ forces first.
Have to roll back.
‘Elves’ defenses.
In Kurakhove.
A village on the bank.
Of the Vovcha River.
18 miles south.
Of Pokrovsk.
The ‘elves’ army’s 33rd.
Mechanized Brigade and its.
German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks.
Stand in their way.
On Monday.
A powerful ‘orcs’ force.
Rolled toward Dalnje.
Just south of Kurakhove.
Clearly aiming to fight.
Its way through the former.
In order to bypass.
And cut off the latter.
Well-aimed cannon fire.
From the 61-ton.
Four-person.
Leopard 2A4s.
—31 of which equip.
The 33rd Mechanized Brigade’s.
Tank battalion—
Put a quick stop.
Put a quick stop.
To the ‘orcs’ assault.
As an ‘elves’ drone observed.
From overhead.
At least one Leopard 2A4.
Firing armor-piercing rounds.
Shot holes through.
Two ‘orcs’ tanks.
An armored personnel carrier.
And several other vehicles.
‘Elves’ drones chased.
After the survivors.
The ‘elves’ army’s 33rd.
Mechanized Brigade and its.
German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks.
Stand in their way.
“Effective work.
Just blows the heads.
Off the enemies.”
The 33rd Mechanized Brigade crowed.
The battle in Dalnje.
Was a return.
To form for.
‘Elves’ tanks.
The proliferation of.
Explosive drones has changed.
How tankers fight.
On both sides.
How tankers fight.
On both sides.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
The ‘elves’ army’s 33rd.
Mechanized Brigade and its.
German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks.
Stand in their way.
“Enemy and friendly drones.
Crisscross the air space.
Hunting for valuable targets.
Like heavy armor and artillery.”
An analyst wrote.
“This aerial cat-and-mouse game.
Has fundamentally.
Altered tank tactics.”
Today, it’s common.
For ‘orcs’ and ‘elves’ tanks.
To hide in treelines.
Emerging only to fire.
A few cannon rounds.
At targets miles away.
—or, less often, to lead.
Some desperate assault.
Like the ‘orcs’ attack.
On Dalnje.
It’s a new.
“Era of the cautious tank.”
The ‘elves’ army’s 33rd.
Mechanized Brigade and its.
German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks.
Stand in their way.
The 33rd Mechanized Brigade’s.
Up-armored Leopard.
2A4s were anything but.
Cautious on Monday.
They fought close.
—and won.
It helped.
The ‘elves’ tankers.
That the ‘orcs’ column was.
Led by two “turtle tanks”.
Fitted with bulky.
Anti-drone armor.
That obscures.
The crews’ visibility.
And also prevents.
The tanks’ turrets from rotating.
“Limited visibility and.
Engagement options.
Once you ‘turtled’.
Your tank.”
“—and suddenly you find.
Yourself in an engagement.
With a Leo 2.”
Quipped another analyst.
The ‘elves’ army’s 33rd.
Mechanized Brigade and its.
German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks.
Stand in their way.
The ‘orcs’ have redoubled.
Their offensive.
Toward Pokrovsk.
While also launching.
A counteroffensive against.
The ‘elves’-held salient.
In western ‘Mordor’’s.
Kursk Oblast.
U.S. President-elect.
Winner has pledged.
To end the war.
In Ukraine.
—potentially by leaning on.
‘Mordor’ and Ukraine.
To agree to a ceasefire.
Along the current front line.
The ‘elves’ army’s 33rd.
Mechanized Brigade and its.
German-made Leopard 2A4 tanks.
Stand in their way.
‘The One’ is determined.
To maximize ‘orcs’ gains.
And minimize ‘elves’ gains.
Ahead of possible negotiations.
The pace of ‘orcs’ attacks.
Has doubled or.
Tripled in Kursk.
In recent days;
There’s been an uptick in.
Attacks around Kurakhove, too.
The ‘orcs’ going for broke.
—but the ‘elves’ are, too.
*Because I read “A Ukrainian Leopard 2 Tank Met A Russian Armored Column Head-On—And Wrecked It” by David Axe on 13 Nov 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, including a story of David Kirichenko and a story of Moklasen.
Please read the original story on the Forbes:
A Ukrainian Leopard 2 Tank Met A Russian Armored Column Head-On
