The much-vaunted German Leopard 2 tank – 18 of which were sent to Ukraine in 2023 after prolonged national debates and foot-dragging by the outgoing Olaf Scholz government – is reportedly proving a flop on the battlefield.
According to a confidential assessment by Germany’s own defence ministry, and published by the Daily Telegraph, the Leopards have disappointed their Ukrainian army crews, as they are said to be over-complex to operate and vulnerable to aerial attack by Russian drones.
So limited are the Leopards’ capabilities proving in real battle conditions that their range and mobility are restricted. According to the study, they are being used as little more than moderately mobile artillery pieces.
The Leopards’ disappointing performance will come as no surprise to anyone who has studied the history of the German tank since the dawn of armoured warfare in the first world war. For, contradicting the popular legend of the all-conquering ‘Blitzkrieg’, German panzers in practice have repeatedly exhibited similar failings – tending to be too large and heavy, too thirsty for fuel, and over-complicated to operate.
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