The U.S. is moving tanks and combat vehicles closer to Russia

The United States Army is transferring tanks and other combat vehicles from Germany to a NATO base in Podwidz, Poland as part of an ongoing effort aimed at supplementing the defensive alliance’s presence on its eastern border. 

Polish news outlet Radio ZET published an image of a convoy of U.S. combat vehicles making its way from a military base in Germany to warehouses in Podwidz and reported that the transfer of vehicles will continue through September 2024. 

The U.S. Army is transferring vehicles from its military base in Mannheim to Podwiz, where there is a NATO-funded Army Prepositioned Stocks storage facility adjacent to an airport in the area that can be used for rapid deployments by air.  

The NATO-funded storage facility will eventually host 87 tanks as well as over 150 infantry fighting vehicles and 18 self-propelled howitzers according to Newsweek, which reported 14 M1 Abrams tanks were transferred to the site in June. 

An M88 armored recovery vehicle was also moved to the storage facility in Podwiz in June. Retired U.S. Army Colonel Ray Wojcik told Newsweek the site would eventually be equipped to handle the deployment of a full armored brigade.

Known as the Brigade Combat Team, this type of formation is the “U.S. Army’s basic deployable all arms maneuver formation” according to Kyiv Post, and it comes with its own “dedicated combat support, combat service support, and organic artillery units.”

Newsweek noted the formation being gathered in Podwiz could be deployed within a few days—rather than the month it would take for such a force to arrive by ship—and adding the forward deployment would send a strong message to Moscow. 

"This is significant regarding our effort to work with allies to 'steel' NATO's Eastern Front, It's a great example of burden sharing or deterrence and defense cooperation," Colonel Wojcik, now a senior fellow at The Center for European Policy Analysis, explained.

"Since 2014, we've made an effort to show the flag on the eastern front, but with limited capabilities. Today, more is happening, but much more must be done in terms of USA and NATO forward defense." Wojcik added.

In July, NATO restated its goal to strengthen the defensive alliance’s eastern flank, which it reported on its website is an “important component of NATO’s deterrence and defense posture,” but the move is likely meant to send a signal to Russia. 

“NATO has increased its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance as a direct result of Russia’s behavior, which reflects a pattern of aggressive actions against its neighbors and the wider transatlantic community,” the alliance noted.

"Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area,” the NATO article on its increased presence on the defensive alliance’s eastern border continued. 

The transfer of vehicles to Podwiz comes just one month after construction was finished on a new base for 1,000 U.S. troops in Świętoszów, a compound that the Kyiv Post reported will also serve as a training base for allied troops.

The new base in Świętoszów will host rotations of combat-ready forces according to Kyiv, meaning that if enemy forces need to be engaged, the soldiers at this base will more than likely be deployed into battle by the United States.  

“The base will also be used to quickly collect and receive supplies, [and] configure combat equipment before moving to a tactical assembly area,” said Polish Brigadier General and the Director of NATO’s Investment Department Dariusz Mendrala. 

Newsweek reported that the transfer of U.S. Army vehicles to Podwiz comes “amid heightened tensions with Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.'' 

The storage facility in Podwiz is roughly 500 miles (310km) from the frontlines in Ukraine and 100 miles (62 km) from NATO’s borders with Russia in Estonia and Finland. 

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