[Tirith]

I often find it interesting to go back through my collection of older military books and publications, to get a perspective on how much things have changed over the years. Today I pulled "Inside the Soviet Army" off the shelf, and stumbled across a gem I thought I would share.

This book, published in 1982 by a defector who was an officer of the Soviet Army (written under the assumed name Viktor Suvorov), contains a chapter on Soviet weaponry and equipment. As the Soviet Union strictly adhered to the KISS principle, most of their equipment, from the AK-47 to the T-62, issurprisingly simple and remarkably robust. So it is a true compliment to the American jeep when Suvorov started off the chapter on Soviet equipment with this:

"I adore weapons. Of every sort. I love military equipment and military uniforms. One day I shall open a small museum, and the first exhibit which I shall buy for my museum will be an American jeep. This is a real miracle weapon. It was designed before the Second World War and it served from the first day to the last, like a faithful soldier. It was dropped by parachute, it was soaked in salt water, it smashed its wheels on the stony deserts of Libya and sank into swamps on tropical islands. It served honourably in the
mountains of Norway and of the Caucasus, in the Alps and the Ardennes. And,
since the war, can any other military vehicle have seen so many battles -- Korea, Vietnam, Sinai, Africa, the Arctic, South America, Indonesia, India, Pakistan? And is there any sort of weapon which has not been installed on a jeep? Recoilless guns, anti-tank rockets, machine guns. And it has worked on reconnaissance duties, as an ambulance, a patrol vehicle, a commander and an ordinary military workhorse.

"And how many types of tanks, guns, aircraft, rockets have come and gone in the time of the jeep? They were important and impressive, the jeep was grey and undistinguished. But they have gone and the jeep is still there. And how many times have they tried to replace the jeep? But it is indispensable. In the desert, more reliable than a camel, in the grasslands faster than a leopard, in the Arctic hardier than a Polar bear."

Quite the compliment.

[Alec]

I like this guy!!

[konger8]

It gave me goose bumps. thanks for the post.

[schitzangiggles]

lets take up a collection and donate one to him.

[PM Thor]

The thing is, simplicity almost always overcomes, and the original Jeep was a simple vehicle that could be adapted to many, many uses.

You won't see it happen again. No matter what anyone says, there is not and will not be as versatile a vehicle as the Jeep.

[The_'ster]

People give me crap about my jeep. "It's noisey, cramped, doesnt have any power options, doesn't run smooth,etc, why would you want this?" I just say"Cause it's uncomplicated!"

I really like this guy too. On a side note, the T34 has been widely regarded as probably the best tank of WWII. It had a great balance of firepower, speed, and armor. The soviets really did KISS.

[MrBurns]

I just put two and two together and reralized that this guy's real name is Vladimir Rezun. I think he was in the Soviet army then worked for the GRU before defecting. He's written several other good books as well, and some not so good. He worked on part of John Hackett's excellent book "The Third World War"

[Kahu]

I remember seeing something on the history or discovery channel about jeeps and how they made a dramastic change during wartime. I remember seeing clips of people testing the jeeps. one clip showd a jeep full of people flying over dirt hills. the tires were several feet off the ground. I was thinking how crazy it was that those people didnt fly out.

My grandpa saw my tj a few months ago and started telling me how much they had changed. he said "mine had wire cutters". I was like "wire cutters?". he said "yeah. we usually didnt have windsheilds and the germans would put up wire between two trees to decapitate us, so we all had a wire cutter attached to our bumpers". I guess it was some sort of bar attached to the bumper that cut the wire while you were driving.
Then he went on telling me other stories of jeeps.

[The_'ster]

Originally Posted by Kahu

My grandpa saw my tj a few months ago and started telling me how much they had changed. he said "mine had wire cutters". I was like "wire cutters?". he said "yeah. we usually didnt have windsheilds and the germans would put up wire between two trees to decapitate us, so we all had a wire cutter attached to our bumpers". I guess it was some sort of bar attached to the bumper that cut the wire while you were driving.

He must be talking about something like this. Granted it's a model, but I saw this before and was like "what the heck is that bar for?" Now I know.

Lots of other pictures on this web site. Each picture links to a full page of various photos, mostly of german vehicles but some american and soviet stuff too. The detail is amazing!

[Kahu]

found some more pics of the wire cutters