The vehicles were extra-large to let them carry sizeable assault teams and would regularly carry infantry on board in addition to their already large crews that were trained as stormtroopers. Some of the first mechanized infantry were German assault teams mounted on A7V tanks during World War I.

To be effective in the field, mechanized units also require many mechanics, with specialized maintenance and recovery vehicles and equipment.Ģ1 March 1918: German A7V tanks in Roye, Somme during Operation Michael. Most IFVs carry only six or seven infantry but require a crew of three. For example, most APCs mount a section of seven or eight infantrymen but have a crew of two. It requires more combat supplies (ammunition and especially fuel) and ordnance supplies (spare vehicle components), and a comparatively larger proportion of manpower is required to crew and maintain the vehicles. For units equipped with most types of APC or any type of IFV, fire support weapons, such as machine guns, autocannons, small-bore direct-fire howitzers, and anti-tank guided missiles are often mounted directly on the infantry's own transport vehicles.Ĭompared with 'light' truck-mobile infantry, mechanized infantry can maintain rapid tactical movement and, if mounted in IFVs, have more integral firepower.

The support weapons for mechanized infantry are also provided with motorized transport, or they are built directly into combat vehicles to keep pace with the mechanized infantry in combat. Some nations distinguish between mechanized and armored (or armoured) infantry, designating troops carried by APCs as mechanized and those in IFVs as armored. Most APCs and IFVs are fully tracked or are all-wheel drive vehicles (6×6 or 8×8), for mobility across rough ground. Mechanized infantry (or mechanised infantry) are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force).Īs defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is distinguished from motorized infantry in that its vehicles provide a degree of armor protection and armament for use in combat, whereas motorized infantry are provided with 'soft-skinned' wheeled vehicles for transportation only. Army mechanized infantry dismount from an M113 armored personnel carrier during training in 1985.

Hoi4 mechanized vs motorized