Nearly 3,500 American soldiers and 2,000 pieces of military equipment from the 1st ABCT are heading toward Żagań by both rail and road. They will soon serve in Żagań, Świętoszów, Skwierzyna and Bolesławiec, as well as at camps located on the Żagań-Świętoszów training ground, as part of the reinforcement of NATO’s eastern flank under the so-called European Deterrence Initiative (EDI).
The 1st ABCT consists of soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Brigade, known as “Ironhorse,” who are stationed at Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base located in the central part of Texas (USA). This will be the third ABCT rotation, serving its deployment for the next nine months. Ensuring the efficient and accident-free movement of equipment and soldiers is a major challenge, both organizationally and logistically. The movement from the United States is carried out by various routes and using different means of transport, including ships, aircraft, railways and road vehicles. To transport such a large quantity of equipment and personnel, three sea shipments to the port of Antwerp, nearly 30 rail transports and more than 20 large road convoys carrying equipment and personnel were organized.
Organizing the efficient and safe movement is not only a task for American soldiers; it is also a challenge for the soldiers of the Black Division, the Military Police, logisticians from the 43rd Military Economic Unit and the Military Transport Command, who secure the rotation. Rail transport is the primary method of moving heavy equipment, including various types of tracked vehicles: tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery equipment.
The “Ironhorse” Brigade was established in 1917 and is one of the best-known units in the United States. During World War II, it fought, among other places, in the Philippines and New Guinea. It later took part in military operations in Vietnam and Cambodia.
It has been stationed at Ford Hood since 1971. In 1998, it took part in Operation Desert Storm. The following year, it operated in Bosnia. Nearly 3,500 soldiers equipped with M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzers and other military equipment will arrive in Poland.
The history of the brigade and its soldiers inspired the Hollywood blockbuster “We Were Soldiers,” directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson, released in 2002. The film tells the story of the first major battle during the intervention of United States forces in Vietnam, in the Ia Drang Valley, in 1965. Four hundred American soldiers under the command of Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) were surrounded by more than two thousand North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days of brutal fighting claimed hundreds of lives.
More information is available on the website of the 11th Lubuska Armored Cavalry Division.
