Thread by @DefenseNigeria

In the early stages of the insurgency the Nigerian army adopted a conventional war strategy against Boko Haram. The army's goal was to bring Boko Haram to the conventional battle in which they will be destroyed by conventional firepower, in which the Nigerian army excells at.

At this time Boko Haram was the deadliest terrorist group in the world and the second largest, with an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 fighters armed with anti-tank weapons.

In one incident Nigerian troops engaged Boko Haram in a gun duel that lasted 12 hours.

As the fighting rages troops at the front are soon in need of supplies and support. A Tank battalion is called in. The tanks were to provide security for a convoy of supply vehicles that was loaded with food rations, munitions, media kits etc for delivery to troops at the front.

This is where the commander continues the army's age old tradition of having Main Battle Tanks operating independently.

In keeping with tradition, the convoy heads off without infantry support.

By itself a tank is vulnerable in guerrilla operations, as a tank driver cant see very much. To make the tank less vulnerable they should be protected by infantry.

Infantry support can deter an enemy from getting too close to the tank. A Tank is relatively blind. If you can get up close with it, you can actually deploy a number of anti-tank weapons.

As the convoy moves inland they come across terrain that slows down the movement of tanks. Dozens of Boko Haram insurgents seize the opportunity to attack the convoy. Small arms fire began raining down on the convoy. Of course tanks are immune to small arms fire.

Then one tank explodes as it is hit by an anti-tank rocket. The insurgents had sprung an ambush.

The tank crew could actually see where the RPG rounds were coming from but couldnt bring the 125mm smooth bore gun turret to bear down on them because they were too close.

Boko Haram has a tactic of hugging tanks. They surrounded the tanks. One tank managed to pull back and ran straight into thick vegetation as the convoy struggled to hold off the insurgents.

With their track blown away, tank crews bailed out as the insurgents closed in for the kill before withdrawing into the jungle. Five soldiers are killed, others wounded.

It dawned on the Nigerian army that tanks themselves have no good defenses against enemy infantry.

They need infantry as their shield, especially in urban combat. The days of tanks working independently was over. Infantry and tanks now move as a cohesive unit with overlapping mission objectives and benefits. Infantry use tanks as a shield against machine gun fire.

While tanks also use infantry as a shield to prevent insurgents from getting too close. Now, this is all circumstantial.

As large heavily armed behemoths, tanks are still the primary offensive weapon of the Nigerian army. Their goal is primarily to neutralize enemy tanks.

The VT-4 Main Battle Tank is the one tank that can operate independently thanks to its coaxial 12.7mm machine gun and remotely controlled weapon station. The is a huge advantage of the tank, as the tank commander no longer has to expose himself to enemy fire.