>Requires 0 fuel and a few spare parts, your logistics won't even notice you're using them at all they're so easy to maintain >Keeps soldiers fit at minimal energy cost >Can carry more stuff faster, quieter, over longer distances with minimal heat signature >Carried around relatively easy
Take the bicyclepill
Yes. When you spent all your money on the air force and can’t even afford trucks for all your guys, a couple of bikes and a length of rope will serve you well.
Better yet, in the time of war you can commandeer a civilian tractor, spray paint it green and you’ll have the capability to transport 20 men for no cost at all.
Actually a decent idea in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Bike infantry was typically used for scouting and message running although they were occasionally used as mounted infantry. There was little to no logistics burden and you could even use the bike as a hand cart.
In modern times it's just outperformed by the technical and gas is so abundant that it's not worth the effort to maintain bike units. Bikes can still be useful if you don't have a budget or supply line but no modern army is fielding bicycle units.
never really was relevant
frontline deployment is impossible due to terrain, you are way better off on foot than with a bike
for mass transportation it is much more efficient to use railroads or trucks
there are some niche uses, e.g. for messengers or couriers or maybe a good idea for 3rd world countries that dont have a developed railroad network but otherwise its just not feasible
It was very relevant before armies managed to fully motorize. An example: The Japanese BTFO'ing the Brits in Malaya, heavily using infantry on bicycles to speed up the process
Vietnamese made efficient use out of them against France and America. The French thought to pin the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu, part of their strategy was to monitor roads and highways and destroy enemy supply trucks heading towards DBP, but the Vietnamese caught on quick and just used less visible dirt trails through jungles and mountains on their bicycles. It was much slower but much safer and a lot more equipment got through. Some times bikes would be used to transport artillery piece by piece and then assembled on site. The Viets repeated this process except on a much larger scale to get supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail where 100k~ bikes were used to elude American aviation and move enormous amounts of men and material to South Vietnam
The Japs mogged the Anglos pretty hard in Malaya and Singapore, so yeah
That was because the Brit commander was too much of a pussy to do urban fighting, even though the nips were out numbered three to one
light infantries and mountaineers could have made into xtreme bike with guns?
Seems great for insurgents, I feel like motorcycles would be better for straight military usage though unless you needed to be sneaky
Seems like they'd be handy for paratroopers. That's implying that we'd have a para drop in the 21st century though
>That's implying that we'd have a para drop in the 21st century though
>we
People who write 'we' as 我们 will get a paradrop in the 21st century.
How many make it to ground is yet to be determined.
You might get one landing troops on the island too.
>Requires 0 fuel and a few spare parts, your logistics won't even notice you're using them at all they're so easy to maintain
>Keeps soldiers fit at minimal energy cost
>Can carry more stuff faster, quieter, over longer distances with minimal heat signature
>Carried around relatively easy
Take the bicyclepill
It is fairly easy for the rider to carry enough tools and spare parts to fix most everyday problems without having to go to a dedicated repair shop.
>get behind the truck svenn, you are going to miss the pannkakor and ärtsoppa
Hold on, is that truck towing the bikes?
Yes. When you spent all your money on the air force and can’t even afford trucks for all your guys, a couple of bikes and a length of rope will serve you well.
Better yet, in the time of war you can commandeer a civilian tractor, spray paint it green and you’ll have the capability to transport 20 men for no cost at all.
Actually a decent idea in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Bike infantry was typically used for scouting and message running although they were occasionally used as mounted infantry. There was little to no logistics burden and you could even use the bike as a hand cart.
In modern times it's just outperformed by the technical and gas is so abundant that it's not worth the effort to maintain bike units. Bikes can still be useful if you don't have a budget or supply line but no modern army is fielding bicycle units.
Electric dirtbikes are 21st century version
It's just not the same. Not a bad idea but you've still got to charge the batteries somehow.
never really was relevant
frontline deployment is impossible due to terrain, you are way better off on foot than with a bike
for mass transportation it is much more efficient to use railroads or trucks
there are some niche uses, e.g. for messengers or couriers or maybe a good idea for 3rd world countries that dont have a developed railroad network but otherwise its just not feasible
It was very relevant before armies managed to fully motorize. An example: The Japanese BTFO'ing the Brits in Malaya, heavily using infantry on bicycles to speed up the process
Easily done in one word: outdated.
>t. fat
Vietnamese made efficient use out of them against France and America. The French thought to pin the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu, part of their strategy was to monitor roads and highways and destroy enemy supply trucks heading towards DBP, but the Vietnamese caught on quick and just used less visible dirt trails through jungles and mountains on their bicycles. It was much slower but much safer and a lot more equipment got through. Some times bikes would be used to transport artillery piece by piece and then assembled on site. The Viets repeated this process except on a much larger scale to get supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail where 100k~ bikes were used to elude American aviation and move enormous amounts of men and material to South Vietnam
Good for paratroopers, mountain infantry, and countries that haven't fully motorized their militaries.