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T Tank

History

Dated history of Tank (1916-present (as a type)) in From the Somme to every later armoured front.

Educational history. Casualty figures are documented ranges. This is not operational advice, a ranking of nations, or a how-to for weapons or coups.

The Somme is the public birthday. French parallel work is the other parent.

A "tank" was a box on a rail car -- the cover story is the first sentence of the name.

Timeline

  1. Flers-Courcelette

    Mark I debut.

  2. Cambrai

    First massed British tank attack; gains then lost.

  3. FT and 1918 battles

    Turret layout; combined arms.

  4. Doctrine fights

    Fuller, Guderian, Tukhachevsky.

  5. Early WWII

    The type's political shock in Europe.

  6. Kursk caption

    Density and myth.

  7. T-34 in Korea

    A Korean first meeting.

  8. Sinai/Golan ATGMs

    Staff-college shock.

  9. Late Cold War MBT

    M1, Leopard 2, T-72 families.

  10. "Dead again" headlines

    Urban wars and drones -- historically noted.

Eras

Invention

Rhomboids to FT.

Theory

Small wars and big arguments.

Industrial peak

T-34, Sherman, Panther.

MBT Cold War

Two alliances' types.

Questioned type

Headlines vs inventories.

Milestones

1916 debut

A type is born.

FT layout

A century's silhouette.

1973 missile shock

A staff-college date.

Headlines will bury the type again. Inventories usually do not.

Korea's 1950 meeting and later K2 are the local afterlife in this atlas.

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