History of The Tank
WWI
The first tank was developed by the British in 1915, named “Little Willie,” with its sibling “Big Willie” coming soon after. Efforts to create an armored vehicle were also happening in France, but the British were able to build and use a tank first in 1916, where they saw limited success. In 1917, the British were able to achieve a breakthrough at the Battle of Cambrai, but the British tanks used were slow and had barely any range. The demand for a lighter and faster tank created the 14 ton Medium A, with a top speed of 8 miles per hour and a range of 80 miles, debuting in 1918. This sounds depressingly slow, but in 1918, an armored box that could travel at all while still being able to take bullets was revolutionary. France would also begin using tanks. By the end of 1918, the French Renault F.T. would be the most common tank, and France’s conservative tank doctrine, with them being built for supporting the infantry, would be the basis of other countries’ tank programs, such as the US and Italy, creating the M1917 and Fiat 3000 respectively.
Interwar period
France would develop more armored tanks to lead the infantry charges, while Britain would start making faster tanks to replace horse cavalry as well as the more armored tanks. The rest of the world would start making tanks, and by the start of WWII, the Soviet Union would have the most tanks.
WWII
Germany’s “new” doctrine
The best tank ever (not really, it was kinda bad)
The Bob Semple tank, New Zealand’s first domestic tank, was given the name of the NZ Minister of Works Robert “Bob” Semple. During the Interwar period and WWII up until the fall of France, New Zealand relied on Britain for their armored vehicles, and after the French capitulated, New Zealand worried about Japan invading and the UK not being able to help. They realized that they needed to make their own tank, and they did. The Bob Semple’s blueprints essentially amounted to a tractor with thin, rust covered armor with 6 machine guns. It was supposed to have a 37mm cannon on the turret and 5 machine guns, 2 on the front, and one on each side and back, but the cannon was replaced by the 6th machine gun. Legend tells that Bob Semple saw a photograph that showed how to put armor on a caterpillar tractor, something they had a lot of.
Postwar
The lessons learned during WWII would lead the nations of the world to change their tank doctrines. However, the US and the UK would not fully embrace the change. With the invention of recoilless rifles and rocket launchers, a wave of pessimism came about the future of tanks. This wave of doubt would be dispelled by the early successes of the Soviet T-34/85 during the Korean War.
The modern tank
Today, tanks are still used, but they are different in their role and have different requirements of what they can have. The giant sweeping armored columns breaking through other giant sweeping armored columns to clear a path for the infantry is a thing of the past. Now, they sweep minefields and other obstacles, detect improvised explosives, and act as artillery among other roles. However, design ideas have diverged from each other. Russian tanks like the T-14 Armata favor increased armor and size to protect the crew, while other countries are looking into making tanks remote controlled, thereby removing the crew from the tank and making extra armor unnecessary, which allows for higher speed and firepower. This change has come about due to the invention and refinement of portable anti tank systems and drones.
The modern tank is unrecognizable to its predecessors. The mechanical beasts of old would not be able to comprehend the armored vehicles of today, nor be able to defend against the countermeasures in place today. Despite the advancement of weapons built for their downfall, the tank still stands as a lesson we could all use in our lives.
