Thomas the Tank Engine

A tank is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle designed to engage enemies head-on, using direct fire from a large caliber-gun. Heavy armour - as well a high degree of mobility - give it survivability, while the tracks allow it to cross even rough terrain at relatively high speeds. more...

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Tanks were first used in World War I to break the deadlock of the trenches, and they evolved gradually to assume the former role of cavalry on the battlefield: to either flank opposing positions with fast movement, or to penetrate defenses by massive concentration. Either movement may then be followed up by deep penetration into enemy rear areas, again supported by their high mobility. Tanks seldom operate alone, being organised into armoured units, usually in combined arms forces. Without such support, tanks, despite their armour and mobility, are vulnerable to special anti-tank artillery, other tanks, anti-tank mines, infantry (at short ranges) as well as specialised anti-tank aircraft such as attack helicopters or close air support aircraft.

While tanks are expensive to operate and support, they remain among the most formidable and versatile weapons of the modern battlefield, both for their ability to engage other ground targets (including fortifications) and their shock value against infantry. Tanks and armour tactics have undergone many generations of evolution over nearly a century. Although weapons systems and armour continue to be developed, often at very high cost, many nations have reconsidered the need for such heavy weaponry in a period characterised by unconventional warfare.

The name tank first arose in British factories making the hulls of the first battle tanks: the workmen were given the impression they were constructing tracked water containers for the British Army, hence keeping the production of a fighting vehicle secret.

History

World War I: the first tanks

The stalemate on the Western Front prompted the British Army to begin research into a self-propelled vehicle which could cross trenches, crush barbed wire, and would be impervious to fire from machine-guns. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill sponsored the Landships Committee which created the first successful prototype tank, 'Little Willie' in September 1915. The vehicles were colloquially referred to as water carriers, later shortened to tanks, to preserve secrecy and the name became official in December 1915.

The first tank to engage in battle was D1, a Mark I British tank used during the Battle of Flers-Courcellette (part of the Battle of the Somme), on the 15 September 1916. Whilst it assisted the British infantry in capturing some German trenches, it was knocked out by friendly fire. The French developed the Schneider CA1 working from Holt caterpillar tractors, and first used it on the 16 April 1917. The first successful use of massed tanks in combat meanwhile occurred at the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917. Tanks were also used to great effect in the Battle of Amiens, when Allied forces were able to break through entrenched German position due to armoured support.

Read more at Wikipedia.org