Lastly, a heavy tank model was developed, the French “char de rupture” or “breakthrough tank”, which was heavily protected and armed, built to deal with other tanks as well as destroying well-protected enemy positions and bunkers.
They were used for scouting operations and advancing deep behind enemy lines. Cavalry tanks were, on the contrary, very fast and agile, but lightly protected and with weak armament. Infantry tanks were well-armed and well protected but utterly slow (infantry pace). This tactic was developed and refined at a steady pace by both the British and the French, and three classes of tanks were defined. Tanks were also followed closely by infantry, staying with them during the breakthrough, mostly to deal with machine-gun nests. Fast, lightweight and agile, it was designed to carry a single Bren machine-gun, two personnel and some material and could sustain only infantry fireĭuring WWI the tank was first used with mixed success, but its deployment was aimed at cleaning up enemy lines with more precision than a massive artillery barrage. First produced in 1928 and largely exported and built under licence throughout the world, it was one of the most serious attempts to built a truly mechanized army. Credits – Wikimedia commons – A Carden-Loyd Mk.VI tankette. The Vickers Carden-Lloyd tankette seemed a cheap and efficient way to mass-produce armoured vehicles, and to experiment with fully motorized units on a tactical and operational level. Your browser does not support the audio element. Some new tactics were developed during the interwar and refined, such as the “Blitzkrieg” which proved decisive and changed the way tanks would be used thereafter. They fought in most battles of the Second World War, some of these have become legendary like Kursk, one of the largest armoured clashes in the history of mankind. From the snowy steppes of Russia to the soaky jungles of New Guinea, from the sands of Egypt to the grassy plains of Western Europe, the tanks were wherever soldiers were to be seen. Never in history have so many tanks and AFV’s been built and fought all around the globe.
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