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NEWS
Tanks for the memories
Even in the age of air superiority and MAD there's a place on the battlefield for the conventional tankRemember the video footage of the Chinese protester who stared down a tank of the People's Liberation Army, right around the time of the Tiananmen square protest in 1989?
Rarely has an act of such bravery – or foolhardiness – been caught on film. Facing a tank is about the most courageous thing anyone can ever do. Battle tanks instil terror in those unlucky enough to be caught on foot in a warzone. They are literally the stuff of nightmares.
But as films such as 'Saving Private Ryan' have shown, tanks are not invulnerable to a well-equipped and experienced fighting force.
The history of the tank is a series of peaks and troughs, from the moment the first tanks went into action in World War One. Developed to run over the top of trenches dug to keep infantry safe, the tank's first appearance caused some alarm on the German side, as can be imagined.
By the time of the Second World War, however, munitions had improved and even the most carefully designed tanks could be knocked out by artillery. Australian troops at the siege of Tobruk in modern-day Libya allowed the German tanks to roll over their trenches and foxholes, leaving the tanks to be wiped out by artillery well behind the forward lines, while the diggers mopped up the advancing German troops following the tanks into battle. It was a salient lesson for the Germans, who apparently had not previously seen troops stand their ground with tanks advancing on them.
The Germans had their anti-tank tricks too, under Erwin Rommel, AKA 'The Desert Fox'. Rommel trained the Germans' exceptionally accurate 88mm anti-aircraft guns on allied tanks during the North African campaign – to deadly effect.
By the time of the first Gulf war, tanks had reasserted their place on the battlefield, leading the American charge into Iraq – although tanks by that stage were well and truly at risk from a well directed air strike. Deployment of tanks since the commencement of the Second World War has become more reliant on air superiority to be effective. And there's no doubt the task of attacking Iraq then was made much easier for the American tanks by the enemy side being softened up first by a massive cruise missile strike.
Which brings us to this infographic, 'Owning a Tank', from NeoMam Infographic Design Studios. It provides some interesting trivia to trot out at dinner parties. When you reach the bottom of the infographic, do avert your eyes at the mention of Tom Clancy. We reckon he ain't driving his tank anywhere now – not since his unexpected demise last month.
Picture shows Australian-designed Sentinel AC1 tank, now housed at the RAAC Memorial and Army Tank Museum, Puckapunyal, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Owning a tank [Infographic] by the team at Wish
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Written byCarsales Staff
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