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History of the tank
The history of the tank includes all vehicles intended to advance under enemy fire while remaining protected.
The principle of armored warfare can be compared with attempts to protect soldiers from enemy projectiles that existed since ancient times. The development of the explosion engine makes it possible to transport an armored vehicle more easily than with horses. One of the first traces of the use of an armored motor vehicle occurred during the Crimean War.
World War I generated new demands for armoured self-propelled weapons which could navigate any kind of terrain, and this led to the development of the tank. The great weakness of the tank predecessor, the armoured car, was that it required smooth terrain to move upon, and new developments were needed for cross-country capability.
The tank was originally designed as a special weapon to solve an unusual tactical situation: the stalemate of the trenches on the Western Front. "It was a weapon designed for one simple task: crossing the killing zone between trench lines and breaking into enemy [defences]." The armoured tank was intended to be able to protect against bullets and shell splinters, and pass through barbed wire in a way infantry units could not hope to, thus allowing the stalemate to be broken.
Few recognised during World War I that the means for returning mobility and shock action to combat was already present in a device destined to revolutionise warfare on the ground and in the air. This was the internal combustion engine, which had made possible the development of the tank and eventually would lead to the mechanised forces that were to assume the old roles of horse cavalry and to loosen the grip of the machine gun on the battlefield.
With increased firepower and protection, these mechanised forces would, only some 20 years later, become the armour of World War II. When self-propelled artillery, the armoured personnel carrier, the wheeled cargo vehicle, and supporting aviation—all with adequate communications—were combined to constitute the modern armoured division, commanders regained the capability of manoeuvre.
Numerous concepts of armoured all-terrain vehicles had been imagined for a long time. With the advent of trench warfare in World War I, the Allied French and British developments of the tank were largely parallel and coincided in time.
Leonardo da Vinci is often credited with the invention of a war machine that resembled a tank. In the 15th century, a Hussite called Jan Žižka won several battles using armoured wagons containing cannons that could be fired through holes in their sides, but his invention was not used after his lifetime until the 20th century. In the 17th century, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz devised his "fire cart", which incorporated the gunpowder engine for propulsion, anticipating the 20th-century incorporation of the internal combustion engine for the same purpose.
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History of the tank AI simulator
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History of the tank
The history of the tank includes all vehicles intended to advance under enemy fire while remaining protected.
The principle of armored warfare can be compared with attempts to protect soldiers from enemy projectiles that existed since ancient times. The development of the explosion engine makes it possible to transport an armored vehicle more easily than with horses. One of the first traces of the use of an armored motor vehicle occurred during the Crimean War.
World War I generated new demands for armoured self-propelled weapons which could navigate any kind of terrain, and this led to the development of the tank. The great weakness of the tank predecessor, the armoured car, was that it required smooth terrain to move upon, and new developments were needed for cross-country capability.
The tank was originally designed as a special weapon to solve an unusual tactical situation: the stalemate of the trenches on the Western Front. "It was a weapon designed for one simple task: crossing the killing zone between trench lines and breaking into enemy [defences]." The armoured tank was intended to be able to protect against bullets and shell splinters, and pass through barbed wire in a way infantry units could not hope to, thus allowing the stalemate to be broken.
Few recognised during World War I that the means for returning mobility and shock action to combat was already present in a device destined to revolutionise warfare on the ground and in the air. This was the internal combustion engine, which had made possible the development of the tank and eventually would lead to the mechanised forces that were to assume the old roles of horse cavalry and to loosen the grip of the machine gun on the battlefield.
With increased firepower and protection, these mechanised forces would, only some 20 years later, become the armour of World War II. When self-propelled artillery, the armoured personnel carrier, the wheeled cargo vehicle, and supporting aviation—all with adequate communications—were combined to constitute the modern armoured division, commanders regained the capability of manoeuvre.
Numerous concepts of armoured all-terrain vehicles had been imagined for a long time. With the advent of trench warfare in World War I, the Allied French and British developments of the tank were largely parallel and coincided in time.
Leonardo da Vinci is often credited with the invention of a war machine that resembled a tank. In the 15th century, a Hussite called Jan Žižka won several battles using armoured wagons containing cannons that could be fired through holes in their sides, but his invention was not used after his lifetime until the 20th century. In the 17th century, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz devised his "fire cart", which incorporated the gunpowder engine for propulsion, anticipating the 20th-century incorporation of the internal combustion engine for the same purpose.