Reference
Timeline
From the Somme to drones. A short spine through the atlas — not a complete history.
1916
Mark I at the Somme
EuropeBritain puts an armored box on tracks into a prepared kill zone. The tank is born as an infantry key, not a cavalry horse.
1917
Renault FT layout
EuropeRotating turret, driver in front, engine in back. A century later MBTs still obey this drawing.
1939
Blitzkrieg as combined arms
EuropePanzers work because radios, Stukas, and infantry work. The tank alone is not the revolution.
1941
T-34 shock
RussiaSloped 45 mm, diesel, wide tracks. German 37 mm doors bounce. The medium tank of the war is Soviet.
1942
Sherman goes to series
AmericaDetroit builds a 30-tonne medium that can be landed, repaired, and crewed by civilians in uniform.
1943
Tiger and Panther
EuropeGermany answers with quality it cannot afford. Kursk is the Panther’s broken debut.
1945
Pershing and IS-2
AmericaHeavies meet in the ruins of the Reich. Centurion misses the war by weeks and then defines the MBT.
1947
T-54
RussiaLow dome, 100 mm, the postwar world tank in prototype. T-55 will add NBC.
1957
L7 105 mm
EuropeBritain’s gun becomes NATO’s. Centurion, M60, Leopard 1, early Abrams all drink from it.
1966
T-64 and the autoloader
RussiaComposite armor, 125 mm, three-man crew. The Soviet MBT split (T-64 elite, T-72 mass) starts here.
1973
ATGMs in Sinai and Golan
EuropeSagger missiles punish armor without infantry. The mobility-school Leopard 1 / AMX-30 bet looks shakier.
1979
Leopard 2 and the Chobham era
EuropeComposite, 120 mm, 1,500 hp. Abrams follows. Third generation arrives.
1980
M1 Abrams
AmericaTurbine, special armor, thermal sight. Built for AirLand Battle on the inner German border.
1991
Desert Storm gunnery
AmericaAbrams and Challenger kill T-72s at night beyond Iraqi sight range. The duel looks decided.
2015
T-14 on Red Square
RussiaUnmanned turret, crew capsule, APS. A fourth-generation claim still waiting on a factory.
2022
The roof becomes the front
EuropeUkraine: drones, artillery, and mines rewrite tank employment in public. ERA cages, APS, and combined arms are no longer optional.
2024
M1E3 and Challenger 3
AmericaWeight is the enemy. Western armies try to walk 70-tonne hulls back toward something that can still cross a bridge.
Continue in the history briefing.