Impact of Tanks on Military Transformation - Essay Example

Impact of Tanks On Military Transformation Early Years The adverse fighting conditions during the First World War had infused a desire in the British Army strategists to develop a new war machine- one that could easily cross trenches, destroy barbed wire, and resist machine-gun fire- one that is self-propelled and indomitable. The prime inspiration was the Rolls Royce armored vehicle used by the Royal Naval Air Service in 1914, and soon Sir Winston Churchill entrusted the Landships Committee with the task of developing this revolutionary weapon.1 Under the guidance of Colonel Ernst Swinton, the first successful model was completed, and was tested by the British Army on September 6, 1915.2 The first ever tank taken to war was a Mark I, taken into field action by Captain H. W. Mortimore of the Royal Navy at Delville Wood during the Battle of the Somme on September 15, 1916.3 Around the same period, the French, who were aware of the British tank experiments, were going on with their innovative designs. Colonel Jean Baptiste Eugene Estienne was instrumental in persuading and convincing the French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre, of the benefits of the tank. As a result, an order for 400 French Schneider and 400 St. Chaumond tanks was placed. The first Schneider CA1 was based on Holt caterpillar and made its debut on April 16, 1917. However, the French remained skeptical about the true potential of the tank as a useful weapon of war as they continued to focus on the production of more battlefield artillery.4 Initially, the use of tanks were met with mixed results, with problems in reliability and tactical faults. Even so, it was still a formidable force during first encounters with the Germans, who were filled with awe, and were completely taken by surprise. When they regrouped they discovered that a solid anti-tank shot and the use of wider trenches restricted the mobility of British tanks. Because of the ever changing conditions of battlefields and continued unreliability compelled the experts to modify the tanks to suit specific needs, producing models such as the very long Mark V that was capable of neutralizing large obstacles, especially wide trenches, with better precision.5 The moment arrived during the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917, when the tank could lay claim as a potential weapon of war. In an overwhelming start to the battle, the British tanks succeed in breaching twelve miles of the German front, with the capture of 10,000 German prisoners, 123 guns and 281 machine guns. However, the British failed to capitalize on this initial success, for they lacked sufficient infantry troops to exploit the breach they had created. Nevertheless, this restored diminishing faith in the development of the tank.6 Observing this success, the U.S. army started developing its own tank series. It also prompted the erstwhile hesitant German army to action, who had so far expressed doubts as to the battle potential of the tank. In the First World War, they fielded a very small number of tanks, which were mostly captured. It may be mentioned that they produced merely twenty self-designed tanks, the A7V. By the period when the war was heading to a close, the British had produced around 2,636 tanks. The French, whose tanks were more reliable than the British counterparts, produced even more, with figures around 3,870. The Germans, not convinced by its advantages, and in spite of their record for technological innovation, produced just 20 tanks.7 Into the Second World War In general, the tanks have proven their worth. The capabilities and overall maneuverability of the vehicles is very good However, it should not be overlooked that the armour defeating weapons and weapons firing high explosives must be introduced. General Lutz, Kommando der Panzertrappen, August 19358 With the concept of tank firmly established in military circles, several nations started manufacturing their own versions of the tank. The French Renault F.T. tank surged ahead in popularity, with both the U.S. and Italy producing their own designs based on this model. The Italians produced the Fiat 3000 and the U.S. the M1917. During the period between 1920s and the beginning of the Second World War many classes of tanks were in vogue, with most of the development taking place in the U.K. Light tanks, generally weighing ten tons or less, and mounted with a light gun, were mostly used for scouting and found to be useful only against other light tanks. The heavier medium versions, or popularly known in the U.K. as cruiser tanks, focused on long-range high-speed travel. And lastly, the even heavier infantry tanks were heavily armored and basically very slow. The plan was to employ infantry tanks in close concert with infantry to bring about a breach in the enemy lines, their heavy armor allowing them to survive enemy antitank weapons. Once this succeeded, groups of cruiser tanks would be sent through the gap, operating far behind the lines to deal blows to supply lines and command units. This was the primary combat philosophy of the British tank formations, which was later adopted by the Germans as an important component of their blitzkrieg concept. J.F.C. Fuller's9 doctrine of WWI was the basis for work by all the main pioneers- Hobart in Britain, Guderian in Germany, Chaffee in the U.S., de Gaulle in France, and Tukhachevsky in the USSR. Meanwhile, much thought was put into tank versus tank combats, though the primary focus was on effective anti-tank guns, and anti-tank vehicles. Continued susceptibility to tank and anti-tank fire led to a rapid up-gradation of almost all tank designs. Much stress was laid on shapes, emphasizing on stealth and stability.10 By this period the Germans, too, had acknowledged the war potential of tanks. Adolf Hitler's speech at opening of the Automobile Exhibition, 1937, bears ample testimony to this-- One thing is certain: the replacement of muscle power by this new machine will lead to one of the mightiest technical-- and therefore economic-- transformations that the world has ever seen.11 A series of advances took place in tank design during the Second World War. For instance, the initial German lightly armored and lightly armed Panzer I was ultimately replaced by the Panzer IV. The Panzer IV, weighing under twenty tons, was the heaviest early war German tank carrying a low-velocity 75mm gun. This was mainly because the light and fast-moving tanks and other armored vehicles, which were an important element of the Blitzkrieg, suffered immensely during direct combat with superior British and Soviet T-34 tanks. These heavily armored tanks spearheaded the German Blitzkrieg, which reduced Europe to a veritable killing field during the Second World War, starting 1939. These deadly machines of war engaged in some of the heaviest fighting of World War II- right from the beaches of Normandy and the Ardennes forest to the snow-capped eastern front. By the time the war came to an end, the German medium tank, the Panther, mounted a powerful, high-velocity 75mm gun and weighed forty-five tons. By this time radio systems were installed in most tanks, thereby improving the direction of units. Chassis of the tanks were improvised to undertake a variety of military jobs like mine-clearing and other combat engineering tasks. Another development was the use of turrets, which were earlier not accepted universally. The importance of a large and powerful gun mounted to the tank was also realized. Multiple-turreted tank models like the Soviet T-35 were discarded by World War II. Most tanks retained at least one hull machine gun. Even post-war, the M60 MBT had a smaller secondary turret for the commander's cupola.12 Post-Second World War Trends The heavy infantry tanks gradually disappeared after the Second World War. The new designs were essentially a combination of better suspension system and improvised engines. Armed with slightly more armor and somewhat larger engines, the post-war medium tanks were suddenly protected against almost all antitank weapons. At the same time they enjoyed the mobility of a medium tank. The British Centurion tank, generally considered as the first perfect tank, could survive the notorious German 88 mm gun, and was armed with the deadly 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 that was superior to anything in the field, and could reach 56 km/h due to its superb 650-hp Rolls-Royce Meteor engine. The Centurion soon replaced all medium and heavy British tanks and came to be known as the main battle tank in most forces, abbreviated MBT.13 With the emergence of antitank guided missiles (ATGMs), there was a shift in focus from the thickness of armor to armor technology. Major advances were witnessed in shell effectiveness as well. Twenty-first-century tanks have underwent dramatic improvisations in response to everchanging threats and requirements, especially the threat of other tanks and anti-tank weapons. Tanks have proved very effective in desert warfare, particularly the Gulf War (1990) and the U.S. invasion of Iraq (2003).14 The Future Speculations are rife as to how tanks will evolve for urban and modern day warfare. Present day research involves adaptation of stealth technologies, thereby, making tanks undetectable to radar, and various luminosity and color shaping technologies. Research on armor systems and new propulsion units are as popular as ever. There has also been an increase in the number of electrical and communication systems on tanks, such as thermal scopes and higher powered radios. There would be a definite need for a good power plant to support the tanks if the designs switched to electrical motors instead of the existing direct drive transmission, or resort to electromagnetic guns. Of course, the turbine engine and diesel (or multi-fuel) power plants meet the existing power needs. However, there are greater possibilities for the use of other types of power-plants such as fuel cells, and experiment are on. It would be safe to infer that the strategic use of battle tanks at war fronts will continue to be an important factor deciding the fate of a nations at war.15 References Carruthers, Bob, (2000) German Tanks at War, Cassel Guderian, Heinz, Harris Paul (Introduction), Achtung-Panzer!: The Development of Tank Warfare ,Cassell, 1999 History of the Tank, accessed, 03.21.06 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanks Tank History - Inter-War , accessed, 03.21.06 Read More