Swinton was a war correspondent on the Western Front. In 1914 British lieutenant colonel Ernest D. The only tangible result of that tactic was a casualty list that beggared the imagination.

Attacking effectively across no man’s land and through the enemy’s trenches was virtually impossible. The offensives failed, and by 1915 the fronts had hardened into static positions with all the familiar accouterments: trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, an apparently inexhaustible supply of artillery. The tank arose as an answer to a question: How could armies break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front in World War I? The war opened in 1914 with all sides seeking quick, victorious campaigns of maneuver: the German invasion of Belgium, the French drive into Lorraine, the Russian invasion of East Prussia. With that in mind, let us turn to the greatest tanks of their time and to their signature battlefield moments. Wielded by commanders of vision, men who understood its strengths, weaknesses, and possibilities, the tank became the arbiter of victory and defeat. Intertwined with the technology and tactics of the period, the tank dominated first the imagination and then the actual doctrine of the era’s war makers. From soldiers to historians to “treadhead” armor buffs, the 20th century loved the tank.

Tanks maneuvered where other units could not, survived in environments where no others could, and spearheaded mobile operations that still stir the blood.

The tank was the glamour weapon of 20th-century warfare, combining mobility, armor, and firepower into one deadly package. For the past century, in single combat and in wars, these landmark tanks have been arbiters of victory and defeat.

Largest battle tanks