As the brutal day unfolded, the heat became oppressive, reaching 104 degrees F (40 degrees Celsius), causing machine guns and cannons to jam. On the Morning of August 20, General Georgy Zhukov launched a surprise attack after feigning a defensive posture. Tёmyn)Īfter some initial Japanese success, the Soviets countered with 58,000 troops, nearly 500 tanks, and some 250 aircraft. Hostilities ensued in May 1939 when Soviet troops occupied the disputed territory.Ĭaptured Japanese soldiers (photo: Victor A. Set within the context of the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945, Japan claimed that the Khalkhin Gol marked the border between Mongolia and Manchukuo (its name for occupied Manchuria), while the Soviets insisted on a border lying further to the east through Nomonhan (which is why this engagement is sometimes referred to as the Nomonhan Incident). The first great tank battle of the Second World War pitted the Soviet Red Army against the Japanese Imperial Army along the Mongolian and Siberian border.
The Germans eventually recovered after launching counter-attacks, but the tank-led offensive demonstrated the incredible potential of mobile, mechanized warfare - a lesson that was put to good use just a year later in the final push towards Germany. It was an unprecedented breakthrough in an otherwise static siege war. The horrified Germans were caught completely by surprise as the offensive carved out a 4,000-yard penetration along a six-mile front.
On Novemthe British attacked at Cambrai with 476 tanks, 378 of them being combat tanks. As historian Hew Strachan notes, "the biggest single intellectual shift in making war between 19 was that the combined-arms battle was planned around the capabilities of the guns rather than of the infantry." And by combined, Strachan is referring to the coordinated use of sustained and creeping artillery, infantry, aircraft, and, of course, tanks. Join us as we take a look at the 10 most epic tank battles in military history.įought in late 1917, this Western Front battle was the first great tank battle in military history and the first great use of combined arms on a large scale, marking a true turning point in the history of warfare.
From the late World War Two mayhem of the Battle of the Bulge - which saw over 3,000 tanks take part in fighting - to the 1981 Battle of Dezful between Iran and Iraq, the tank has played a major part in offensives around the world. Throughout the 20th century, it has been one of the most potent tools available for an army to call upon and it has seen intense and devastating action. Since their initial conception in the early 1900s and first use by the French and British during World War One, the tank has been a constant and powerful symbol of modern warfare. The tank is one of the most devastating and adaptable weapons available to an army’s command.
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