Rare photographs show the tank factories of the Second World War, 1940-1945

The story of the tank began in World War I when armored all-terrain fighting vehicles were first deployed as a response to the problems of trench warfare. In Britain, tanks were previously called landships.

The Landship Committee was established in 1915 by Winston Churchill to develop the design. To hide their true purpose from potential spies, they were called tanks to give the appearance of ordinary water tanks. The name stuck.

The first attack using tanks occurred on 15 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. , The French and British armies built thousands of tanks, but the German army was not confident in their capability and built only 20.

The doctrine of armored warfare changed radically in the interwar years as armies looked for ways to avoid the impasse imposed by modern firepower and seek means to restore offensive power on the battlefield.

Initially, tanks were used for close support of infantry, but as modern mechanized doctrine was developed by many armies, tanks became an essential part of combined-arms squads. In addition to supporting infantry, tanks fulfilled traditional cavalry roles, provided mobile artillery support, and were adapted to combat engineering roles.

The tank design was gradually improved even during the inter-war period. The tank engine, transmission and track system were improved, reflecting the development of the automotive industry.

By the start of the war in September 1939, tanks were available that could travel hundreds of miles on their tracks with a limited number of breaks.

The tanks deployed by Germany during World War II were inferior in terms of weapons and armour, but they had a significant advantage: they all carried radios, enabled better tactical coordination and flexible use as rapid assault forces.

Nazi Germany was doomed to lose the war against the combined economic power of the Soviet Union and the United States, both of which focused on simple manufacturing to mass-produce.

Until the very end, the Germans produced tanks that were more complex to produce and service, and only in the final few years of the war did they seriously consider standardizing their tanks with the so-called E-series (Entwicklung) tanks. began.

The Allied strategy of using large numbers of medium-quality tanks proved effective against the German army. As Stalin used to say, "Quantity has a quality of its own". After WWII ended, most tank factories returned to manufacture their original products.