Tanks were initially deployed in World War I, engineered to overcome the deadlock of trench warfare. Between the two world wars, tanks were further developed. Although they had demonstrated their battlefield effectiveness, only a few nations had the industrial resources to design and build them. During and after World War I, Britain and France pioneered tank technology, with their models generally serving as a blueprint for other countries. However, this initial advantage would slowly diminish during the 1930s, shifting in favor of the Soviet Union and, to a lesser degree, Nazi Germany.
General developments
The final tank designs of 1918 were influenced by a number of developments and demonstrated several trends in tank design. One such example was the joint US and British Mark VIII tank, which was envisioned as a heavy tank design that could be utilized by both nations as well as the French. The purpose of this tank was to address the limitations of earlier British heavy tanks.
The Mark VIII measured 34 feet (10 meters) in length and weighed 37 tons. It was powered by a 300-horsepower (224-kilowatt) V-12 engine and could reach a top speed of 7 miles per hour (11 kilometers per hour) across difficult terrain. Only 100 of these tanks were built. It was the lighter Renault FT that would set the standard for nearly all tanks that followed it. This tank featured a lower track profile and a more compact hull, as well as a turret-mounted weapon system.
Worldwide, several types of tanks were considered, and much of the development effort went into light tanks that were useful primarily against infantry or for colonial police-type work. The worldwide economic difficulties of the 1920s and 1930s led to an increased emphasis on light tanks as they were much cheaper to produce than medium or heavy tanks. However, the Spanish Civil War showed that tank-versus-tank engagements and tank-versus-towed anti-tank gun engagements would now be a major consideration for the future of tank warfare. It became clear that tanks would need to be heavily armoured and carry larger guns. Tank shape, previously guided purely by considerations of obstacle clearance, now became a trade-off between a low profile, desirable for stealth, and weight savings.
In Britain, a great deal of study on the future of tank warfare was carried out, and there were some differences. Whilst both J.F.C. Fuller and Basil Liddell Hart foresaw a war where all arms, infantry, tanks, and artillery, would be mechanised, Fuller's theories looked at all-arms formations with artillery, infantry, and military engineers mounted on similar vehicles to keep pace with the tanks. He foresaw armies using heavy all-arms formations to break through opponents defences, allowing lighter, faster units to make rapid advances, thereby not allowing the enemy to re-establish any defences.
Liddell Hart considered that armoured vehicles would carry their own supporting infantry, in much the same way as modern warships carry their own marine detachments; he also proposed using indirect attack, effectively going around any defences. During the late 1920s the British Army established the Experimental Mechanized Force, to test these theories and look at the basic problems of managing, controlling and commanding all arms formations, including the use of aircraft.
Many of the units involved in this force were posted to North Africa, where their experience played a major part in the British success in the East African Campaign and General Wavell's initial successes in the Western Desert campaign. The British used three classes of tank: the 'Infantry tank', for supporting the infantry; the 'Cruiser tank', for fast moving encounter battles and reconnaissance; and the 'light tank', for reconnaissance, escort and internal security.
In the U.S., J. Walter Christie developed a series of fast tanks, based on his revolutionary Christie suspension system. This was combined with very high power-to-weight ratios achieved by fitting large aircraft engines in his tanks. Although his prototypes were capable of very high speeds, and in some cases designed to be air transportable, disputes with the United States Army Ordnance Corps and a high price (compared with what the US military was willing to pay) meant they were never produced in the USA.