Top 5 Most Important Tank Battles in Military History

Tanks have been a staple of warfare only since World War I, when the British first introduced their slow, heavy, yet powerful steel giants. Despite their relatively brief history, there have been several iconic tank battles.

This list features some of the most important, impressive, and memorable tank battles of the past century, presented not in any specific order.

The Battle of Cambrai - 1917

Although the Battle of Cambrai did not see epic tank-on-tank engagements, it was extremely important for the future use of tanks. The battle took place during World War I , from 20 November to 7 December 1917. The British launched a massive attack against the German Hindenburg Line , a few miles from Cambrai, France, with nineteen divisions and five horsed cavalry divisions.

In addition, the British employed the first large-scale use of tanks; 476 of them in total. On the first day of the battle, the tanks smashed through the German lines, taking thousands of prisoners in exchange for very little losses. Unfortunately, the attack would bog down and the British failed to successfully exploit the holes breached by the tanks. Although the operation took a turn for the worst, it proved that tanks were a vital asset on the battlefield, which still stands true today.

The Valley of Tears - 1973

This battle took place during the 1973 Yom Kippur War , and stands as one of history's greatest showcases of armored defense.

At the start of the war, Israel controlled the Golan Heights, defended by approximately 170 tanks. The force was intentionally kept small to avoid provoking Syria. Nevertheless, Syria attacked anyway , sending five divisions against the Israeli positions. 1,400 Syrian tanks advanced towards the Golan Heights, which was shielded by a modest contingent of modernized Centurion and M48 Patton tanks. The Israeli tanks mounted a heroic defense against the numerically and technologically superior enemy, destroying tank after tank.

By October 9, the number of Israeli tanks had dwindled to just six, with only a few rounds of ammunition left. The Syrians pressed their attack, nearly achieving victory. However, as the last remaining Israeli tanks were on the brink of running out of ammunition, a makeshift force of 15 Israeli tanks arrived as reinforcements. Although this was the full extent of the relief effort, the Syrians mistook it for the beginning of a major reinforcement and decided to withdraw.

The Battle of 73 Easting - 1991

Dubbed "the last great tank battle of the 20th century," the Battle of 73 Easting was a devastating display of what superior training and technology can do to an unprepared enemy. In February 1991 a small number of US tanks from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) engaged with a large force from Saddam Hussein 's elite Republican Guard, annihilating them.

Iraq invaded Kuwait in late 1990, which set the stage for the Gulf War . Early in 1991 coalition forces entered Iraq after a five-week aerial bombardment of Iraqi forces, which severely reduced their capacity to fight. After US forces destroyed most of an Iraqi Republican Guard division's scouting abilities, they stumbled across their dug-in tanks, catching them completely off guard.

Eagle Troop of the 2nd ACR, led by Herbert McMaster , charged into the enemy position with their M1A1 Abrams tanks. After just over 20 minutes of ferocious combat, fifty Republican Guard tanks were destroyed, along with forty trucks and twenty-five armored personnel carriers. This was achieved without the loss of a single US tank.

The Battle of Chawinda (1965)

The Battle of Chawinda saw Pakistan and Indian tanks clash during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War. Indian forces attempted to stop Pakistan's access into Jammu and Kashmir and also encircle the city of Sialkot. Pakistan fielded around 130 tanks while India had over 220.

After a day of back and forth battles, India managed to push Pakistan's forces back to Chawinda. They were severely outnumbered by the Indians at almost ten to one, but established defensive positions and were reinforced by troops from Kashmir.

Pakistani and Indian tanks battled it out, while Pakistani aircraft offered assistance. After suffering heavy losses, India retreated and the two nations agreed to a ceasefire .

The Battles of Kursk - 1943

When it comes to tank battles, the Battle of Kursk is king. Although it was not a single tank battle as is often assumed, the Battle of Kursk pit simply enormous amounts of armored vehicles against each other. It was Germany's final attempt to regain the upper hand on the Eastern Front and was a huge gamble. Germany built up its forces for battle over a period of months. This time allowed the Soviets to build a formidable network of defenses to slow down the offensive.

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Between July and August 1943, 3,000 German tanks and nearly 1 million troops battled twice as many tanks and 2 million Soviet troops. The tank engagements were fierce , with Soviet tanks quite literally swarming the superior but less numerous German vehicles.

Eventually, the Soviets emerged victoriously. German forces inflicted major damage to Soviet forces, but the Soviets were able to replace those losses. By the end of the battle, Germany had lost around 600 tanks, while the Soviets lost around 6,000.