Since their first deployment, tanks have had multiple combat roles. As the world’s foremost military organisations began to evaluate the potential of the tank and either embrace or discount its future, military establishments developed their own specific roles for the armoured vehicle.
A division of labour emerged. Tanks were either built with heavy armour and weapons for striking power, or slimmed down for speed and rapid manoeuvre. Even during its infancy, the British Tank Corps fielded heavier Mark IV and Mark V tanks in World War I along with the faster and more manoeuvrable Whippet. The heavier tanks were intended to breach German trenches, creating gaps through which the lighter tanks would slash into enemy areas.
While the heavy tanks struck powerful blows, the light tanks served as modern, armoured…
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History of War Book of Combat Machines (Digital) - 1 Issue, History of War Book of Combat Machines 2016