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When someone talks about World War II (the European Theater anyway), word association tends to bring up "Hitler", "D-day", "8th Air Force", and "Blitzkrieg". In fact, further talk keeps bringing up tanks and tank-related topics. Why? Well, simple - tanks were a huge part of the war.

From the early German blitzkriegs with armored divisions breaking through enemy lines, cutting communications and then surrounding their enemy to the late-war Soviet combined arms steamroller rampaging through the East into Berlin and beyond, tanks were essential. While their role changed as anti-tank weapons and tactics developed, they persistently held on to their dominance of the battlefield. The key to this was their versatility. Infantry didn't stand a chance in the open against tanks, and anti-tank weapons had to be prepared. Tank destroyers stood a fair chance until maneuvering came in to play - then their lack of a turret/open turret spelled their doom. Infantry needed the cover of cities, forests and other tight areas which permitted close assaults. The tank was as good on defense as on offense - it could readily switch from defending to conducting a counter-attack. In a word, it was indispensable.

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Tank Facts

Though powerful and often a deciding factor in a battle, WWII tanks weren't invincible. To fire their gun with any semblance of accuracy, they had to stop, whereas modern tanks stand a moderate chance of hitting something while on the run. Tanks need open ground to be effective; marshes, mud, forests and cities take away either mobility and/or their range advantage. Even with their massive armor, tanks are surprisingly fragile. Poor treatment can cause them to lose their treads, their engines cannot bear full throttle for extended periods, one or two hits can destroy a tank, and so on. All the armor in the world will do jack squat if you get your wheels shot out from under you. The tank will quickly become surrounded and its enemies will be able to fire with impunity at the weak spots. Infantry could conduct close assaults virtually unhindered, etc.

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In addition to these problems, tanks were also logistics nightmares. Not only were they extremely expensive to build, they were a PITA to maintain. They didn't use up fuel, they burned through it. Fuel efficiency with tanks isn't measured in miles per gallon; it's gallons per mile. They constantly needed replacement parts and repairs for even the most minor issues before the problem got worse and disabled the machine. Infantry could swim across a river if need be - a tank? Ha! All your enemy needed to do was destroy some bridges and your entire tank division might find itself running 100 miles off target to cross a river or be forced to wait for army engineers to construct a temporary crossing. If they wait, the enemy organizes defenses. If they go somewhere else, they use up more fuel, change the entire battle plan, possibly run into a trap and not even be guaranteed that the next bridge is still up.