Is the era of tanks over?

One of the ‘victims’ of the Ukrainian war is tanks. This war is likely to be recorded as the war that the highest ever number of antitank weapons in history was used. The U.S. says it has provided more than 7,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine so far. Adding up the other weapons, it is said that one antitank weapon per person is being used in the Ukrainian war.

Russia is known to have the best tanks in the world. However, as countless Russian tanks have been destroyed in the war, some people say tanks have become useless. The first tanks appeared during the Battle of the Somme during the World War I. Although not very successful during the war, commanders, who were inspired by the potential for tanks, developed groundbreaking tactics using tanks.

During the World War ll, tanks became a rising star. The commanders of armored divisions, including Patton, Guderian and Rommel, became star commanders. The Soviet Union developed the legendary tank named T-34, which proved successful during the Korean War as well. The Ukrainian city of Kursk, which is located just north of the Ukrainian border, was the biggest tank battle occurred during the World War ll.

On that very land, the world’s best Russian tanks are being destroyed by antitank missiles and artilleries. Is the era of tanks over? “Not yet,” I would say. In order to claim that tanks have become useless, a more fundamental question must be addressed first. “Has the role of tanks become useless in war?” Definitely not. The need for armored vehicles and artillery units in war still exists. It is just that it has become difficult for tanks to perform their role with the development of antitank weapons. To put it more bluntly, it has become very hard for tanks to perform their tactical role. This might be the reason why some people say tanks have become useless in war.

There may come a time when tanks will actually disappear. But the question should be focused on what will replace tanks instead of whether tanks will disappear or not. New tactics will be introduced and the aspect of war will change accordingly. There will be dramatic battles between those who predicted the future and prepared ahead of time, and those who did not. That is a repeating rule in the history of war.