THE 10 GREATEST TANK BATTLES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Confined primarily to an auxiliary support role during the interwar period, the tank revealed itself in the course of the Second World War to be a weapon of considerable tactical flexibility. Employed in turn as an instrument of breakthrough, exploitation, accompaniment, counter-attack, and even as a mobile artillery platform, it became, through the course of operations, an indispensable actor on the battlefield, on a par with artillery and air power. In the broadening of its tactical repertoire, the tank also gradually emerged as the most effective antidote to itself.

As military campaigns unfolded, tank engagements multiplied, giving rise on certain occasions to genuine battles involving dozens or even hundreds of armoured vehicles. These landmark clashes — ten of the most emblematic of the conflict — form the subject of this volume. In a format unprecedented in the French language, it sets out for each engagement its operational context, the forces involved, the course of the fighting itself, and its outcome for both sides. From the first mechanised clash of the war at Hannut in May 1940 to the final German-Soviet armoured engagements on the Hungarian plains in 1944–1945, the battles are treated in chronological order to better illustrate the evolution of tactical methods and advances in technology.

Throughout the volume, sidebars draw comparisons between two emblematic vehicles from the engagement under discussion or shed light on a significant factor in its outcome. The text as a whole is complemented by abundant illustrations, colour profiles, and numerous maps, making this an original and generous anthology.

Mathias André is a historian, doctoral candidate, and lecturer at the University of Namur (Belgium). An author with Éditions Caraktère since 2015, he is currently completing a thesis on the reception of the phenomenon of mechanised warfare within Belgian military circles during the interwar years.

Pierre Muller is a historian and curator of the armoured vehicle collection at the War Heritage Institute in Brussels. A reservist in the naval component and an occasional author, he co-wrote "Les barbelés de la vengeance ?" on the German prisoner-of-war camp established at Erbisoeul, near Mons, between 1945 and 1948.