The viewer experiences a complete picture of tank warfare: a bird's eye view, from the point of view of soldiers face-to-face confrontation and the careful technical analysis of military historians. From the mighty 88mm cannon of the WWII German Tigers, to the Gulf War's thermal guidance system M-1 Abrams, each series explores the significant technical details that define the era of battle.

Self-promotion of the American army, some descriptions of the battles are full of errors and absurdity, it all comes down to the great and all-powerful American technology.

Great Tank Battles brings the full heat of mechanized warfare to screen for the first time, analyzing weapons, defenses, tactics and using ultra-realistic CGI animations.
Most of the documentaries in the cycle relate to the Second World War. In general, excellent material that needs to be double-checked before believing.

1. Battle of Isting 73: The harsh godforsaken desert in southern Iraq, the most merciless sandstorms blow here, but today we will see another storm. During the 1991 Gulf War, the US 2nd Armored Regiment was caught in a sandstorm. It was the last major battle of the 20th century.

2. Doomsday War: Battle for the Golan Heights/ The October War: Battle For The Golan Hights: In 1973, Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel. How did several tanks manage to hold back the superior enemy forces?

3. Battle of El Alamein/ The Battles Of El Alamein: North Africa, 1944: about 600 tanks of the combined Italo-German army broke through the Sahara Desert into Egypt. The British put up almost 1200 tanks to stop them. Two legendary commanders: Montgomery and Rommel fought for control of North Africa and the oil of the Middle East.

4. Ardennes operation: battle of tanks "PT-1" - throw to Bastogne/ The Ardennes: On September 16, 1944, German tanks invaded the Ardennes forest in Belgium. The Germans attacked American formations in an attempt to change the course of the war. The Americans responded with one of the most massive counterattacks in their combat history.

5. The Ardennes operation: the battle of tanks "PT-2" - the attack of the German "Joachim Peipers"/ The Ardennes: 12/16/1944 In December 1944, the most loyal and ruthless assassins of the Third Reich, the Waffen-SS, carry out Hitler's last offensive in the west. This is the story of the incredible breakthrough of the American Line Nazi Sixth Armored Army and its subsequent encirclement and defeat.

6. Operation "Blockbuster" - the battle for Hochwald(02/08/1945) On February 08, 1945, the Canadian Forces launched an attack in the Hochwald Gorge area in order to open access to the Allied forces to the very heart of Germany.

7. Battle of Normandy/ The Battle Of Normandy June 06, 1944 Canadian tanks and infantry land on the coast of Normandy and come under deadly fire, coming face to face with the most powerful German vehicles: armored SS tanks.

8. Battle of Kursk. Part 1: Northern Front/ The Battle Of Kursk: Northern Front In 1943, numerous Soviet and German armies clashed in the greatest and deadliest tank battle in history.

9. Battle of Kursk. Part 2: Southern Front/ The Battle Of Kursk: Southern Front The battle near Kursk culminates in the Russian village of Prokhorovka on July 12, 1943. This is the story of the biggest tank battle in military history as elite SS troops face off against Soviet defenders determined to stop them at all costs.

10. Battle for Arrakurt/ The Battle Of Arrcourt September 1944. When Patton's 3rd Army threatened to cross the German border, Hitler, in desperation, sent hundreds of tanks into a head-on collision.

On July 12, 1943, a grandiose tank battle took place near Prokhorovka as part of the Battle of Kursk. According to official Soviet data, 800 Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns and 700 German ones participated in it from both sides.

Since the First World War, tanks have been one of the most effective weapons of war. Their first use by the British at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 ushered in a new era, with tank wedges and lightning-fast blitzkriegs.

Battle of Cambrai (1917)

After failures with the use of small tank formations, the British command decided to launch an offensive using a large number of tanks. Since the tanks had not lived up to expectations before, many considered them useless. One British officer noted: "The infantry thinks that the tanks have not justified themselves. Even the tank crews are discouraged."

According to the plan of the British command, the upcoming offensive was supposed to begin without traditional artillery preparation. For the first time in history, tanks themselves had to break through the enemy defenses.
The offensive at Cambrai was supposed to take the German command by surprise. The operation was prepared in strict secrecy. Tanks were brought to the front in the evening. The British were constantly firing machine guns and mortars to drown out the roar of tank engines.

In total, 476 tanks participated in the offensive. The German divisions were defeated and suffered heavy losses. The well-fortified "Hindenburg Line" was broken through to a great depth. However, during the German counter-offensive, the British troops were forced to retreat. Using the remaining 73 tanks, the British managed to prevent a more serious defeat.

Battle for Dubno-Lutsk-Brody (1941)

In the first days of the war, a large-scale tank battle took place in Western Ukraine. The most powerful grouping of the Wehrmacht - "Center" - advanced to the north, to Minsk and further to Moscow. Not so strong army group "South" was advancing on Kyiv. But in this direction there was the most powerful grouping of the Red Army - the South-Western Front.

Already in the evening of June 22, the troops of this front received orders to encircle and destroy the advancing enemy grouping with powerful concentric strikes by mechanized corps, and by the end of June 24 to capture the Lublin region (Poland). It sounds fantastic, but this is if you do not know the strength of the parties: in a giant oncoming tank battle, 3128 Soviet and 728 German tanks met.

The battle lasted a week: from 23 to 30 June. The actions of the mechanized corps were reduced to isolated counterattacks in different directions. The German command, through competent leadership, managed to repel a counterattack and defeat the armies of the Southwestern Front. The rout was complete: the Soviet troops lost 2648 tanks (85%), the Germans - about 260 vehicles.

Battle of El Alamein (1942)

The Battle of El Alamein is a key episode in the Anglo-German confrontation in North Africa. The Germans sought to cut the most important strategic highway of the Allies - the Suez Canal, and rushed to the Middle Eastern oil, which the Axis needed. The pitched battle of the entire campaign took place at El Alamein. As part of this battle, one of the largest tank battles in World War II took place.

The Italo-German forces numbered about 500 tanks, half of which were rather weak Italian tanks. The British armored units had over 1000 tanks, among which were powerful American tanks - 170 "Grants" and 250 "Shermans".

The qualitative and quantitative superiority of the British was partly offset by the military genius of the commander of the Italo-German troops, the famous "desert fox" Rommel.

Despite the British numerical superiority in manpower, tanks and aircraft, the British were never able to break through Rommel's defenses. The Germans even managed to counterattack, but the superiority of the British in numbers was so impressive that the German shock group of 90 tanks was simply destroyed in the oncoming battle.

Rommel, inferior to the enemy in armored vehicles, made extensive use of anti-tank artillery, among which were captured Soviet 76-mm guns, which proved to be excellent. Only under the pressure of the huge numerical superiority of the enemy, having lost almost all the equipment, the German army began an organized retreat.

The Germans had just over 30 tanks left after El Alamein. The total losses of the Italo-German troops in equipment amounted to 320 tanks. The losses of the British armored forces amounted to approximately 500 vehicles, many of which were repaired and returned to service, since the battlefield was eventually left to them.

Battle of Prokhorovka (1943)

The tank battle near Prokhorovka took place on July 12, 1943 as part of the Battle of Kursk. According to official Soviet data, 800 Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns and 700 German ones participated in it from both sides.

The Germans lost 350 armored vehicles, ours - 300. But the trick is that the Soviet tanks that participated in the battle were counted, and the German ones - those that were in general in the entire German grouping on the southern flank of the Kursk salient.

According to new, updated data, 311 German tanks and self-propelled guns of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps against 597 Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army (Commander Rotmistrov) participated in the tank battle near Prokhorovka. The SS men lost about 70 (22%), and the guards - 343 (57%) units of armored vehicles.

None of the parties managed to achieve their goals: the Germans failed to break through the Soviet defenses and enter the operational space, and the Soviet troops failed to surround the enemy grouping.

A government commission was set up to investigate the causes of the heavy losses of Soviet tanks. In the report of the commission, the military operations of the Soviet troops near Prokhorovka are called "a model of an unsuccessfully conducted operation." General Rotmistrov was going to be handed over to the tribunal, but by that time the general situation had developed favorably, and everything worked out.

Battle of the Golan Heights (1973)

The major tank battle after 1945 took place during the so-called Yom Kippur War. The war got its name because it began with a surprise attack by the Arabs during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur (Judgment Day).

Egypt and Syria sought to regain territories lost after the crushing defeat in the Six Day War (1967). Egypt and Syria were helped (financially and sometimes with impressive troops) by many Islamic countries - from Morocco to Pakistan. And not only Islamic ones: distant Cuba sent 3,000 soldiers to Syria, including tank crews.

On the Golan Heights, 180 Israeli tanks opposed approximately 1,300 Syrian ones. The heights were the most important strategic position for Israel: if the Israeli defenses in the Golan had been broken through, the Syrian troops would have been in the very center of the country in a few hours.

For several days, two Israeli tank brigades, suffering heavy losses, defended the Golan Heights from superior enemy forces. The most fierce fighting took place in the Valley of Tears, the Israeli brigade lost from 73 to 98 tanks out of 105. The Syrians lost about 350 tanks and 200 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.

The situation began to change radically after the reservists began to arrive. Syrian troops were stopped and then driven back to their original positions. Israeli troops launched an offensive against Damascus.

Since the First World War, tanks have been one of the most effective weapons of war. Their first use by the British at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 ushered in a new era, with tank wedges and lightning-fast blitzkriegs.

Battle of Cambrai (1917)

After failures with the use of small tank formations, the British command decided to launch an offensive using a large number of tanks. Since the tanks had not lived up to expectations before, many considered them useless. One British officer noted: "The infantry thinks that the tanks have not justified themselves. Even the tank crews are discouraged." According to the plan of the British command, the upcoming offensive was supposed to begin without traditional artillery preparation. For the first time in history, tanks themselves had to break through the enemy defenses. The offensive at Cambrai was supposed to take the German command by surprise. The operation was prepared in strict secrecy. Tanks were brought to the front in the evening. The British were constantly firing machine guns and mortars to drown out the roar of tank engines. In total, 476 tanks participated in the offensive. The German divisions were defeated and suffered heavy losses. The well-fortified "Hindenburg Line" was broken through to a great depth. However, during the German counter-offensive, the British troops were forced to retreat. Using the remaining 73 tanks, the British managed to prevent a more serious defeat.

Battle for Dubno-Lutsk-Brody (1941)

In the first days of the war, a large-scale tank battle took place in Western Ukraine. The most powerful grouping of the Wehrmacht - "Center" - advanced to the north, to Minsk and further to Moscow. Not so strong army group "South" was advancing on Kyiv. But in this direction there was the most powerful grouping of the Red Army - the South-Western Front. Already in the evening of June 22, the troops of this front received orders to encircle and destroy the advancing enemy grouping with powerful concentric strikes by mechanized corps, and by the end of June 24 to capture the Lublin region (Poland). It sounds fantastic, but this is if you do not know the strength of the parties: in a giant oncoming tank battle, 3128 Soviet and 728 German tanks met. The battle lasted a week: from 23 to 30 June. The actions of the mechanized corps were reduced to isolated counterattacks in different directions. The German command, through competent leadership, managed to repel a counterattack and defeat the armies of the Southwestern Front. The rout was complete: the Soviet troops lost 2648 tanks (85%), the Germans - about 260 vehicles.

Battle of El Alamein (1942)

The Battle of El Alamein is a key episode in the Anglo-German confrontation in North Africa. The Germans sought to cut the most important strategic highway of the Allies - the Suez Canal, and rushed to the Middle Eastern oil, which the Axis needed. The pitched battle of the entire campaign took place at El Alamein. As part of this battle, one of the largest tank battles in World War II took place. The Italo-German forces numbered about 500 tanks, half of which were rather weak Italian tanks. The British armored units had over 1000 tanks, among which were powerful American tanks - 170 "Grants" and 250 "Shermans". The qualitative and quantitative superiority of the British was partly offset by the military genius of the commander of the Italo-German troops, the famous "desert fox" Rommel. Despite the British numerical superiority in manpower, tanks and aircraft, the British were never able to break through Rommel's defenses. The Germans even managed to counterattack, but the superiority of the British in numbers was so impressive that the German shock group of 90 tanks was simply destroyed in the oncoming battle. Rommel, inferior to the enemy in armored vehicles, made extensive use of anti-tank artillery, among which were captured Soviet 76-mm guns, which proved to be excellent. Only under the pressure of the huge numerical superiority of the enemy, having lost almost all the equipment, the German army began an organized retreat. The Germans had just over 30 tanks left after El Alamein. The total losses of the Italo-German troops in equipment amounted to 320 tanks. The losses of the British armored forces amounted to approximately 500 vehicles, many of which were repaired and returned to service, since the battlefield was eventually left to them.

Battle of Prokhorovka (1943)

The tank battle near Prokhorovka took place on July 12, 1943 as part of the Battle of Kursk. According to official Soviet data, 800 Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns and 700 German ones participated in it from both sides. The Germans lost 350 armored vehicles, ours - 300. But the trick is that the Soviet tanks that participated in the battle were counted, and the German ones - those that were in general in the entire German grouping on the southern flank of the Kursk salient. According to new, updated data, 311 German tanks and self-propelled guns of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps against 597 Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army (Commander Rotmistrov) participated in the tank battle near Prokhorovka. The SS men lost about 70 (22%), and the guards - 343 (57%) units of armored vehicles. None of the parties managed to achieve their goals: the Germans failed to break through the Soviet defenses and enter the operational space, and the Soviet troops failed to surround the enemy grouping. A government commission was set up to investigate the causes of the heavy losses of Soviet tanks. In the report of the commission, the military operations of the Soviet troops near Prokhorovka are called "a model of an unsuccessfully conducted operation." General Rotmistrov was going to be handed over to the tribunal, but by that time the general situation had developed favorably, and everything worked out.

Battle of the Golan Heights (1973)

The major tank battle after 1945 took place during the so-called Yom Kippur War. The war got its name because it began with a surprise attack by the Arabs during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur (Judgment Day). Egypt and Syria sought to regain territories lost after the crushing defeat in the Six Day War (1967). Egypt and Syria were helped (financially and sometimes with impressive troops) by many Islamic countries - from Morocco to Pakistan. And not only Islamic ones: distant Cuba sent 3,000 soldiers to Syria, including tank crews. On the Golan Heights, 180 Israeli tanks opposed approximately 1,300 Syrian ones. The heights were the most important strategic position for Israel: if the Israeli defenses in the Golan had been broken through, the Syrian troops would have been in the very center of the country in a few hours. For several days, two Israeli tank brigades, suffering heavy losses, defended the Golan Heights from superior enemy forces. The most fierce fighting took place in the Valley of Tears, the Israeli brigade lost from 73 to 98 tanks out of 105. The Syrians lost about 350 tanks and 200 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. The situation began to change radically after the reservists began to arrive. Syrian troops were stopped and then driven back to their original positions. Israeli troops launched an offensive against Damascus.

70 years ago: the biggest tank battle of the Great Patriotic July 2nd, 2011

Usually in the USSR the biggest tank battle of the war was called the oncoming battle near Prokhorovka during the Battle of Kursk (July 1943). But 826 Soviet vehicles converged there against 416 German ones (although a little less participated in the battle itself on both sides). But two years earlier, from June 24 to June 30, 1941, between the cities Lutsk, Dubno and Brody the battle took place much more grandiose: 5 Soviet mechanized corps (about 2500 tanks) stood in the way of the III German tank group (more than 800 tanks).

The Soviet corps were ordered to attack the advancing enemy and tried to fight head-on. But our command did not have a single plan, and tank formations attacked the advancing Germans one by one. The old light tanks were not afraid of the enemy, but the new tanks of the Red Army (T-34, T-35 and KV) turned out to be stronger than the German ones, so the Nazis began to evade battle with them, withdraw their vehicles, put their infantry in the way of the Soviet mechanized corps and antitank artillery.

(Photos taken from site waralbum.ru - there are many pictures taken by all the warring parties
Stalin's generals with their divisions, under the influence of "" (where it was ordered to "seize the Lublin region", that is, to invade Poland) rushed forward, lost supply lines, and then our tankers had to throw completely whole tanks along the roads, left without fuel and ammunition. The Germans looked at them with surprise - especially powerful vehicles with strong armor and several towers.

The terrible battle ended on July 2, when the Soviet units surrounded near Dubno broke through to their front, retreating in the direction of Kyiv.

On June 25, the 9th and 19th mechanized corps of generals Rokossovsky (his memoirs of those days) and Feklenko dealt such a powerful blow to the invaders that they threw them back from Smooth, to which the German tankers were already a few kilometers away. June 27 no less powerful blow to the area Dubno inflicted by the tank division of Commissar Popel (his memories).
Trying to surround the enemy that had broken through, the Soviet formations now and then stumbled upon the anti-tank defenses put up by the enemy on the flanks. During the assault on these lines, up to half of the tanks perished in one day, as happened on June 24 under Lutsk and June 25 under Radekhov.
There were almost no Soviet fighters in the air: they died on the first day of the war (many at the airfields). German pilots felt like "kings of the air". The 8th mechanized corps of General Ryabyshev, hurrying to the front, during a 500-kilometer march from enemy air strikes, lost half of his tanks (Ryabyshev's emumars).
The Soviet infantry could not keep up with their tanks, while the German infantry was much more mobile - they moved on trucks and motorcycles. There was a case when the tank units of the 15th mechanized corps of General Karpezo were flanked and almost immobilized by enemy infantry.
On June 28, the Germans nevertheless broke into Smooth. On June 29, Soviet troops were surrounded under Dubno(July 2, they still managed to break out of the encirclement). On June 30, the Nazis occupied Brody. The general retreat of the Southwestern Front began, and the Soviet troops left Lviv, not to be surrounded.
During the days of fighting, more than 2000 tanks were lost from the Soviet side, from the German side - either "about 200", or "more than 300". But the Germans took their tanks, took them to the rear and tried to repair them. The Red Army was losing its armored vehicles forever. Moreover, the Germans then repainted some tanks, painted crosses on them and put their armored parts into operation.