Tank

"*Throughout my life, I've only seen cannons used on the field or installed in large numbers on ship as armament. But never before I've seen a cannon mounted on top of a heavily armored horseless carriage*"

*An excerpt from Queen Blossom's diary.*

A **tank** is described as a heavy armored fighting vehicle carrying guns and moving on a continuous articulated metal track. It can also be described as an armored fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Until the arrival of Mouse Island, this weapon was unknown to the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Fantasy.

## Overview

A tank fulfills the need for an attacking force to bring firepower to support the infantry and to break through enemy lines. The history of the modern tank dates back to World War I where armies were bogged down in trench warfare and needed a way to cross into No Man's Land.

An armored vehicle would certainly protect the soldiers from enemy fire, but it also needed to traverse the rough and uneven terrain. When the internal combustion engine became powerful enough to move such a vehicle, and the continuous track was developed to overcome the terrain; a new weapon was born, and warfare was changed forever until today.

The first generation of the tank was made from a modified Tractor that adds armor plating for extra protection against infantry attacks. Later, it becomes a foundation to create tanks where the tanks play a major role at the end of World War I. During World War II, two units are formed; Mechanized and Armored Units.

Mechanized units primarily consist of tanks, light-armored vehicles, and infantries loaded inside APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) or transport vehicle in well-balanced components while Armored units primarily consist of tanks and other vehicle-fighting units that bring a limited number of infantries.

## Design

### Classifications

Tanks have been classified by weight, role, or other criteria, that has changed over time and place. Classification is determined by the prevailing theories of armored warfare, which have been altered in turn by rapid advances in technology. No one classification system works across all periods or all nations; in particular, weight-based classification is inconsistent between countries and eras.

Apparently, there tanks can be classified into six categories:

#### Light Tank

During late First World War and the earliest days of the Second World War, **light tanks** are the terrors of the battlefield. Lightly armed and armored, they harass the enemy at every turn rather than confronting them head on. They're often the advanced scouts, the eyes and ears of the army. Nowadays, light tanks become the supplement for the main battle tank in expeditionary roles and situations where all major threats have been neutralized and excessive weight in armor and armament would only hinder mobility and cost more money to operate.

#### Medium Tank

Throughout the Second World War, **medium tanks** sport a varying mix of armor thickness, weapon output, and speed. There are times medium tanks are referred as 'Cruiser Tank' or 'Infantry Tank'. Some of the medium tanks focused on anti-infantry capabilities and some of them focused on the anti-tank role, mounting high-velocity tank guns. Nowadays, medium tanks became what are called main battle tanks in most countries.

#### Heavy Tank

Armored and battle-hardened, the **heavy tank** is a wall of steel bent on hitting the enemy squarely in the mouth. Outfitted with thick steel and a merciless weapon, go toe-to-toe without fear, even in close quarters. This type of tank, however, sacrificed its mobility and maneuverability for better armor protection and equal or greater firepower than tanks of lighter classes. Nowadays, heavy tanks are no longer in service as their protection were rendered obsolete by anti-tank guided missiles and high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) ammunition. They are replaced by main battle tanks.

#### Tank Destroyer

No target is safe from the watchful eye of the **tank destroyer**. This type of tank is a type of armored fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often with limited operational capacities. Unlike the three tanks mentioned above, the tank destroyer is specifically designed to take on enemy tanks and other armored fighting vehicles.

Back during the Second World War, tank destroyers were easily identified since most of them are turretless. To have a turret is a blessing for its crew, but it comes at a great price as turreted tank destroyers have slow traversing power. Today, tank destroyers are rather on wheels than continuous tracks and more likely to be called as 'protected gun systems' which may bear a superficial resemblance to tank destroyers but are employed as direct fire support units typically providing support in low-intensity operations.

#### Artillery

This type of tank is built to punish the enemy’s foolhardiness. Rain hellfire upon misbegotten foes and cackle gleefully. See the bigger picture, contribute suggestions for coordinated attacks or redistributing forces. **Artillery tank** or **Self-Propelled Artillery** is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and rocket artillery. They are high mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun, howitzer, mortar, or some form of rocket/missile launcher. Artillery tanks still play an important in modern warfare.

#### Main Battle Tank

By the late fifties, the age of the heavy tanks was definitely over. New guided missiles and other shaped-charge munitions could now penetrate almost any steel armor, without relying on their thickness. The tank of the future would surely carry less armor, and with a thinner skin came a smaller silhouette, which was also one of the tanking trends at the time.

Moreover, with the world at that era now getting back on its feet, the idea of a common tank project became quite popular among the armies of NATO and Warsaw Pact. The idea was to create a mobile, quite compact and heavy-hitting tank, equipped with armaments ranging from 90 mm to 120 mm. From here, born what would later be called as main battle tank.

* It all started from the Great Britain's Centurion, then the Unites States' M47 and M48 Patton, after that the Soviet's T-55 and Japan's Type-61. These are the known by many as the first-generation main battle tanks.

* The second generation, on the other hand, had enhanced night-fighting capabilities and in most cases NBC protection. Most western tanks of this generation were armed with the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun or derivatives of it. The Eastern tanks are either equipped with the old D-10T 100 mm gun or derivatives of it, or the latest 115 mm U-5TS smoothbore gun armed on the Soviet's T-62 tanks. The only exception for this second generation is the Great Britain's Chieftain, where it is armed with the world's first L55 120 mm gun, the Royal Ordnance L11A5 120 mm gun.

* The third generation of main battle tanks is characterized by composite armor and computer stabilized fire control systems, which allow firing on the move as well as very high first hit probability on targets up to 2,000 meters away.

* Next generation or fourth generation tanks are still under development or at early stages of their generation. While the term "(fourth) next generation" has no formal basis, these main battle tanks are using the latest technology and designs to compete in the current advanced warfare environment. Apparently, Japan and South Korea are the first two nations to have the next generation tanks in their armed forces.

## Tank(s) operators in the story

### Mouse Island

This nation has 50 T-80U tanks and 86 Leopard 2A4 tanks in their arsenal. All of these tanks possess the mobility of a light tank, the armor of a heavy tank, and the firepower of a super-heavy tank. Thanks to composite armor, lighter alloys, and advanced technology, their designs are a well-balanced of three main factors.

### Kingdom of Fantasy

#### Kingdom of Fairies

The Kingdom of Fairies, under the rule of Her Majesty Queen Blossom (later succeeded by Emperor Winglet), operates the heavily modernized Centurion tanks donated by Mouse Island. These tanks were dubbed as 'Her Majesty's Battle Chariots' or HMBC. ￼

#### Bright Empire

The Bright Empire, on the other hand, operated the former Mousian Army's M24 Chaffee tanks. These tanks received minor upgrades especially on its continuous tracks and newer engines. The rest parts were maintained.

#### Kingdom of Witches

Surprisingly, the Kingdom of Witches, and their allies, do operates tank. Designed by Spitfire the Pirate, they operated the Basatra Tank. There are 50,000 in total, but their numbers immediately dwindle time by time as they were proven to be ineffective against the superior firepower of MIDF and their allies.