One hundred years ago, on September 15, 1916 the British army deployed its Mark I tanks during the Battle of the Somme, making it the first use of tanks on the battlefield in history. Armored warfare has evolved considerably during the century that followed, and the sleek and deadly battle tanks of today bear only a minor resemblance to the bulky and cumbersome armored beasts of World War I. This gallery can be considered an abridged chronicle of this evolution.
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© Wikipedia / Ernest Brooks
An early model British Mark I "male" tank, named C-15, near Thiepval. September 25, 1916.
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© Wikipedia / Bretwa
Renault FT-17 tank at Les Invalides, France.
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© Sputnik / Ilya Bogachev
T-18 (MS-1) light tank, the first Soviet-designed tank in history.
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© Wikipedia / CAFM
Soviet T-26 light tanks and GAZ-A trucks of the Soviet 7th Army during its advance on the Karelian Isthmus. December 2, 1939.
A Soviet BT-2 light tank from the 1930's displayed at Kubinka armor museum outside Moscow.
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© Wikipedia / US Government
M3 Lee tank, June 1942, Fort Knox.
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© Sputnik / Ilya Bogachev
Soviet T-34 medium tank (L) and T-50 light tank at the Tank Museum in Kubinka.
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© Wikipedia / US Army
Soldiers of the 60th Infantry Regiment advance into a Belgian town under the protection of a heavy M4 Sherman tank.
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© Wikipedia / War Office official photographer, Lockeyear W T (Lt)
Children wave at a Valentine tank.
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© Wikipedia / AlfvanBeem
PzKpfw IV Ausf H. tank at the army base Thun, Switzerland.
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© Wikipedia / Capt. Tanner, War Office official photographer
A German "Tiger I" tank stuck in a ditch north of Rome.
A T-55 tank at the National Socialist Party's militia positions in the vicinity of the terrorist-held town of Al-Karyatein, Syria.
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© AP Photo / Lee Jin-man
South Korea Marine's M48 tanks move during a military exercise on Yeonpyeong Island.
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© Wikipedia
AMX-13 light tank in Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel.
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© AP Photo / Max Desfor
Two British Centurion tanks pause to give their crews a rest and a chance to clean up, somewhere in Korea. January 14, 1951.
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© Wikipedia / Andrew Bossi
T-64BV tank. Moscow, Poklonnaya Hill
Soviet T-72 tanks during drills.
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© AP Photo / Joerg Sarbach
A Leopard 2A6 main battle tank emerges from a pond during a German army exercise in Munster, Germany. June 15, 2009.
A T-80 tank at the final rehearsal for the Invincible and Legendary military and patriotic programme of the Engineering Technologies 2014 international forum in Zhukovsky near Moscow.
Israeli Merkava tanks roll near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip as they return from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian coastal enclave. August 5, 2014.
Russian T-90 tank at the second Ural weapons exhibition.
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© Wikipedia / UK Ministry of Defence
A Challenger 2 main battle tank (MBT) is pictured during a live firing exercise in Grafenwöhr, Germany
A UN French Leclerc tank secures an area in the village of Majidiyeh in south Lebanon. 07 October 2006.
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© AP Photo / Ahn Young-joon
A US Army M1A2 tank crosses Nam Han river on a South Korean military barge during a joint military exercise. May 30, 2013.
A T-14 Armata tank takes part in the final rehearsal of the 2016 Victory Day Parade in Moscow.
