Street Fighters: Evolution of Tanks in Urban Warfare

334,325
0
Published 2023-08-04
For a tank crew, an urban environment is a nightmare; from Stalingrad to Aleppo, the ability to get close and cause damage has been with the enemy. In this video we look at why tanks need to operate in a built-up environment and how tanks and their crews have adapted to what’s known as “complex terrain”.

Support The Tank Museum & Get great perks:

► Patreon: www.patreon.com/tankmuseum
► YouTube Membership: youtube.com/channel/UChl-XKVVBAzoEVsnbOfpcqw/join

00:00 | Intro
02:50 | Issues of Complex Terrain
05:17 | A Look at The Past
09:43 | Infantry & Tank Cooperation
12:33 | Protection & Reducing Collateral Damage
15:10 | Future of Urban Warfare

#tankmuseum #urbantanks #urbanwarfare

All Comments (21)
  • @thetankmuseum
    Hi Tanks Nuts - We hope you enjoyed this video. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
  • @TheArklyte
    Tank in 1918: I'd rather not enter urban enviroment. Tank in 2118: I'd rather not enter urban environment.
  • @paulbusek3446
    Brilliant as always! The tactical deployment of the F bomb was well timed, useful, and added significant value!
  • @ROBERTN-ut2il
    I served my time in an Infantry battalion - 6 months as a Rifle Platoon Leader and 18 as the Antitank Platoon Leader - before I was allowed to escape to where I belonged in a tank company 1) As the AT Platoon Leader, I set up a three day course for each rifle platoon in organizing and operating tank killer teams in close environments. I used Riot City as my urban environment while Ft Lewis had plenty of training areas with thick vegetation which canalized the tanks onto roads and trails so they could be ambushed. The division commander was impressed enough by it, that he told my battalion CO that it was "good training" and I got a commendation. in my 201 File. In addition, every AT Platoon Leader in the division had to attend a special week long course to learn the Gospel and take it back to their battalions to run their own battalion's courses. Those were the days! 2) When I first encountered the M1 tank in Germany as an Armored Cavalry Troop commander I was amazed to find it didn't have an infantry phone like te M48 and M60 series vehicles did. When they finally installed one in the early 2000's as part of tehe TUSK upgrade, my reaction was, "About time, damn it!"
  • @malik740
    I just cant get enough of Mr. Copson presenting anything. He could probably narrate paint drying and I would soak up every second of it haha Edit: Dont mean I dont like your other presentors but I just really like his cadence and choice of words.
  • @jules2545
    Talking of blast from a firing tank gun, I suspect as an infantryman you would not want to be standing by a tank when the ERA gets hit. As a sailor on ship going down to the Falklands, I made the mistake of standing above and behind a Charley G 84mm recoiless gun when it was fired, it made my eyes water I can tell you. I enjoyed the video thank you.
  • @ebla83
    My dad crewed an M50 Ontos in Vietnam. Thank you for mentioning this often forgotten vehicle!
  • @ThisIsDale09
    Another quality Tank Museum video to see out a Friday, absolute bliss
  • @PalmettoNDN
    I always enjoy this man's lectures. They're less like a boring lecture I have to come back to several times to finish and more like a encouraging lesson from a likeable, respected and down to earth senior NCO that soldiers had better listen to if they want to live.
  • Got to visit the Tank Museum this week for the first time. These videos are even more impressive when you get to see the machines upfront. Very much like the frank delivery.
  • @dekyras
    Excellent video with a refreshingly blunt yet accurate assessment of the challenges, benefits and options of using heavy armour in urban areas.
  • @hoodlum1107
    The production quality on this video is really good, well done to the team!
  • The tank Crews of WWII absolutely hated having to drive through a building with a tank. Basements, something people tend to forget about. The sheer weight of a modern tank compared to those old tin buckets. I'm guessing crashing through a building is completely out of the question now. Then think about the big city. The ground is basically Halo. Basements, maintenance tunnels, subway tunnels and there's also a lot of old structures from the original City. Sitting underneath all the modern constructions. I would just be too terrified to drive through a big city.
  • @Cancun771
    When I was a conscript in the Bundeswehr a million years ago, on an exercise in northern Germany, at one point during basic training I found myself in the undergrowth with a buddy, a couple meters behind a Leopard II from some completely different outfit. The tank was rummaging back and forth beneath a tree for some reason, much like a wild boar digging for acorns or truffles. And for the first couple seconds we thought it was kinda funny. They obviously had not the slightest clue we were there. Then it dawned on us how dangerous this was because chances were they wouldn't even notice if they accidentally backed over us, not even if we were screaming at the top of our lungs. And we cheesed it. Later I found out that some tanks actually have a telephone on the rear for infantry to communicate with the tank crew, and I have been wondering ever since how they avoid getting squished, and how many have been run over while trying to use that phone. Regarding weaknesses, at one point I saw a Leopard II standing around in the barracks, and a thin maintenance door in the middle of the left side was open, and behind it seemd to be the oil filter. You could probably penetrate that flimsy panel with an assault rifle, and it would be blown completely to bits if anything stronger happened to hit that spot. And I couldn't help wondering, wasn't that design a massive oil loss waiting to happen, and eventually cause the engine to seize up.
  • @EnsignGeneric
    Imagine the last sight you see in the world is a flash of light and the words "PRACTICE ROUND" growing to fill your field of vision
  • great video as always, May not learn something new, in every video, but finding British crews using concrete training rounds against snipers in buildings was a VERY interesting fact.
  • @greybuckleton
    Excellent video. I really appreciated the use of long periods of history to explain the same lesson rather than a focus on a single conflict.
  • @DoorlessSword
    The production value of these videos just keeps going up! Particularly liked the focus shift when Mr Copson talked about the ECS on the Scimitar
  • @mdog111
    Another brilliantly explained deep dive into an aspect of tank warfare. Thanks so much for this.