But the heavy losses made the Germans develop anti-tank weapons and tactics. Another big problem was that the tanks did not have radio communication for coordination with the infantry and artillery. The result was that almost half of the tanks broke down before coming in contact with the enemy. The men inside the tank suffered from the engine’s heat and noxious exhaust fumes. Forget the enemy, even most British commanders who had never seen a tank before did not know how to use the bulky machine. During World War I the Germans on the front line ran away in terror t o escape from the huge 30-ton machines advancing towards them. Tanks were invented by the British and saw action for the first time against the Germans in the Battle of Somme in northern France in 1916. Can you imagine the terror in the eyes of even the most battle-hardened soldiers seeing the giant machine, rumbling towards them from a distance - crushing barbed-wire obstacles, trenches and bunkers on the way? The fact that these fighting machines were bulletproof and carried cannons and machine guns made it even more difficult for the enemy to decide whether to stay and die or to panic and run. Over the past hundred years, tanks and armored vehicles have dominated and changed the complexion of battlefields – all over the world. With the advances in technology, the elephants and horses were replaced by tanks which provide armour protection, mobility and firepower almost like a moving fortress and thus were considered one of the most potent battle-winning factors. There was a time in the past when elephants and horses played an important role to strike hard, penetrate and play havoc with the enemy. The new combat doctrine of the Indian Armyis that holding formations engage and contain the enemy, whilst the strike formations attack somewhere else, where the enemy least expects India to hit. In the last couple of years, the Indian Army has proactively developed quick reaction formations which can strike and hit the enemy hard, where it hurts most.
Likewise, you must make the enemy believe that you are far away when you are near. This means that you must attack when you may seem unlikely or unable to do so. Modern warfare is all about mobility, firepower and deception.
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