Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the designs of World War II. While the French and British built thousands of tanks between them, Germany was unconvinced of the tank's potential, and built only twenty of her own. The name 'tank' was adopted by the British during the early stages of their development, as a security measure to conceal their purpose (see etymology). Their first use in combat was by the British Army on Septemat Flers-Courcelette, during the Battle of the Somme. Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and France as a means to break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front.

As a result of the these advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability during the World Wars of the 20th century. The modern tank was the result of a century of development from primitive armoured vehicles, due to massive improvements in technology such as the internal combustion engine, which allowed the rapid movement of heavy equipment required to construct armoured vehicles. In both offensive and defensive roles, they are powerful units able to perform all primary tasks required of armoured troops on the battlefield. These features enable the tank to have enormous capability to perform well in a tactical situation: the combination of strong weapons fire from their tank gun and their ability to resist enemy fire means the tank can take hold of and control an area of the battle and prevent other enemy vehicles from advancing, for example. They combine this with heavy vehicle armour providing protection for the crew of the weapon and operational mobility, which allows them to position on the battlefield in advantageous locations. Modern tanks are strong mobile land weapons platforms, mounting a large- calibre cannon in a rotating gun turret. A tank is a large type of armoured fighting vehicle with tracks, designed for front-line combat.

Inside modern day tank