by Mark Urban
First published 2026
Mark Urban examines how tanks transformed modern warfare across more than a century of conflict. The former Royal Tank Regiment officer and historian tracks the evolution of armored vehicles through ten pivotal designs, beginning with the Mark IV that rolled across World War I battlefields in large numbers. Urban draws from accounts by soldiers, engineers, and leaders including Winston Churchill and Volodymyr Zelensky to show how these machines shaped battles from 1916 through current fighting in Ukraine. He follows the technological progression from early British models through the Soviet T-34, German Tiger, and American M1 Abrams, which remains in service decades after Cold War development. Using archival materials, interviews, and declassified records with official support from The Tank Museum, Urban reveals how tanks repeatedly proved their relevance despite predictions that drones, missiles, and artificial intelligence would render them obsolete. The book demonstrates how these vehicles continue to influence modern combat.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-nonfiction
Setting: Ukraine
Period: 1916, Cold War
352 pages · Hardcover · Viking