The Compass Points post: "FD 2030 - Ukraine Shows Value of Tanks - Tanks are Still Warfare Workhorses" of October 27, 2022 has generated some discussion. Discussion is good.
One reader says flatly, "Tanks are obsolete, irrelevant, and useless."
Perhaps that is true. Perhaps that is not true.
Another reader, Bald Eagle, has replied:
Comments that lack historical accuracy should not be taken seriously. A claim that WWII was the last time tanks were employed as they were designed to be employed is easy refutable if one has even a cursory knowledge of history since 1945. Desert Storm is just one example of a campaign where tanks were used as designed. Moreover, there are multiple examples of tanks employed correctly in the Arab-Israeli conflicts. Overlooking history and the facts it reveals is a sure path to presenting a losing argument. -- Bald Eagle
Perhaps the question of the future value of tanks in war can only be decided by future battles. Are tanks useful in future battles or not? The future will reveal the answer. Another way to shed light on the question of the value of tanks is to refer to the process the Marine Corps used to rid itself of tanks.
The Marine Corps has a rich history of using tanks in combat. For decades the Marine Corps used tanks as an important part of its combined arms approach to combat. Marine units in combat could call on air, artillery, naval gunfire, and tanks to place the enemy on the "horns of a dilemma" where every enemy decision led only to the enemy's defeat and death. The Marine Corps established tank battalions, trained and assigned Marines to tanks, and spent scarce budgetary resources on tanks. Tanks were important to the Marine Corps.
That is why long before the Marine Corps made the decision to eliminate such an important tool from the Marine Corps arsenal, the Marine Corps, no doubt, went through an extensive process to make sure the decision was wise.
1. Hearings - The Marine Corps, no doubt, held public hearings with academic and international experts.
2. Interviews - Current and former leaders from the Marine Corps tank community, no doubt, were thoroughly interviewed. Tank experts from the armed forces of England, Israel, and Germany just to name three were, no doubt, also interviewed thoroughly.
3. Transcripts - Hearings and interview transcripts were prepared and made widely available.
4. Research - Congress was asked to have their Congressional Research Service create a comprehensive report on the value of tanks now and in the future.
5. Alternatives - New light tanks were investigated.
6. Commission - Finally, an Executive Advisory Commission on Tanks was established to go through the transcripts and research, and prepare an authoritative report on tanks and the Marine Corps.
Anyone who is interested in the question of tanks and particularly the question of tanks and the Marine Corps has only to go to the extensive record created by the Marine Corps.
Except for one minor difficulty.
There is no record created by the Marine Corps on the question of tanks.
Amazingly, as far as Compass Points can determine, before the momentous decision was made to simply eliminate tanks from the arsenal of the Marine Corps:
1. There were no public hearings with academic and international experts.
2. There were no interviews with current and former leaders from the Marine Corps tank community. Tank leaders from the armed forces of England, Israel, and Germany were never interviewed.
3. There were no transcripts prepared of the hearings and interviews.
4. The Congressional Research Service was never asked to perform research on tanks.
5. No alternative light tanks were investigated.
6. There was no Executive Advisory Commission on Tanks and no authoritative report was ever issued.
No hearings, no interviews, no transcripts, no research, no alternatives, and no authoritative report. Perhaps that is why there is still discussion about the wisdom of eliminating tanks from the Marine Corps.
-- Compass Points