Major European countries that were “tank kingdoms” now possess less than half of Japan’s
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The number of tanks possessed by each country in the era when tanks were said to be “stars of ground battles”
Was it the persistence of Ukrainian President Zelensky, who begged for “Western tanks soon?” In January 2023, the reluctant three major NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, decided to provide Ukraine with the most powerful modern main battle tank (MBT).
The “M1 Abrams” (US), “Challenger 2” (UK), and “Leopard 2” (Leo 2/Germany) are the “Western MBT three crows”. If the three models were to face each other on the same battlefield, it would probably be the first time in history, and it would have such an impact that Russian President Vladimir Putin might overreact, saying that NATO has entered the war.
British tank “Challenger 2” (Photo: British Army)
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As a result of both Russia and Ukraine rolling out MBTs as the main weapon that holds the key to the ground battle in the Ukraine War, the number of MBTs is now in short supply. However, even though MBT is said to be the star of ground warfare, following the end of the Cold War, many people, especially in Europe and the United States, have argued that MBT is useless. It’s no exaggeration to say that he was in a state of disrepair.
At least until the end of the Cold War in 1989, the East and West sides faced each other with mighty military power on the European continent, and MBT played a leading role.
According to the 1990 Military Balance published by the British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the number of MBTs in 1989 was regarding 34,000. By major country, regarding 15,400 in the United States are overwhelming, regarding 5,000 in West Germany, regarding 1,300 in France, regarding 1,300 in the United Kingdom, regarding 1,500 in Italy, regarding 2,000 in Greece, regarding 900 in the Netherlands, and regarding 3,700 in Turkey. It was on the scale of 1000 units across the board.
Looking at the ratio of M1 and Leo 2, which are currently hot topics, there are regarding 6,400 M1 in the United States, one in three, regarding 2,000 Leo 2 in West Germany, and 450 in the Netherlands, both of which are almost two. It was a ratio of one.
On the other hand, the MBT of the Warsaw Pact (WTO) centered on the Soviet Union was overwhelming, reaching regarding 79,000 units, twice that of NATO, and the West feared a “red tsunami” at the time.
