Famous Tank Battles

About Famous Tank Battles

Famous Tank Battles is a multi-season history podcast series that follows the story of armored warfare from its uncertain beginnings in the First World War to the fast-moving, technology-driven battles of the late twentieth century. Across the full series, listeners move from the muddy shock of Cambrai through the desert campaigns of North Africa, the giant armored clashes of the Second World War, the hard lessons of the Arab-Israeli wars, and finally into the era of thermal sights, modern fire control, and high-speed mechanized combat. The goal is not simply to tell battle stories, but to explain why these battles mattered, how they were fought, and what they revealed about the changing character of war. Each season is built around one famous tank battle or armored campaign, allowing the series to go beyond broad summaries and instead explore the fighting in depth. That means the podcast does not stop with a basic retelling of who won and who lost. It looks closely at the commanders, units, terrain, planning, doctrine, logistics, communications, weapons, and tactical decisions that shaped events on the battlefield. Some seasons focus on innovation and first attempts. Others focus on adaptation under pressure, desperate defense, operational breakthrough, or the moment when older ideas about armor were challenged by new realities. Taken together, the seasons show that tank warfare was never just about the tank itself. Armored combat was always tied to artillery, infantry, engineers, air power, supply, maintenance, and the ability of commanders to make decisions under confusion and extreme pressure. One season may highlight the birth of massed armor and surprise attack. Another may show the brutal learning curve of desert warfare. Another may reveal how industrial strength, doctrine, and sheer scale turned armored battle into something vast and devastating. Later seasons trace the rise of anti-tank missiles, night fighting, better sensors, and the professional training that defined modern armored forces. This series is designed for listeners who want military history with both narrative energy and serious substance. It is for people who enjoy battlefield storytelling, but also want to understand the deeper lessons behind the action. Whether the subject is Cambrai, Kursk, El Alamein, the Golan Heights, the Chinese Farm, or 73 Easting, Famous Tank Battles treats each campaign as part of a larger story: the evolution of armored warfare across decades of conflict, innovation, failure, and hard-won battlefield experience.

Publisher

Dr Jason Edwards

Category

history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Apr 2026

Latest episode

11 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

261 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Jul 2026

   73 Easting: Episode 26 — Why 73 Easting Matters

   Why 73 Easting Matters closes the season by judging the battle as far more than a tank duel in the desert. The episode brings together reconnaissance doctrine, mission command, thermal technology, Abrams and Bradley crews, artillery, aviation, logistics, training, and VII Corps’ ability to turn operational movement into battlefield destruction. Listeners learn why the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment’s fight mattered in its own right and why its larger significance lies in opening the way for the 1st Infantry Division, Objective Norfolk, Medina Ridge, and the final defeat of organized Iraqi armored resistance. The battle stands as a major case study in modern armored warfare, showing that technology becomes decisive only when disciplined people, clear communication, and aggressive initiative make it useful. For more military history writing and books, visit MilitaryAuthor.me, and for magazines, galleries, and a massive archive of military photos and video, visit Trackpads.com.

2. 

   11 Jul 2026

   73 Easting: Episode 25 — Medina Ridge and the 100 Hours

   Medina Ridge and the 100 Hours follows the final heavy blow of VII Corps as the ground campaign neared its cease-fire. On February 27, 1991, after 73 Easting and Objective Norfolk, American armored forces struck the Medina Division of the Republican Guard while Iraqi units were withdrawing, collapsing, or trying to form new defenses. This episode explains the tactical fight at Medina Ridge, the wider Iraqi retreat from Kuwait, and the political-military tension of ending a war while battlefield momentum still existed. Listeners learn how the famous 100-hour ground campaign combined airpower, reconnaissance, thermal sights, artillery, logistics, and heavy armor to overwhelm Iraqi mechanized forces. The episode shows victory at speed without simplifying the destruction, suffering, or unanswered strategic questions that followed. For more military history writing and books, visit MilitaryAuthor.me, and for magazines, galleries, and a massive archive of military photos and video, visit Trackpads.com.

3. 

   11 Jul 2026

   73 Easting: Episode 24 — Fratricide in the Dark

   Fratricide in the Dark tackles one of the most difficult subjects in the 73 Easting and Objective Norfolk story: friendly fire during fast armored combat. This episode examines how darkness, dust, burning wrecks, thermal sight images, overlapping movements, and weak situational awareness created deadly hazards even for a victorious force. Official Army accounts link the 73 Easting/Norfolk fighting to incidents in which five American tanks and four Bradleys were destroyed, six U.S. soldiers were killed, and thirty were wounded; another Army history notes that friendly fire caused twenty-one of ninety-eight U.S. battle deaths in Desert Storm. Listeners learn why technology did not make the battlefield transparent and why speed must be governed by recognition, communication, and restraint. The episode handles the cost of victory with care and seriousness. For more military history writing and books, visit MilitaryAuthor.me, and for magazines, galleries, and a massive archive of military photos and video, visit Trackpads.com.

Contact Famous Tank Battles

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.