An authoritative history of the tank and the remarkable individuals who designed them and fought in them, from a former officer and best-selling historian

Tanks are the ultimate embodiment of industrial age warfare. In the popular imagination, they represent both a terrifying beast of destruction and a potent symbol of liberation.

The technology behind these war machines has evolved relentlessly, and yet the coming of the information age has led many to predict that drones, missiles, and Artificial Intelligence have made the tank obsolete. Time and again, however, tanks have continued to shape – and be shaped by — battles around the world, from their introduction in 1916, through the Second World War and tank-on-tank fights in 1990s Iraq, to the current conflict in Ukraine.

In TANK, best-selling historian and former officer in the Royal Tank Regiment Mark Urban draws on wide-ranging accounts from soldiers, designers, and politicians, from Winston Churchill to Volodymyr Zelensky, to tell the remarkable story of one of the most important developments in military history. Through the ten most important vehicles ever made, Urban chronicles the incredible advances in tank technology – starting with the Mark IV, the first British tank to be used in large numbers in WW1, and following the story through the T-34 and Tiger to the M1 Abrams, a product of huge American Cold War investment that is still used to this day.

Officially supported by The Tank Museum and using never-before-seen archival sources, interviews and declassified documents, this is a fascinating history of the vehicle that changed conflict forever.

‘An illuminating and exciting drive through the mud and blood of twentieth-century warfare’ Dr Robert Lyman, author of Operation Suicide

‘Gripping and authoritative. Family men, circus performers, solicitors, communists, and reactionaries all fought together and shed blood for their country – a true and moving story of war’ Andy McNab

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Their German enemies called them the ‘Red Devils’. Montgomery described them as ‘men apart – every man an Emperor’. The cards they received on qualifying began: ‘You are the elite of the British army’.

The Parachute Regiment.

In this gripping, authorized account, bestselling historian Mark Urban tells the story of the wartime creation and development of Britain’s elite airborne infantry – who ranged from circus performers to solicitors, policemen to gravediggers, Christians and Jews to communists.

Through the fates of six men – including recently widowed Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, who had to leave his little boy at home to head to the front, and Mike Lewis, whose photographs became iconic images of war – Urban vividly shows what it took to succeed in this new regiment. All six men would shed blood for their country in daring actions at D-Day, Arnhem and across the Second World War; two would not survive, and one would face disgrace.

Based on deep archival research, British and German sources and new material from the men’s families, and giving overdue recognition to the North African campaign, Urban’s unvarnished history is a compelling and moving depiction of the highs and lows of battle.

‘Superb accounts of the battles and a deep understanding of personalities’ Patrick Bishop, The Telegraph

A GRIPPING, AUTHORISED HISTORY OF THE DARING ‘RED DEVILS’ TOLD THROUGH THE FATES OF SIX HEROES . . .

In Britain they were known as The Parachute Regiment, but their German enemies christened them The Red Devils. Circus performers, solicitors, gravediggers, family men. . . they were ordinary people who became wartime heroes.

Showing what it took to succeed in this new regiment, Urban vividly brings to life six men and their experiences across D-Day, Arnhem and WW2 – from the recently-widowed Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, who had to leave his young son to head to the front, to Mike Lewis, whose photographs became iconic images of war.

Using deep archival research, British and German sources, and new material from the men’s families, Red Devils paints a true and moving picture of the heart of war.

PUBLISHED ON THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR FIRST CAMPAIGN: OPERATION TORCH IN NORTH AFRICA