The 20th century is rightfully considered the “century of tanks” - no other branch of the military had such an impact on the course of hostilities: since their first appearance on the battlefield in 1916, tanks played a decisive role in most armed conflicts of the past century, having made a real revolution in military affairs, forever changing the nature of modern warfare. Analyzing the combat use of tanks in both world wars and numerous local conflicts of the 20th century, the leading military historian convincingly proves that only three states managed to create full-fledged, truly effective tank forces - Germany , Soviet Union and Israel. Only these countries, having gone through a long path of bloody trial and error, were able to develop and successfully apply the theory of tank warfare in practice. No other state, even those with a significant tank fleet - neither France, nor Britain, nor the USA - even comes close to the level of leaders. Of particular interest is the last chapter of the book, in which the author models the failed conflict between the USSR and NATO, clearly demonstrating that , contrary to American forecasts, in the European theater of operations the West actually had no chance of resisting Soviet tank power.