The breakthrough tanks were then isolated and destroyed, and reinforcements plugged the hole in the trench line. On the Western Front in the later stage of the war, Allied tanks could break through the enemy trench lines but the infantry (needed to take and hold the ground gained) following the tanks were easily stopped or delayed by small arms fire and artillery. The genesis of the tankette concept was the armoured warfare of World War I. They were significantly smaller than light tanks and did not have a tank gun instead their main weapon tended to be one or two machine guns or, rarely, a 20 mm autocannon or grenade launcher. Some models were not equipped with turrets (and together with the tracked mobility, this is often seen as defining the concept), or just a very simple turret that was traversed by hand or leg. Some were so low that the occupant had to lie prone. Tankettes were made both in two- and three-man models. The vulnerability of their light armour, however, eventually led armies to abandon the concept with some exceptions such as the more modern German Wiesel (Weasel) series. Several countries built tankettes between the 1920s and 1940s, and some saw limited combat in the early phases of World War II. Colloquially it may also simply mean a small tank.

It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting. Small tracked armoured fighting vehicle A TKS tankette in the Polish Army Museum.Ī tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car.

Tankets modern small tanks battle