A right side view of an M-88 armored recovery vehicle front and an M-60 main battle tank. The equipment is being prepared for Exercise REFORGER 78

Tanks in mass culture. Tanks were first developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and France as a means to break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front. Their first use in combat was by the British Army in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The name "tank" was adopted by the British during the early stages of their development, as a security measure to conceal their purpose.