The tank transformed how wars are fought — and won. They were developed to end the stalemate of trench warfare in the First World War and have played a key role in countless conflicts since.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading with the West to send his country 300 tanks to make a decisive breakthrough against Russia by unleashing a real “punching fist of democracy”. He is unlikely to get that many but, thanks to a change of heart in Berlin, he might receive enough to make a real difference.
