Age of Tanks

I'm 32 years old and I've watched almost all tank documentaries in all my experience. I mean all History Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Viasat History HD and even independent ones. But this one is far and away the best.

This doc has 4 episodes and first one starts with the first tank British "Mark I" from 1916 and the last episode ends with the last modern tank Russian T-14 Armata which was started to produce in 2015. In all 4 episodes we witness the development of main battle tanks from World War I until today.

It's a French documentary and there is English dub and subtitle option on Netflix. The best thing of this documentary is "objectivity". First and foremost it's not a nationalist production. It's based on the real historic events from WWI, WWII, Korean War, Cold War, Yom Kippur War, First Chechen War, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In all events, the importance of tanks is explained very well. In some parts, progress of tanks and anti-tank systems are explained but clarification of which one is better is not enough. Also I expected to learn about Korean K2 Black Panther, Chinese Type 99 A2, Israeli Merkava Mk IV, Japan Type 10, Russian T-90MS, British Challenger 2, French Leclerc with the AZUR urban protection kit, German Leopard 2A7+ and the most importantly German Leopard 2 Revolution and Turkish Altay main battle tanks. These tanks are enough to represent the future of main battle tanks as fifth episode. Despite all, this production is the best of all main battle tank docs with its fulfilling, realistic, historical and unbiased characteristics. A masterpiece documentary.

My area is WWI and its immediate aftermath, so I can only speak with any authority on Episode 1. It takes a different approach from that with which English-speakers are familiar, but manages to convey the broad sweep of the story. To begin with the Austrian Gunther Burstyn's Motorgeschütz is unusual but an argument can be made for it. On the other hand, there's nothing to support the implication that Burstyn's vehicle in any way influenced the French or that the French had even heard of it.

French bias? Well, all three writer/producers are German and live in Germany, but the production companies are, I think, French. It should be remembered that French and British tank development took place at the same time, so to begin with the French story is perfectly justifiable, if unusual in the English-speaking world.

The Episode's biggest problem is that is littered with historical errors large and small and makes some dubious and debatable assertions. Soldiers described as Austrian are actually Italian, and supposed Germans are Austrian. The British tanks are shown in a completely random chronology, but that's quite usual in such documentaries. On the other hand, a lengthy reference to the French Renault FT is accompanied by film of the American Ford Three Ton tank, and what we are asked to believe is film of a battle on the Western Front is actually footage of manoeuvres in the USA in the 1920s featuring tanks that didn't take part in the War. Producers of films on this subject often have to make do with such material as is available, but one gets the impression that this one contains howlers that the makers just haven't spotted.

So this just about keeps pace with historical fact, and it might be that the layman would not be troubled by many of the inaccuracies. Good use is made of the diaries of tank designers and commanders (a few odd translations notwithstanding) and the Curator of the British Tank Museum gives a good performance as in-vision commentator.

On the whole, this is let down by some poor research and careless production. I wouldn't recommend that anyone use it as a serious reference. A missed opportunity.

Impressive narrative, cohesive in treating the subject (tanks). The most likeable part is that it gives a brief picture of tank's evolution over the entire series, without getting lost. Neither is the series too technical nor too naive which is desirable to attract more viewers. They also have short interview clips about tank personnel of WW-II. They also mention about the notable commanders, tank designers, major events and tank manufacturing sites.

The history of the powerful weapon on land, the tank. Covers its entire history, from paper designs of the early-1900s to the beasts of the present day.

Quite basic. Anyone with a decent knowledge of tanks and their history will find this pretty weak, even inaccurate. The main problem is that the content is dumbed-downed for ignorant audiences. Every major war and battle in history is looked at only from a tank perspective, massively over-simplifying and misrepresenting warfare. Some of the claims are laughably bad, e.g. the US only managed to stop the North Korean advance in the Korean War because of the introduction of the Patton tank!

Also not very comprehensive. By spending so much time convincing us that events like the Hungarian and Czechoslovakian revolutions were major turning points in tank development we miss out on many interesting developments and tank models. For example, with regard to WW2 we only get to hear about the T-34, Tiger (and Tiger II) and Sherman. There were plenty of other designs and innovations, including things like tank destroyers, which aren't mentioned at all.

There are some interesting, lesser-known facts, but these are few and far between. There are also some interesting interviews, but many of the interviews also seemed dumbed-down and superficial.

Avoid, especially if you already have at least the merest of knowledge about tanks.

The main misunderstanding with this mini serial is that it's not really about tanks, but about events in our history, when tanks played important role.

So, if you're just looking for technical informations about tanks, or want to know the exact evolution and models produced - than this is not for you.

But on the other hand - if you're interested in history, and want to see some great materials from the past - than this is a wonderful source of knowledge.

From 1. World War, through second, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, Kuwait and Iraq, the story goes to last model produced in Russia. At each point of time there are tanks presented - models that took significant role in conflicts. It's just four short episodes - don't expect that all tanks' models around the world will be mentioned. But the interviews with people, who actually took place in those events, archival footages - this is the real value of this serial.

It's definitely worth to watch.