As such, the decision was made to flesh out a more lightweight offering and this came under the specification of "A22". However, early evaluation of the design approach quickly showed such a vehicle's inherent limitations - particularly where the German fast-moving battlefield concepts were concerned. The initial approach was for a heavy battlefield tank designed for the concept of trench warfare seen in the bloody fighting of World War 1 and a large shape was adopted to break any possible stalemate across a given battlefield. The request for a new Infantry Tank came through specification "A20" appearing September 1939, a time when the British Empire was under increasingly direct threat from invasion from Axis forces. The classic Churchill tank belonged to the Infantry Tank way-of-thinking in this arrangement, hence its large dimensions, overall weight and very capable turret armament. Infantry Tanks would be used to smash enemy defensives to which Cruiser Tanks would then be sent in to exploit enemy flanks. Only the Infantry Tank Valentine was produced in more numbers than the Churchill though none could match the Churchill's multi-role capabilities that helped it to see an extended service life in the post-war years.īy this point in its military history, the British Army had adopted a doctrine centered around use of light, fast "Cruiser Tanks" coupled with slow, better-armed-and-armored "Infantry Tanks". Such was its value that the chassis served as the basis for a slew of variants to follow, both direct-combat and non-combat forms, that made it one of the more classic tanks ever adopted despite its appearance akin to a World War 1 (1914-1918) steel beast. The Churchill served the British Army and allied forces as the most important of its type during World War 2 (1939-1945), rivaling even the famous American M4 Sherman and fabled Soviet T-34 medium tanks of the conflict.
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