Tanks are best thought of as mobile assault guns. They are powerful offensive weapons in close support of infantry. If you need to take ground you want some tan

Tanks are best thought of as mobile assault guns. They are powerful offensive weapons in close support of infantry. If you need to take ground you want some tanks. Most military doctrine, including the US and Russia, do not provision them for tank to tank combat unless it becomes unavoidable. Artillery softens a target, but infantry ultimately have to take the position. Everything works in conjunction Which is why it was so baffling in the beginning of the war to see Russian tanks unsupported by infantry roaming around by themselves. It is not really how you would typically use tanks. If Russia had been coordinated in whatever it was they were attempting they may have been able to over run Ukraine’s defenses and take Kyiv. But yes, for the past 100+ years most casualties come from artillery. It is brutally effective both in terms of the damage caused to the enemy physically and psychologically. When at any moment an artillery round can reign from the sky and rip you in two you lose your will to fight pretty quick.