History Main / TanksForNothing

* ''Anime/{{Gasaraki}}'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4b-haPATmI features a squad of mechs single-handily destroying an entire regiment of Main Battle Tanks and Infantry Fighting Vehicles in open desert combat]]... [[MookHorrorShow Mostly from the perspective of the tank and IFV crews]] as they try to deal with a major OutsideContextProblem in the form of HumongousMecha that can run faster than they can traverse their turrets, though it also didn't help that the regiment commander seemed to get his tactics from the back of a cereal box.
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Japanese tanks prove to be useless against Britannian HumongousMecha. Oh the irony.

* The intro of ''Madox-01'' shows tanks being blown up easily by a MiniMecha... in a dense urban area. It was a mock battle to show off the new prototype Mech.
* Tanks in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' are pretty useful against humans, although not so much against homunculi- Wrath cut one in two using ImplausibleFencingPowers, Greed couldn't be harmed by one due to InstantArmor, and Sloth is just too bulky to be much affected by tank rounds.
** The last case is more of a subversion, though, since Major General Armstrong commanded her men to remove the fuses from the rounds to limit the damage done to the facilities where the battle was held. Besides, the tanks ''were'' still useful even when they couldn't actually harm Sloth, because they were able to push him around and outside where he froze solid.
* In ''Franchise/DragonBall'', if an army of tanks attacks a BigBad, he'll crush them in mere seconds. Guaranteed.
* Subverted in ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}''. Humanoid Labors go down pretty quickly in the face of tanks simply by being undergunned and fragile.
** In the second movie, Ōtah becomes upset over his labor's armament (an anti-labor shotgun) in anticipation that he will face tanks. The mechanic replies that he should shoot with both eyes closed.
* In the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic future]] of ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', it's rare to have working vehicles, and even rarer to have working combat vehicles. A fully functional and fully armed tank is next to unheard of in the setting and would make its owner a bandit leader unto themselves. One such tank appears once in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_ZeD40Rg8A the anime.]] [[StuffBlowingUp But only once.]]

* In ''Anime/AldnoahZero'', the United Earth government used tanks to combat Martian Kataphrakts in 1999. [[ShellShockedVeteran Lt. Marito's flashbacks]] show us this didn't go well at all. Though even in 2014, Earth-developed Kataphrakts are ''still'' ridiculously outmatched against their Martian counterparts.
** Japanese type 90 tanks Marito's unit was equipped with are a bit of this even in the RealLife. While very well protected and powerful, they are also very large and heavy, so that few of the roads and bridges in the Japanese heartland can withstand their bulk, and the JR's narrow clearances mean that they cannot be transported by rail. This basically confines them to Hokkaido and select areas on Honshu, and the Japanese had to develop an another smaller and lighter type 10 tank so it could operate on the Japanese mainland.
* Subverted in ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories'', where during the infamous [[GambitPileup Emperor Rescue Mission]] the extremely light forces, with which Mishalu Ha Lonn took off to Both, meant that [[WithThisHerring she had to rely on tanks]] to carry the day against three times more HumongousMecha than she had at hand. The subversion lies in that while the tanks were clearly inferior to the Mortar Headds, and they were [[HeroicSacrifice destroyed almost to a man]], they ''did'' held the line until the [[GunshipRescue reinforcements arrived]], and the enemy ace [[HeelFaceTurn switched sides]].
* ''LightNovel/MuvLuvAlternativeTotalEclipse'': Tanks are probably effective against weakly armored Soldier and Laser-type BETA, but we mostly only see them fail hilariously against Destroyer-types, which amount to sauropod-sized rhinoceroses with even thicker frontal armor than the tank. Tanks are mostly just used to lure BETA into killing zones for the [[HumongousMecha TSFs]].
* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] and [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zagged]] in ''Manga/StrikeWitches''. In a setting where Magical girls in the 1940's using magic-tech to fight supernatural aliens that regenerate and shoot laser beams: conventional tanks in the series various stories are faced with a complicated situation. In the series its shown that simple Neuroi infantry and conventional Neuroi armor are able to be engaged and destroyed with reasonable, relatively even footing by the various tanks of the time period, barring the use of large wave tactics, and even than, while difficult, victory could still not be completely insurmountable, even factoring in considerable casualties at worst. However, it's also shown that larger and more powerful Neuroi can completely destroy conventional tanks with ease, and even conventional, mid-sized air and ground units that make use of beam weapons can cut through the armor of M4 Sherman's, Tiger I's and Panzer IV's like a hot knife through butter. And supposing that what small umber of weaker Neuroi infantry that make use of [[DeathOfAThousandCuts weaker beam weapons could feasibly melt the armor of such tanks giving a short amount of time]][[CruelAndUnusualDeath .... which would likely not be a desirable fate]] [[NightmareFuel for the poor crew's of such tanks to endure]]. Ultimately, while not utterly useless against Neuroi by any Stretch of the imagination, they are still facing a foe with comparably better weapons and more resilient attrition rates by at least a few steps, not even factoring the distinct nuances of Neuroi warfare.

In superhero series, tanks are never any threat to superheroes, usually only serving as an impromptu missile, getting swung at another tank, or flipped upside down. This can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if all the characters have SuperToughness in addition to SuperStrength (as is usually the case), but you'd still think the military would learn their lesson after a while.

* ThatManIsDead:

* ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'': Justified for human tanks during the initial tetralogy, as the Race's level of military tech is roughly equivalent to TheFifties or TheSixties (and they strike during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII). On the flipside, their own "landcruisers" are very difficult to destroy due to their better armor and millennia of perfecting all this tech. Even Germans manage to destroy a few of them by using better tactics and the terrain to their advantage (e.g. hitting a Race landcruiser in the poorly armored bottom as its crossing a hilltop), while also losing most (if not all) tanks involved in those fights. Shoulder-launched [=RPGs=] also work, but not against the heavy frontal armor. By the follow-up trilogy, however, taking place nearly two decades later, German tanks have reached a one-to-one parity with their Race counterparts in terms of survivability and firepower, as well as through the use of superior tactics. The tanks of the other major free powers are likely not far behind. It can be assumed that, by ''Homeward Bound'', most of which takes place in 2031 (i.e. nearly 90 years after the first novel), human military technology has surpassed that of the Race by a wide margin ([[spoiler:this is signified by the arrival of the American FTL starship ''Commodore Perry'' into the orbit of Home, the Race's homeworld]]).

In RealLife, tanks have been designed for two purposes: [[StrategyVersusTactics winning battles, and winning campaigns.]] NATO and the USA specifically designed tanks for the former purpose, and the USSR and Warsaw Pact designed their tanks for the latter. More specifically NATO focused on fielding high-maintenance nigh-invulnerable tanks that could beat WP tanks in set-piece tank duels and hold the line due to their numerical inferiority, whereas the WP focused on fielding cheap tanks with good reliability and fuel-efficiency that could go long distances at high speed across rough terrain and defeat NATO logistics personnel in hit-and-run engagements, as well as flank, while not losing too much if a single vehicle was destroyed, since they have numerical superiority [[note]]This is not to say that NATO weren't prepared to use tanks to attack an enemy's supply lines, or that the WP wouldn't have used tanks to help assault defenses or fight enemy tanks, but these were not the primary roles each respective force had in mind for them[[/note]] .

* In ''ComicBook/{{Uber}}'', the Nazis' "tank"-class superhumans can easily destroy regular tanks in close combat, but can still be killed by a direct hit from a tank shell. (Hitting a highly mobile man-sized target with a WW2-era tank's main gun is easier said than done, though.) The [[PhysicalGod "battleship" superhumans]], meanwhile, are totally immune to tank fire and can fling tanks around like beach balls.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Uber}}'', the Nazis' "tank"-class superhumans can easily destroy regular tanks in close combat, but can still be killed by a direct hit from a tank shell. The [[PhysicalGod "battleship" superhumans]], meanwhile, are totally immune to tank fire and can fling tanks around like beach balls.

* In ''Film/TheWarOfTheWorlds,'' the Martian weapons are able to cut through tanks like butter.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', the Pigmask army deploys some tanks to break into Osohe Castle, which works out fine. They later use the same tanks to chase down your party, only to have one get destroyed by them (Having a TomboyPrincess with PsychicPowers and a mighty old man packing explosives helped there), while another is crushed like a tin can by a [[TyrannosaurusRex Drago]]. The drivers of the remainder decide they've seen enough at that point and bail out.

* Pick a {{Kaiju}} movie, any {{Kaiju}} movie. Guaranteed there will be at least one scene where tanks line up and fire at the monster to no effect. With one notable exception in ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah''.

* Justified for human tanks in ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'' during the initial tetralogy, as the [[TheReptilians Race]] level of military tech is roughly equivalent to TheFifties or TheSixties (and they strike during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII). On the flipside, their own "landcruisers" are very difficult to destroy due to their better armor and millennia of perfecting all this tech. Even Germans manage to destroy a few of them by using better tactics and the terrain to their advantage (e.g. hitting a Race landcruiser in the poorly armored bottom as its crossing a hilltop), while also losing most (if not all) tanks involved in those fights. Shoulder-launched [=RPGs=] also work, but not against the heavy frontal armor. By the follow-up trilogy, however, taking place nearly two decades later, German tanks have reached a one-to-one parity with their Race counterparts in terms of survivability and firepower, as well as through the use of superior tactics. The tanks of the other major free powers are likely not far behind. It can be assumed that, by ''Homeward Bound'', most of which takes place in 2031 (i.e. nearly 90 years after the first novel), human military technology has surpassed that of the Race by a wide margin ([[spoiler:this is signified by the arrival of the American FTL starship ''Commodore Perry'' into the orbit of Home, the Race's homeworld]]).

In RealLife tanks have been designed for two purposes: [[StrategyVersusTactics winning battles, and winning campaigns.]] NATO and the USA specifically designed tanks for the former purpose, and the USSR and Warsaw Pact designed their tanks for the latter. More specifically NATO focused on fielding high-maintenance nigh-invulnerable tanks that could beat WP tanks in set-piece tank duels and hold the line due to their numerical inferiority, whereas the WP focused on fielding cheap tanks with good reliability and fuel-efficiency that could go long distances at high speed across rough terrain and defeat NATO logistics personnel in hit-and-run engagements, as well as flank, while not losing too much if a single vehicle was destroyed, since they have numerical superiority [[note]]This is not to say that NATO weren't prepared to use tanks to attack an enemy's supply lines, or that the WP wouldn't have used tanks to help assault defenses or fight enemy tanks, but these were not the primary roles each respective force had in mind for them[[/note]] .

* In ''Film/IronMan1'', Tony Stark (in his IronMan suit) gets matched up against a tank. The tank was able to accurately knock him out of the sky with a shell, and scuff up his armor (there's a deleted scene that showed how bad the damage was). Iron Man stands right back up, looks at the tank, fires a dinky missile at it, and walks away. [[YouAreAlreadyDead Said tank then explodes]]. [[AllThereInTheManual The novelization]] confirms that the missile did penetrate a weak spot on the tank and set off the ammo.

When tanks are ''not'' useless, and are, in fact, quite awesome, then it's TankGoodness. If the things being destroyed are called "tanks" but aren't or the depiction of tanks is incorrect, then it's TanksButNoTanks. A subtrope of ArmorIsUseless. Compare TheWorfEffect, RedShirt, and FiveRoundsRapid. Contrast MechaMooks, when it's the HumongousMecha that are getting crushed. For the helicopter version of this trope, see HellishCopter.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Told you we shoulda made that left at Albuquerque!]][[note]]Due to Merkavas having their engines in the front, right behind the very massive glacis armor, they are ''very'' nose-heavy.[[/note]]]]

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* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'': The Imperial Guard being the most "normal" and vehicle-heavy of all armies, they tend to suffer a WorfEffect in many an army codex. One unfortunate tank was seen to stop firing after being hit with a Tau railgun even though there were only two holes in the tank's sides... and the crew having been ''liquefied and sucked out'' by the hypervelocity round's passage.

Main/BattleTanks are a crucial part of modern armed forces. They combine the mobility and speed of motor-vehicles with the killing-power of artillery, and can also help infantry assault entrenched defensive positions. Modern tanks are all but invulnerable to the crude and improvised weapons used by most partisans and rebels, making them invaluable in the extermination of such groups. All in all, a properly-used and handled tank of a sufficiently modern model can be a formidable weapon.

Main Battle Tanks are a crucial part of modern armed forces. They combine the mobility and speed of motor-vehicles with the killing-power of artillery, and can also help infantry assault entrenched defensive positions. Modern tanks are all but invulnerable to the crude and improvised weapons used by most partisans and rebels, making them invaluable in the extermination of such groups. All in all, a properly-used and handled tank of a sufficiently modern model can be a formidable weapon.

** Zakus are unsurprisingly enough shown to go down against tanks that are less then one 1/5th of their size, though this mostly tells more about their status as {{Mooks}} then the ability of the tanks.

* Subverted in ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories'', where during the infamous [[GambitPileup Emperor Rescue Mission]] the extremely light forces, with which Mishalu Ha Lonn took off to Both, meant that [[WithThisHerring she had to rely on tanks]] to carry the day against three times hore HumongousMecha than she had at hand. The subversion lies in that while the tanks were clearly inferior to the Mortar Headds, and they were [[HeroicSacrifice destroyed almost to a man]], they ''did'' held the line until the [[GunshipRescue reinforcements arrived]], and the enemy ace [[HeelFaceTurn switched sides]].

* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] and [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zagged]] in ''Manga/StrikeWitches''. In a setting where Magical girls in the 1940's using magic-tech to fight supernatural aliens that regenerate and shoot laser beams: conventional tanks in the series various stories are faced with a complicated situation. In the series its shown that simple Neruoi infantry and conventional Neruoi armor are able to be engaged and destroyed with reasonable, relatively even footing by the various tanks of the time period, barring the use of large wave tactics, and even than, while difficult, victory could still not be completely insurmountable, even factoring in considerable casualties at worst. However, it's also shown that larger and more powerful Neruoi can completely destroy conventional tanks with ease, and even conventional, mid-sized air and ground units that make use of beam weapons can cut through the armor of M4 Sherman's, Tiger I's and Panzer IV's like a hot knife through butter. And supposing that what small umber of weaker Neuroi infantry that make use of [[DeathOfAThousandCuts weaker beam weapons could feasibly melt the armor of such tanks giving a short amount of time]][[CruelAndUnusualDeath .... which would likely not be a desirable fate]] [[NightmareFuel for the poor crew's of such tanks to endure]]. Ultimately, while not utterly useless against Neruoi by any Stretch of the imagination, they are still facing a foe with comparably better weapons and more resilient attrition rates by at least a few steps, not even factoring the distinct nuances of Neruoi warfare.

* Averted in ''Fanfic/CodeGeassLelouchOfBritannia''. Like in the source material, tanks are clearly inferior to [[HumongousMecha Knightmare Frames]]. But in his under-equipped unit that Lelouch commands in North Africa, where he has to make up for limited supply of Knightmares by supplementing them with tanks he pulled out of storage, he's able to use good tactics to make up for their inferior mobility. And even physics-defying Knightmare Frames go down after being hit by [[{{BFG}} 140mm railgun]] shells.

* Franchise/{{Gundam}}: Depending on the series, this can swing one way or the other. In more "realistic" shows like ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam'', this is played straight. Justified a bit more in some of the more fantastical versions like ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'', where each mech is practically an army unto itself.
** On the other hand, [[AllThereInTheManual official Universal Century history guides]] do [[InformedAbility state that]] most of the land battles were fought and won ''[[TankGoodness by tanks]]'', [[HumongousMecha Mobile Suits]] being only a useful addition mainly used as a force-multiplying mobile units. Given Gundam's love of {{Super Prototype}}s, most of the tanks' uselessness in the actual anime could probably be explained by the ConservationOfNinjutsu.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Good Neighbor", [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ItMakesSenseInContext Squidward's house goes on a rampage after its security system malfunctions.]] The police send in a tank, only for the house to easily catch the shell and smash the tank.

* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] and [[Main.ZigZagged ZigZagged]] in Strike Witches. In a setting where Magical girls in the 1940's using magic-tech to fight supernatural aliens that regenerate and shoot laser beams: conventional tanks in the series various stories are faced with a complicated situation. In the series its shown that simple Neruoi infantry and conventional Neruoi armor are able to be engaged and destroyed with reasonable, relatively even footing by the various tanks of the time period, barring the use of large wave tactics, and even than, while difficult, victory could still not be completely insurmountable, even factoring in considerable casualties at worst. However, it's also shown that larger and more powerful Neruoi can completely destroy conventional tanks with ease, and even conventional, mid-sized air and ground units that make use of beam weapons can cut through the armor of M4 Sherman's, Tiger I's and Panzer IV's like a hot knife through butter. And supposing that what small umber of weaker Neuroi infantry that make use of [[DeathOfAThousandCuts weaker beam weapons could feasibly melt the armor of such tanks giving a short amount of time]][[CruelAndUnusualDeath .... which would likely not be a desirable fate]] [[NightmareFuel for the poor crew's of such tanks to endure]]. Ultimately, while not utterly useless against Neruoi by any Stretch of the imagination, they are still facing a foe with comparably better weapons and more resilient attrition rates by at least a few steps, not even factoring the distinct nuances of Neruoi warfare.