Armored vehicles are all kinds of tracked or wheeled military vehicles with armored protection, which is a general term for armored military or police vehicles. Tanks are also a type of armoured tracked armored vehicles, but in practice, they are usually classified separately for operational purposes. Armored vehicles mostly refer to the types of vehicles with weaker protection and firepower than tanks.

Armored vehicles are characterized by a high degree of cross-country mobility and a certain degree of protection and firepower. They are divided into tracked type and wheeled type. Generally, they are equipped with one to two small and medium caliber guns and several machine guns, and some are equipped with anti-tank missiles.

The earliest armored vehicle in history, invented in 1855 by an Englishman named Cohen, was mounted on the chassis of a wheeled steam tractor with machine guns and armor. He also patented it. This car predates the invention of the tank in World War I by more than half a century. But the steam engine was too heavy, and the armoured vehicle was denounced by the prime minister as “nonsense”. In 1899, Simms, an Englishman, installed armor and a machine gun on a four-wheeled vehicle and invented a practical armored vehicle. It was intended to be used in the Boer War, which broke out the following year, but was completed in 1902, by which time the war was largely over.

In World War I, the British were the first to develop tracked and wheeled armored vehicles. It had light armour and a machine gun. During World War II, with the use of mechanized forces in Europe, armored vehicles were used more widely. The arms race between the two major blocs during the Cold War made the types of armored vehicles more diversified. The trend towards mechanization of infantry also promotes the popularization of armored vehicles in various countries. The world has not been at peace since the end of the Cold War. With the rise of asymmetric warfare, new armored vehicles are constantly emerging, showing their skills in different battlefields.

At the end of the first World War, Britain was the first to develop the tracked and wheeled armored conveyer. It has light armour and a machine gun and can carry 20 soldiers. Although their armour protected the men inside from bullets, infantry used to fighting on foot called the first armoured conveyances “sardine cans” and “coffins on wheels”. In August 1918, a tank battalion of the British 7th Army used armored conveyors for the first time in Walfsey. 12 armored conveyors were spitting fire at the enemy, and German soldiers were extremely frightened and fled in panic. The British soldiers jumped out and occupied the German position. Other armies also saw the military value of armoured conveyances.

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