...the 'tank capital' of Russia is Nizhniy Tagil.

...the only tank that failed to complete all the tests during the comparative evaluation trials in Greece in 1998 (the participants included the M1A2 Abrams, Challenger 2E, Leclerc, Leopard 2A5, T-80U, and T-84) was the T-80U (it developed some problems in the transmission, which resulted in loss of the tank's steering capability).

...the 'tank capital' of Ukraine is Kharkov.

...when parting with her son who was going to war, the Spartan woman used to tell him 'Either with the shield or on the shield', which meant that he should either return home victoriously or die in the battle (the bodies of the killed Spartans were taken away from the battlefield on their shields, which were rather large).

...a Pyrrhic victory is a victory with devastating cost to the victor. The phrase is a reference to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose army suffered irreplaceable casualties when he defeated the Romans during the Pyrrhic War at Heraclea in 280 BC and Asculum in 279 BC. After the latter battle, Plutarch relates in a report by Dionysius:

'The armies separated; and, it is said, Pyrrhus replied to one that gave him joy of his victory that one more such victory would utterly undo him. For he had lost a great part of the forces he brought with him, and almost all his particular friends and principal commanders; there were no others there to make recruits, and he found the confederates in Italy backward. On the other hand, as from a fountain continually flowing out of the city, the Roman camp was quickly and plentifully filled up with fresh men, not at all abating in courage for the loss they sustained, but even from their very anger gaining new force and resolution to go on with the war'.

The report is often quoted as 'Another such victory over the Romans and we are undone'.

...the best 105 mm tank gun is the British L7 gun, while the best 120 mm tank gun is the German L44 gun (the latter has a more modern derivative designated L55, but this version has not come yet to be widely used).

...before its break-up, the Soviet Union could boast of having 77,000 battle tanks.

...the best military victory is the one that is won without a single shot.

...in any battle, the Spartans were guided by the motto 'To win together or to die together'.

...you are on Page 5 of this section of the site now, and it may be expedient to have a look at the previous and following pages.