history of the tank destroyer By Heinz guderian May 17, 1901 Alvin O. Lombard of Penobscot County, Maine, produced and sold the first engine with crawler tracks in May 1901 the very first of many tanks or land ships was created Period: Aug 1, 1914 to Jun 28, 1918 world war 1 Jan 17, 1916 The first combat tank Sep 15, 1916 Mortimore guided a D1 tank into action at the notorious Delville Wood. Sep 15, 1916 The first battle honour awarded to a tank operator went to Private A. Smith, awarded the Military Medal for his actions at Delville Wood Apr 17, 1917 the French deployed 128 tanks in their Aisne Offensive along the Chemin-des-Dames Period: Sep 1, 1939 to Sep 2, 1945 world war 2 Nov 19, 1941 In November 1941, the War Department ordered the creation of such units, designated “tank destroyer” battalions. to the web site Period: Dec 16, 1944 to Jan 25, 1945 The Battle of the Bulge Nov 1, 1948 he last TD Battalion, the 656th, was deactivated on November 1, 1946 at Camp Campbell, KY here is the web site