As soon as February arrives, that overbearing requirement for romance casts its shadow across us all. There is the perfect card to buy, the perfect gift to find (yes, this close to Christmas…) and the perfect evening of romance to plan.

An evening of romance can often include a trip to the movies, but with this year’s much anticipated 50 Shades of Grey launch on Valentine’s Day, enough to scare most men (and many women) into hibernation for the month, we thought we would turn our thoughts this week to the best movies which involve tanks that we could think of.

So, here we are: our list of the top 8 movies with tanks and associated tank facts. Let us know if you agree! Although it’s actually only 7.5 because one is not exactly a tank-fact-favourite…

8: Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
Franchot Tone, Erich von Stroheim as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Anne Baxter star in this film, co-written by Billy Wilder. Tone plays a lone survivor of a British Tank crew in North Africa, which had come to blows with Rommel’s elite Afrika Korps. Tone arrives delirious and dehydrated after crossing the desert at an isolated hotel that the Germans want to use as Rommel’s headquarters.

Tank Facts: The pre-WWII U.S. M2 Light Tanks which had seen battle in the Pacific Theatre prior to WWII were used as the German tanks in this film which was completed during WWII.

7: A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Dirk Bogarde, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford and Sean Connery. Could there be a better role of honour? Could you imagine being a fly on the wall of that set? The film is directed by Richard Attenborough and based on a book by Cornelius Ryan, the film recounts the story of the failed 1944 Operation Market Garden. The plan was to drop 35,000 men behind enemy lines in the Netherlands to secure bridges over the Rhine leading to Ruhr, Germany.

Tank Facts: The Panther tanks used by Germany’s 9th SS and 10th SS Panzer divisions in the film were actually disguised Leopard I tanks which didn’t enter service until 1965. Only 4 actual Sherman tanks appear in the film. The rest were plastic molds set on top of VW Beetle chassis!

6: Patton ( 1970)
George C Scott and Karl Malden star in this film directed by Franklin Schaffner.
This historical epic, and winner of seven Academy Awards, follows the controversial General Patton from his first victory against Rommel at El Guettar, Tunisia, the first victory of the US troops over the Germans in battle, through to his removal from command.

Tank Facts: Patton was the founder member of the Tank Corps in 1917 during WWI and organised the first American tank school in France which trained over 500 tank troops. He also helped to invent the co-axial tank mount for cannon and machine guns.

5: Battle of the Bulge (1965)
Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Telly Savalas star in this Ken Annakin classic about the final major German offensive, which took place from December 1944 to January 1945. The film is set in the Ardennes forest of Belgium and Luxemburg. The Germans drive their tanks to the port city of Antwerp and split the Allied forces in two. The epic depicts the US forces’ largest land battle with more than 80,000 casualties.

Tank Facts: The U.S M47 Patton is the second tank to be named after General George S. Patton. This tank was used to represent the German King Tiger tanks, which are deployed in the film.

4: Sahara (1943)
Humphrey Bogart, Lloyd Bridges, J. Carrol Naish and Dan Nuryea star in this Zoltan Korda directed masterpiece. Bogart plays the U.S Commander of an American tank crew serving with the British 8th Army in the Libyan Desert in 1942. The crew is forced deep into the Sahara after Tobruk falls to the Nazis. The film received three Oscar nominations and is legendary!

Tank Facts: Bogart’s M3 Lee tank is nicknamed Lulubelle in the movie- a name we plan to use in the future here at Armourgeddon for one of our FV 432s.

3: Kelly’s Heroes (1970)
Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles and Donald Sutherland star in this Brian G. Hutton comedy, which pitches Shermans against Tigers. Inspired by a true story of soldiers who go AWOL to rob a bank behind enemy lines, this comedic caper sees the lighter side of tank warfare.

Tank Facts: The German Tigers were actually modified Soviet T-34 tanks. The movie was filmed mainly on location in Yugoslavia as their army still deployed Shermans in 1970.

2: Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel and Edward Burns star in this Spielberg classic which follows Captain John Miller (Hanks) and his crew behind enemy lines searching for Private James Ryan whose three brothers have all been killed in combat.. A feel-good movie focused on honour decency and courage.

Tank Facts: Ok, so maybe not completely a tank, but the Opel that Hanks hides behind in one of the key battle scenes is the actual Opel in the Armourgeddon museum here at Southfields Farm.

1: Fury (2014)
Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf and Logan Lerman star in this David Ayer directed epic.

Set in the final months of WWII in Europe, the film focuses on the US Army Sergeant (Pitt) in the 2nd Armoured Division and his crew, sent on a deadly mission behind enemy lines.

Tank Facts: The tank, named Fury, is an M4A3E8 Sherman tank- so good it got named 3 times! The film features the first appearance in a contemporary film of a German Tiger 131 and the Sherman from Armourgeddon, driven by our very own Stuart Garner is one of the convoy of tanks in the battle scenes. It may not be everyone’s favourite, but as one of our tanks stars, it’s certainly our number one!