Valentine was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. The first prototypes were built in 1940, and serial production was carried out in 1940-1944. In total, about 8,300 copies of this tank of all versions were built, which makes it one of the most produced British tanks during the Second World War. Valentine was powered - depending on the version - or an engine AEC A 190 with power or the GMC 6004 engine with 130 to 210 HP. The armament of the vehicle is - depending on the version - a single 40 mm, 57 mm or 75 mm cannon and two 7.92 and 7.7 mm machine guns.
The Valentine tank is based on the Cruiser Mk. II (A10) and due to the huge losses in equipment suffered by the British army in the French campaign in 1940, it was quickly put into mass production. The Valentine had relatively weak armor, a lot of weight, but it made up for this with decent mobility, a very low failure rate and a good upgrade potential. It was also cheap to produce, which additionally determined its production until 1944. A dozen or so versions of this tank were made in the course of serial production. One of the first, widely produced, was the Valentine Mk. III, which had a larger turret than the previous versions, which increased the crew from 3 to 4 people. Another important variation was the Valentine Mk. VIII with the 57mm 6-pounder ROQF cannon, instead of the 40mm gun. The last mass-produced version was the Valentine Mk. The XI, which featured a 75mm ROQF cannon and was most often used as a command tank. Valentine tanks were sent to the USSR under the Lend-and-Lease program, and they were also used by the Canadian army and the Polish Armed Forces in the West (PES).
Britu astotā armija tika izveidota Ziemeļāfrikā 1941. gada septembrī no Ēģiptē dislocētajiem spēkiem. Līdz tā paša gada novembrim tas sastāvēja no diviem korpusiem - XIII un XXX. Tajā cita starpā ietilpa 2. Jaunzēlandes kājnieku divīzija, 4. Indijas kājnieku divīzija, 7. Panzeru divīzija (slavenās tuksneša žurkas) un 1. Dienvidāfrikas kājnieku divīzija. 1942. gada beigās 10 divīzijās un vairākās neatkarīgās brigādēs bija saformēti ap 220 000 cilvēku. Astotā armija tika pakļauta ugunskristībām Tobrukas kaujas laikā 1941. gada novembrī. Vēlāk, 1941.-1943.gadā, viņa cīnījās Ziemeļāfrikā, izcīnot ļoti svarīgu uzvaru Elalameinas kaujā, bet vēlāk pārspējot Axis spēkus Lībijā un Tunisijā. Ir vērts piebilst, ka tās komandieris no 1942. gada augusta līdz 1943. gada decembrim bija Bernards Lovs Montgomerijs – viens no labākajiem Otrā pasaules kara britu komandieriem. No 1943. līdz 1945. gadam astotā armija karoja apgabalā Apenīni, piedaloties desantā Sicīlijā un izkraušanā Itālijas dienvidos. Tās karavīri vēlāk izlauzās cauri gotiskajai līnijai un Gustava līnijai, kā arī karoja pie Montekasino 1944. gadā. Tā bija 8. armija, kurā ietilpa Polijas bruņoto spēku 2. korpuss ģenerāļa Andersa vadībā. 1945. gadā astotā armija karoja Po ielejā, vēlāk ienāca Austrijā, kur beidza savu kaujas ceļu Otrā pasaules kara laikā.