The US Army was a relative latecomer to the tank business in World War 2, The US tank force on the eve of war in Europe in 1939 was that of second-rate power; indeed the US Army had fewer tanks than armies like Italy or Poland. The neglect of the US armored force was caused by a complicated set of conditions including the economic stagnation of the Great Depression, and the tendency towards isolationism in US foreign policy. By 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt had begun to commit the US Army to a major rebuilding due to the perception that the United States would eventually be dragged into war. An important element in this effort was the considerable expansion of the US defense industry, to supply Lend Lease needs as well as the growing US Army., ISBN13: 9789623616034 ISBN10: 9623616031 Material Type: paperback