An LVT 4 on Tarawa, 1943
A Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) is a type of light tank which was first developed by the United States in July 1941. The LVTs were used for logistical support at the Battle of Guadalcanal, but their first major use was at the 1943 Battle of Tarawa, during which they fought the Japanese on the heaviest-defended beach that Americans would face in the long history of their foreign wars. After Tarawa, the battalions of LVTs increased in size from 100 LVTs per battalion to 300. LVTs were used in almost all of the major battles of the Pacific theater of World War II, while the USA also used them during the invasion of Normandy, the Battle of the Scheldt, the crossing of the Rhine into Germany, and the Po Valley campaign in northern Italy. LVTs would also be used in the Korean War at the Battle of Inchon, the last major amphibious landing in history.