Why can’t a military tank have wheels instead of chained wheels?

The difference between tracked and wheeled is huge.

The biggest difference is ground pressure.

Tracks greatly increase the surface area under force.

A 70 ton M1 Abram tank has a ground pressure of about 15 PSI. A standard passenger car at maybe 2 tons, has a ground pressure of 30 psi. A stilleto heel has a ground pressure of about 471 psi.

The area used to support a M1 Abrams tank is measured in meters, the area used to support a passenger car is measured in centimetres, and the area used to support a stilleto heel is measured in millimeters.

Ground pressure

The bigger the area used to hold it up the weight of a object from the ground, the lower the ground pressure. The lower the ground pressure, the softer the ground could be and still allow a heavy object to be supported.

 

Picture Credit : Google