|
Prior
to WWI, many countries experimented with the idea of combining the
combustion engine and armor to add mobility and firepower to the infantry.
Primarily envisioned as an infantry support vehicle, this machine would
help the infantry move across the battlefield. Machine-guns or canon
attached to an armored bed, would give the infantry much needed fire
support. WWI made this concept a necessity, as the infantry was now behind
trenches, unable to move across no-man’s land due to concentrated
machine gun fire. If the infantry did make it to the enemy trench, they
were then caught in barbed wire and at the enemy’s mercy. The envisioned
armored vehicle would be able to move across the battlefield, break
through enemy barbed wire, and cross the trench line. While this was a
wonderful concept, one problem remained: how to propel this mass of metal
across the muddy fields of no mans' land.
In
1914, a British Colonel, E. D. Swinton pondered this
question and came up with a solution: put this armored vehicle on an
American Caterpillar Tractor. The tractor’s track would be able to move
the vehicle, allow it to climb the trench line, turn, and go forward and
backward. The idea was proposed to the British Secretary of War, Lord
Kitchner, who refused to build the machine. Swinton then took the proposal
to the Navy where the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill,
agreed that it should be tested.
Two
vehicles were built, a “land cruiser” and a “land destroyer.”
After much consultation, it was decided that these tanks could be the
weapon to break through the enemy lines. The name tank originated as a
code word so eavesdropping Germans would not know what was being made.
When the first vehicles were shipped to France, their containers were
labeled “water tanks.”
 By
August 1915 the first tank prototype—“Little Willie”— was
produced. Unarmed, it weighed eighteen tons, was top heavy and had a low
ground clearance. More importantly, it could not cross an eight-foot gap—the
width of a trench, which was one of its major requirements. It was soon
discarded. The second prototype was called “Big Willie” or “Mother,”
which changed from the box shape of “Little Willie,” to the now
familiar lozenge-shaped vehicle. By 1916, testing on this armored vehicle
was complete and considered so successful that an initial order for one
hundred tanks was placed.
Redesignated
the Mark I, this model was the first to see action. Although production as
slow, fifty were shipped to France. In 1916 during the First Battle of the
Somme, on September 15, 1916, the Mark I made its debut. Highly vulnerable
to mechanical breakdowns, fourteen tanks never made it to the starting
point and as the day progressed most of the tanks were crippled due to
mechanical failures, unsuitable ground and artillery fire. While this
initial attack was unsuccessful, the potential of the tank was realized.
 The
British continued to improve tank designs with the Mark II, Mark III and
the Mark IV. The Mark III was equipped with thicker armor to counter
Germany’s development of armor-piercing bullets. On November 20, 1917, a
force of 400 Mark IV’s made the first all tank assault of World War I
during the Battle of Cambrai. It was the war’s most successful
attack and showed the benefits of massing armored vehicles in a
concentrated attack.
Although
it had a decisive edge on the battlefield, inside the tank was a living
hell. The temperature often rose above ninety degrees, and even hotter in
the summer. Engine noise was incredible and all communication was done by
hand signals, which were often obscured by smoke and fumes from the open
engine compartment. Trying to fire the machine-guns or working the
track/gear/brake mechanism was an experience as the crew had to dodge
moving engine parts, or lubricating them while the tank was moving.
Additionally, protective clothing that tankers wore added to the level of
discomfort as heavy helmets, leather caps, goggles and metal face
protectors added to the heat, weight and discomfort of the drive. After
the ride many crew members complained of disorientation, nausea, fatigue,
burns from the hot engine and headaches. When it was all over, it took an
average crew forty-eight hours to recover from a six hour drive.
 The
German response to the Cambrai assault was to develop its own armored
program. Soon the massive A7V appeared. The A7V was a monster, weighing 30
tons with a crew of eighteen. By the end of the war, only fifteen had been
built. Although other tanks were on the drawing board, material shortages
limited the German tank corps to these A7V’s and some captured Mark IV’s.
The A7V would be involved in the first tank versus tank battle of the war
on April 24, 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux -- a battle in which there was no
clear winner.
 Meanwhile,
the British and French continued building new armor. The British “Whippet”
(or Medium A) and the French Renault FT-17 were new light tanks. The
British continued building heavy tanks as well, including the Mark
V, Mark VI, Mark VII and a joint U.S.-British project on the Mark VIII or
“International.” The U.S. accepted an order to build 1,200 Renault
FT-17 light tanks, and the Ford Motor Company agreed to develop a two-man
light tank for the U.S. Army. Although 15,000 were ordered, only fifteen
were built due to the ending of the war.
Compared
to other weaponry, the tank was the fastest developing weapon system in
warfare. From a non-existent beginning, the tank went from concept to the
decisive edge in WWI. In years following, American engineering perfected
the tank into what it is today, a high-tech, super mobile and deadly war
machine.
A7V
tank photo Greg Crockett Collection
All other photos U.S. Army
|
