Figure 1.--The French were impressed with the British tanks and developed tanks if their own. They would ultimately produce the largest number during the War. As with the British, the French impetus to build tanks resulted from the heavy casualties on the Western Front and the desire to break through the German trench line. Here French tanks move toward the front in World War I, we believe in 1918.

The British pioneered a revolutionary new weapon in World War I--the tank. It was an entirely new weapons system. Nothing like it had ever appeared on the battlefield. It strongest proponent was none other than Winston Churchill. The Germans were not impressed with the tank at first and did not have the industrial capacity to produce them. The British developed the tank. The French produced the largest number. The Americans did not produce any tanks, but used British and French tanks. There were problems at first. Winston Churchill was a major proponent. The Battle of Cambrai (November 20-December 7, 1917) was the first tank against tank battle. The British tanks were so lightly armored on top that German machine guns in higher positions like roof tops or upper windows could use armor piercing rounds to penetrate the tank and blow the fuel tank or the ammo. Even a hand grenade exploding on the top could destroy the tank. The first tanks also got stuck in the mud. The British worked on both tank design and tactics. In the final year of the War, the improved tank along with the American infantry delivered a knock out blow the Germans. The Allies broke through the German Siegfried Line on the Western Front and forced the Germans to request an armistice. The German people were shocked, having won the war in the East. The Germany Army unimpressed with the tank at first, finally realized their mistake at the end of the War. As a result, German military thinking in the inter-War era focused on the tank. It became a central component in Blitzkrieg. What the Germans did not fully appreciate in World War I was the importance of the truck and would launch the War without the capability of producing large numbers of trucks and still dependent on draft animals. America's industrial might was not a factor in the War, largely because The Germans asked for an armistice before American industry could be geared for War. The United States began to build the M1917 light tank, but the War ended before it could reach the AEF in France.

Trench Warfare

The Trench warfare which developed on the Western Front was a killing machine. After the Germans were stopped on the Marne, a vast trench system began to snake out from the Swiss border to the Channel. The lethality of weaponry meant that men had to go underground. Artillery, machine guns, and barbed wire made it impossible to achieve the sought after break through. The trenches were built in depth. And attacking forces would be bogged down giving defenders in rear areas the time to amass defenses. Movement in rear areas was faster than attackers could manage as they attempted to push through the trench defenses and inevitable mud. The War bogged down and consumed men in unbelievable numbers.

The Trench Problem

The combatants set out to develop weaponry to break through the trenches. The German answer was poison gas. It added to the misery of the trenches, but there was no break through. The Allies quickly developed poison gas weapons of their own. The British answer was the tank. It proved able to resist machine gun fire, open holes in barbed wire defenses, and cross trenches. Barbed wire was a critical component of the trench defenses. It slowed down infantry assaults, giving time for machine gun fire to decimate attackers emerging from the trenches. The tanks proved able to drag barbed wire away from defensive positions using grappling hooks. They also could flatten areas covered with wire so that soldiers were not slowed down. The tanks also provided cover for the advancing infantry as well as moving needed heavy weapons forward, weapons that the infantry could not carry.

Design

The World War I British tanks look very strange to modern viewers. There were no gun turrets at he top. This was because they were designed to help infantry break through and drive over trenches. The armor shielded men as they crossed no-man's land between the opposing trenches. He cannon were set low on sponsons at the side, giving them the ability to fire into the trench that they were assaulting. In addition an anti-ditching device was needed at the top to help prevent them from getting stuck in he trenches that they were crossing. Turrets were too advanced for World War I and in fact were an issue even in World War II. The turret was important, but greatly complicated tank design.

Performance

The first use of tanks was not impressive. They were mechanically unreliable and difficult to maneuver over the all consuming mud and and uneven ground of the Western Front. Conditions inside the tanks was nearly unbearable. The tankers had to endure hot and cramped, fume filled interiors. The Allies used tanks on a small scale to limited effect. The Battle of Cambrai (November 20-December 7, 1917) was the first major battle where large numbers of tanks were committed. British tanks broke through the German lines, but the British were as surprised as the Germans. As a result. the British did not have a substantial force assembled to exploit the breakthrough. The slow sped of hanks as also am sue. But Cambrai showed that when deployed in numbers and on suitable ground that tanks could make a real difference. The British tanks were so lightly armored on top that German machine guns in higher positions like roof tops or upper windows could use armor piercing rounds to penetrate the tank and blow the fuel tank or the ammo. Even a hand grenade exploding on the top could destroy the tank. The first tanks also got stuck in the mud. The British, however, over some initial opposition recognized the potential. The Germans took the opposite lesson and dismissed the tank's potential during the War. An issue here was that the Germans did not have he spare industrial capacity to develop innovative new weapon systems. (The same problem ha limited in he air.) The British worked on both tank design and tactics. In the final year of the War, the improved tank along with the American infantry delivered a knock out blow to the Germans. The tank played an importan role in he Allied victory. Over 600 Allied tanks supported the war-winning Allied Hundred Day offensive on the Western Front (August 1918). The Allies broke through the German Siegfried Line on the Western Front and forced the Germans to request an armistice. The German people were shocked, having won the war in the East, most believed that Germany were winning the War.

Country Trends

The British pioneered a revolutionary new weapon in World War I--the tank. It was an entirely new weapons system. Nothing like it had ever appeared on the battlefield. The history of the tank began in World War I when the British introduced the first armored all-terrain fighting vehicles (1915). They were rushed into production in response to the horrors and unprecedented blood letting on the Western Front. It initiated the modern era era of mechanized warfare. The French were impressed with the idea and began working on their own versions. The first models were unreliable, getting stuck in the mud and breaking down (1916). Even so they did make advances into the German lines before breaking down. The Germans did not take the threat seriously because of the poor initial performance. The British and French in contrast set out to improve the early designs. As a result, the Allies had several thousand tanks with much improved performance, something the Germans had not anticipated. They would play an important role in the war-winning Hundred Days Campaign (1918). By the end of the War the Germans were impressed, too late for World War I, but when Hitler and Stalin launched World War II, they were ready, not so much with advanced tanks, but with refined armored tactics. What the Germans did not take away from World War I was the importance of trucks in exploiting armored breakthroughs. While the Americans used British and French tanks in World War I, the huge American automobile industry provided the AEF and the Allies large numbers of trucks.

World War II

Not fully appreciated in the inter-War era was the importance of a new weapon--the tank. The tank was a British creation and helped crack open the German defensive lines. It was not a very glamerous weapon at the time. It was slow and ungainly. The Germans never succeeded in building an effective tank in World War I. They were, however, on the receiving end of the British tank and were more aware than anyone that this was a weapon of the future. The horrors of trench warfare caused military planners to focus on new weapons to restore mobility and to avoid a future war resulting in mass losses of foot soldiers. While it was the Allies that developed tanks, it was the Germans, however, that after the War gave the greatest attention to developing new weapons. The Germans signed the Rapollo Treaty (1922) with the Soviet Union that allowed them to evade the Versailles Peace Treaty and work with the Soviets on tanks and tank tactics in Russia. Hitler was impressed with General Guederian and gave considerable emphasis on armor in the NAZI rearmament campaign. One of the several benefits of seizing Czechoslovakia (March 1939) was control of the Skoda arms complex. The Germans when they began the War did not have a huge superiority in tanks, rather it was their tactics that made a difference in the battle for France (May-June 1940). There are three basic elements to tank design: 1) armor (protection), 2) firepower, and 3) mobility/speed. Maximizing one element will impair the others. Military experts debate what the best tanks of the War were. Here it is sometimes lost on experts that you can not just compare the characteristics of each tank. Some of the German tanks were very effective indeed. They also tend to be complicated and difficult to build on an assembly line in large numbers. They also tended to be more difficult to maintain in the field. The American Sherman was deficient in firing power and armor, but was highly maneuverable, easy to build, and maintain. It had the advantage of Allied air power for support. Many experts believe that the T-34 was the most effective combination of gun, speed, and armor. It shocked the Germans when they first encountered it. The German Panther was the German response. The Panther was also an extremely effective tank. The Soviet T-34, however, was much easier to build and maintain in the field. And the Soviet built it in numbers the Germans could only dream about. A major development in the later phase of the war was the development of light anti-tank weapons like the bazooka and Panzefaust that gave the infantryman the capability of stopping tanks. Tanks needed protective infantry which tended to slow them down.

Created: 10:33 PM 8/30/2018
Last updated: 4:01 PM 11/23/2021