The tank

The tank was a British invention and a secret weapon until first used during the battle of the Somme in 1916. While the machine was being developed, the workers were told they were building water tanks to try and keep its real purpose a secret as long as possible. The name 'tank' stuck, though its early name had been Trench Crossing Machine. Its armour consisted of between 6 - 12 mm of steel plate and could resist bullets fired as close as ten metres.

The 'male' tanks carried two heavy guns and three machine guns and the 'female' tanks just four machine guns for clearing trenches. They were over nine metres long and nearly two and a half metres high. They travelled, on a good road, at about seven kilometres an hour (4 mph) and just one kilometre an hour over a battlefield. 49 tanks were used for the first time in September 1916. The Germans had never seen these steel monsters before. Their bullets could not stop them and wherever the tanks reached the German lines, they were very successful.

Of the 49 tanks used, 32 reached their starting points on the British lines - the rest broke down even before they got there. Of the 32 tanks which began the battle, 18 successfully attacked the German positions, 5 got stuck and 9 more broke down. Bullets, striking the outside, caused sharp steel splinters to break away inside the tank. Later on, the crew of eight wore chain mail masks as protection from the splinters. One of those who helped develop the tank was asked what was the use of them. He replied, "What use is a baby?"

In the big Allied offensive of August 1918, 430 tanks were used. During the first day the Allied troops advanced eight miles against the Germans - more than they had managed during the five months of fighting in the battle of the Somme in 1916. The price was high. After just three days (8 - 10 August 1918) only 85 tanks remained and this number fell to just 6 by 12 August. Mechanical breakdown and German artillery had claimed the rest. Nonetheless, from now on the German army was on the retreat and victory - 11 November - was in sight.

Neil Demarco: Britain and the Great War; Oxford University Press, 1992/2000, page 22