An improved version, the Mark IV, came into service in 1917.īut both the Mark I and Mark IV were cumbersome and unwieldy, their rhomboid shape designed to allow the tracks to crush barbed wire beneath them rather than for speed or manoeuvrability. The British constantly updated this basic design, seeking to turn it into a ‘wonder weapon’. And while they were armed with cannons and machine guns, these were arranged on their sides, meaning the whole vehicle had to be moved to bring them to bear. Their slow speed made them relatively easy targets for artillery. Engine fumes and flammable materials could turn them into a death-trap in an instant. They were dark, noisy, furiously hot and cramped. The British had rushed it into service before engineers had ironed out teething problems, and many of the tanks broke down due to mechanical issues. The war on the Western Front had been characterised by sudden offensives, as one side tried to break through the other’s lines with massive artillery bombardments followed by tens of thousands of men attacking via no-man’s land.īut the Mark I had its limitations. Since the end of 1914, the German and Anglo-French armies had faced each other across trench networks in virtual stalemate.
They helped turn the tide on the Western Front, but this did not happen overnight. Bringing the USSR’s ‘flying tank’ back to life.The strange tanks that helped win D-Day.The salvagers who bring World War Two tanks back from the dead.It is a modern myth that the arrival of the tank – a lumbering vehicle bristling with guns – helped end World War One in a matter of weeks. The tiny FT is a paradigm of far-sighted design.Īnd it owes its existence to an unlikely pairing: a pragmatic artillery officer and one of France’s most renowned carmakers. The tanks only stop advancing because the accompanying infantry cannot keep up with them.Īt the site of this action, a century later, there is now a plaque, commemorating the first use of what is arguably the ancestor of every modern tank. The 30 tanks rushed to this battle help to push the Germans back.
There is only room for two people inside them.īut they are remarkably effective. Compared to the giant, lumbering British tanks that have been used with mixed results for the past 18 months, these are tiny. The German Empire faces starvation and defeat.Īs the French units at Retz try to resist the onslaught, they are joined by reinforcements. Those back at home are suffering shortages of fuel and food.
It is the last year of World War One, and the Germans are desperately trying to beat the Western Allies.Ī British blockade is crippling the German economy. On, the German army launches a sudden attack near the Forest of Retz near Ploisy in the north-east of France.
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