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Tanks In World War I

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Good morning Ladies and Gentleman, did you know that the first form of weaponry tanks did not exceed a speed of 6.5km/h? (WWIFacts, 2014) In World War I, also known as the ‘Great War’, which began in August 1914, was one of the first wars to use tanks in the field of battle. Although, it was not the very first time in which tanks were used, it was still the first ever global conflict, therefore being the first ‘major’ war to make use of the new technological military weapons (BBC, 2014).
This Great War was the result of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand whom was the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne. Before this assassination there had been increased tension between allied forces in the European Empire due to quarrelling over …show more content…

Several weapons such as the machine gun and chemical gas were created but the development of tanks had been occurring since their time of invention in the 18th century (History Learning Site,2000). The idea of the tank had been derived from numerous farming, steam powered machines that were able to with ease, cross difficult terrain on caterpillar tracks. The first form of tank created to make use of these caterpillar tracks was the ‘Little Willie’ which later evolved into the ‘Big Willie’. This tank was one of the first to be used in battle (First World War, 2009). Although, before the 20th century and the sparking of WWI, tanks had never been used in warfare. This was because the tank had not been developed enough yet to be helpful in a field of battle. It was not until the 20th Century that tanks were given more speed and enhanced camouflaging that made them an asset to the soldiers in the military. These new and improved tanks appeared for the first time in the Battle of Flers in Courcelette, in September 1916. 49 of these tanks were sent into battle that day, by the British (First World War, 2009). Although these tanks were unable to exceed speeds of 6.5km/h, and were quite unreliable, they were still considered as an important development in technology in modern warfare and significantly impacted the outcome of WWI …show more content…

Before the tanks were introduced there was an increased need to find a weapon that could break this lack of mobility. After much frustration, they finally settled on the tank (First World War, 2009). Winston Churchill, a British politician, proposed the idea of the tank to the British Army. Unfortunately, they did not agree and Winston was forced to exceed the guidelines of his authority and proceed independently along with just the NAVY. Eventually, with the increasing need for mobility, the idea was acknowledged and plans for tank warfare had begun. Although, this new weapon had underwent several secret testings before it was formally brought into the field of battle, by the British, it was still not incredibly reliable, many even believed that it was not worth the effort. “pretty mechanical toy but very limited military value.” (Lord Kitchener, 1900’s) Furthermore, the tank’s testers also did not account for the fact that the tanks were so heavy and the ground so muddy. Therefore, the first 14 tanks released into battle were bogged and broke down. Despite this fact, a new era in warfare had begun (Military Factory,

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