Introduction
On the morning of 15 September 1916, the face of the battlefield changed forever. 90 years ago, during one of the bloodiest battles of World War One (1914-18), Britain unleashed a closely guarded secret weapon on an unsuspecting enemy.
It was a weapon that would, in time, change the nature of land warfare completely and replace the old shock arm of armies – the cavalry.
A British Mark IV tank during trials, 1917. NAM 1999-11-70-26
Stalemate
British troops in the trenches, c. 1916.
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By the end of 1914, after a brief mobile period, the Western Front had become a complex system of trench defences. Allied and German troops faced each other from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. The result of this was stalemate. Some way had to be found to break through the enemy defences, to ‘the green fields beyond’. The Germans used poison gas in an attempt to achieve this on 22 April 1915, despite the fact it was banned by the Hague Convention. Despite some early success, Allied countermeasures were developed. The Allies then began to use the weapon against its inventors.
Secret solution
The British began to consider a mechanical solution to trench warfare. Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Swinton of the Royal Engineers, believed an armoured vehicle could solve the problem, but initially received little interest from the War Office. The Admiralty, under its First Sea Lord, Winston Churchill, embraced the idea of ‘Land Ships’. The War Office was eventually persuaded and in January 1915, trials of ‘Land Cruisers’ and ‘Land Destroyers’ were undertaken at Shoeburyness. Despite some early failures, by August 1915 the Landships Committee had decided to continue the project.
Research and development
Tanks under construction. NAM 1966-05-49-51
In tandem with Fosters of Lincoln, Royal Naval Air Service engineers designed a prototype tracked vehicle. It was based on a wheeled tractor with American made tracks. The resulting machine was eventually named ‘Little Willie’, after Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany. It was not a total success and unable to meet all the Army's requirements. Other designs were developed, one being named His Majesties Landship ‘Centipede’.
Successful trial
British Mark II tanks, 1917.
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This used specially designed tracks and other features, including the familiar rhomboid shape. This design met War Office requirements, and following construction in January 1916, the new machine was tested at Lincoln under great secrecy on 19-20 January. Now known as ‘Mother’, the vehicle faced intensive trials over the coming months. The results were encouraging and on 12 February 1916, 100 were ordered by the Minister for Munitions, David Lloyd George.
Men and machines
Drawing of a tank by Lieutenant Richard Barrett Talbot Kelly, c1916.
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The men who would operate the new secret weapon we recruited from across the Army. They formed the Motor Machine Gun Service, part of the Machine Gun Corps. Later, on 1 May 1916, the tanks were renamed the Heavy Section, Machine Gun Corps. During spring 1916, the new force trained at Bisley and later Elveden in Suffolk, under the command of Swinton. By this time the tanks had developed into two broad types. The ‘Male’ was well armed with two 6 pounder guns, whist the ‘Female’ had Vickers machine guns instead.
