The Evolution of Tanks in World War One The allies saw the futility of the stalemate on the western front and had been coming to the realization that simply advancing soldiers into no-man’s land by foot was a surefire way to lose a great number of casualties to the German’s machine guns and artillery fire. A new way to break the stalemate was needed, thus the tank was invented. Initially, tanks were seen as an invention with the potential to help aid infantry by clearing a path into no-man’s land. At first, tanks were slow and unable to function desirably. As the war progressed and technology improved, they became much more effective. Tanks were a new innovation of war that helped make the much-needed push through enemy lines to ensure victory. …show more content…
After many failed experiments and designs, they constructed the first completed tank prototype in history, nicknamed “Little Willie”. (See Fig. 1)(The Tank Museum, 2013) Little Willie never saw combat but it was an important invention nonetheless because it sparked the creation of newer and more efficient tanks that would surpass it in the future. One of the most significant tanks created using Little Willie’s design was the Mark I. (See Fig. 2) The Mark I was first used in September 15, 1916 as part of the Battle of the Somme. (History.com Staff, n.d.) Theoretically, it would be capable of surviving machine gun fire as well as being able to move in difficult terrain, cross trenches, and crush barbed wire. When these new weapons were first used in combat, they took many soldiers by surprise. As three Mark Is were deployed for combat, Bert Chaney, a nineteen-year-old signal officer described the tanks as, “three huge mechanical monsters such as we had never seen before." (Simkin, 1997) While the tanks were impressive at first glance, they were found to be too slow and they would often have mechanical problems. Because of this, many British people doubted tanks and their usefulness on the battlefield. In fact, a senior