Tanks and Tank Warfare | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1)

On September 15, 1916, the first use of tanks in warfare, occurred at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, during the Battle of the Somme. An excerpt from the article:

"Characteristics

The first tanks introduced in 1916 were generally slow and hard to maneuver, and they performed poorly in rugged terrain. The early models were heavily influenced by commercial tractors. While impervious to barbed wire, small arms, and shrapnel, their primitive armor was still susceptible to heavy machine gun fire and direct hits from high explosive artillery rounds. Most tanks typically had two versions: “male” tanks designed with artillery to attack fortified positions and “female” models armed with machine guns to target enemy infantry.

Development in Great Britain

The British developed the initial tank prototypes in near total secrecy after a proposal by Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Swinton (1868-1951), with the enthusiastic support of Winston Churchill (1874-1965), First Lord of the Admiralty. In February 1915, the government formed the Landships Committee, which consisted of military engineers and officers from the army and the Royal Navy Air Service, to review plans for new armored vehicles. The very first tank to be built in the world was the No. 1 Lincoln Machine which was designed by Sir William Tritton (1875-1946) and Lieutenant Walter Gordon Wilson (1874-1957). It was known as “Little Willie” and was designed and constructed between August and September of 1915. During the construction of “Little Willie”, Tritton and Wilson began work on another design capable of meeting new War Office requirements. The new machine, which was completed in January 1916, was the Mark I and it would be commonly referred to as “Big Willie” or “Mother”.

Battle of the Somme (1 July-18 November 1916)

Great Britain first introduced tanks to the battlefield at the Somme on 15 September 1916. Out of forty-nine total British Mark I tanks deployed to France, only thirty-one crossed the German lines, due to mechanical issues. Early tank warfare also suffered from inexperienced crews and a lack of doctrine regarding their integration with infantry. Nevertheless, the success of the tank in achieving total surprise and its potential to overcome trench warfare prompted the British High Command to order 1,000 more following the battle."