WWI was a battlefield that brought with it a loss of life, but it also brought about the use of many great inventions. The aircraft carrier, guide dogs, and blood banks were all made during this time. But one of the most important inventions, towering over all, was the tank. Tanks were created to stop trench warfare and the tens of thousands of deaths that it resulted in during this time. The British were first to build a tank as a solution to get past the trench warfare battle strategy. When the tank was developed, they also needed to develop  strategies to use them.The creation of tanks during WWI changed the battlefield forever, ending trench warfare and bringing on greater mobility with new strategies for battle.

The bloody battles of WWI created trench warfare, and it was this terrible fighting that caused the need to create the tank as a solution. The trench-warfare battle-strategy was where troops dug out trenches and hid inside the trenches with guns. The troops would line the trenches with barbed wire and put this wire in front of the trenches to slow the enemy down. Trench warefare would make the enemy an easier target to shoot at. Trench warfare allowed the dug-in troops to keep their position and the enemy could not expand their territory.

The British began thinking of an idea, a land machine, to end this miserable trench warfare. The British knew that Hannibal had elephants that his army rode on, Leonardo Da Vinci drew sketches of a battle machine, and H.G. Wells even wrote about a machine that could be used on land in war. Yet it had never been done, but that was soon to change. The British began a secret weapons program called “water carriers.” The British pretended that they were creating these machines as a way to transfer water to their troops out in the battlefield. This is how the tanks got their name. These so-called water tanks were soon shown for their real purpose to battle and get across the 430 miles of trenches and barbed wire that now separated Belgium and France. These 430 miles of separation caused 2 years of ongoing battles that led to deaths totaling over 300,000.

The development of tanks came about quickly once they were first tested, and their power could be seen. In 1915, through the British secret weapons program, 49 tanks were made. These tanks were known as the Mark I. These new machines needed an 8 person crew, they had four machine guns, and they ran on tracks that included back wheels. The problem was that they were very unreliable and often broke down. But in 1916, General Hage decided to give the tanks a try anyway, and he used three tanks in the battle at Delville Wood. In this battle the first tank broke down within minutes, the second tank got stuck, but the third one got through and borke a hole in the German line. When they broke a hole in the German line it allowed the British to take Delville wood. Although this wasn’t a huge victory.It let General Hage know that he wanted to use this new machine more.

Soon tanks were being relied upon by the British, and the development of tanks both in number and capability quickly expanded. General Hage decided to use the tanks in a first mass use at the Battle of the Somme River. This battle was in September of 1916, and General Hage used nearly 50 tanks, but only 9 of the tanks made it to the battle line. That was enough because the tanks cleared the line and allowed for the British infantry to advance 200,000 troops along a 7-mile path. After this great victory, Hage ordered 1,000 tanks to be made. In April 1917, the very first surprise attack with tanks occurred. The surprise attack was sort of an accident because the attack had been scheduled for two hours later that day. The tank drivers didn’t get the news about the rescheduling, so they went ahead and attacked. They didn’t hear the barrage of gunfire, but they went on ahead. They got over the trenches and took out the German base. Unfortunately the troops didn’t get to celebrate their victory because when they looked back, they saw Germans returning to their posts. They went back, but this time their attack was unsuccessful. Although this failed, the attack showed the benefits of surprise attacks. Later that year, another mass attack occurred in an attempt to take back the city of Cambri. In that battle the British lose 179 tanks but still won the city back. The reason the British lost so many tanks was that the Germans had developed field guns that could take out tanks really well. It seemed that the British would win with their tanks, but the Germans decided to fight fire with fire or, in this case, tank with tank. This tank v.s. tank occurred in April 1918. The Germans had developed the A7V tank. It had a crew of 18-23 and had 1 main gun and 6 machine guns. Although the British won this battle, there were a few more to come. But finally,7 months later, the war was over.

The many military advances in this time happened during World War l.  The invention and use of tanks ended the horrible practice of trench warfare.Tanks helped with increasing mobility in warfare. They boosted the speed and reactions in the war. Tanks continue to develop and improve to this very day.