I just read that the Brits fielded almost 500 Mark IV tanks during the battle of Cambrai in 1917 - i honestly had no idea that tanks were used so widely in WW1, the Germans never built more than 20 tanks during the entire war.What were anti tank methods like during this period? What did the Germans do, when dozens or even hundreds of British tanks approached their lines?
>>65224979There's something 'off' with this image
>>65224979Wide ditches and trenches so the tanks couldn't easily cross over, that was a big one. There's a reason why late-war prototype models had significant length extensions.
>>65225000Why didn't they do this more with WWII tanks, which had significantly lesser trench-crossing capabilities? Most of the Panzer Is and IIs would had been ditched rather handily if Belgium had done the bare minimum to fortify their border.
>>65225003They had significantly more powerful engines and better track design, so they could just climb out.
>>65224979>What were anti tank methods like during this period? What did the Germans do, when dozens or even hundreds of British tanks approached their lines?Armor piercing rounds were developed (like the K bullet), then anti-tank rifles once tanks started to be up-armored to defeat those
>>65224979>armour-piercing bullets (only worked on the earlier models)>AT mines (susceptible to wet conditions, not terribly reliable even when it was dry)>direct firing field artillery (very effective, but the pieces were too heavy to redeploy effectively)
>>65225114>direct firing field artillery, very effectiveDeborah at The Cambrai Tank 1917 MuseumShell entry point around the left side sponson
>>65225273Shell exit point right sideOf the seven crew three survived
>>65225003>Why didn't they do this more with WWII tanksanti-tank ditches were still effective in WW2however, with some exceptions (e.g. Siegfried Line, Gothic Line, El Alamein) WW2 was more fat-paced than WW1, so field fortifications were far less elaborate than in WW1>>65225273>seems pretty intact>>65225275>holy fuck
>>65225273What is that flag in the back? Green-red-brown? Never seen that one before
>>65227798Tank regiment. Through the mud and blood to the green fields beyond or words to that effect.
>>65225003Any fortification the Belgians made, they would have had to manned, otherwise your tank ditch is just going to be covered over by combat engineers if no one is there to defend it.
>>65228085Fascines make light work of trenches.
>>65227808>Through the mud and blood to the green fields beyondexactly right>>65227798brown red green to be prercisehttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Tank_Regiment_(tactical_recognition_flash).PNG
>>65224986Here's the original. Both this and OP's are from wikipedia, OP's was retouched in 2008 according to the file log.
Weird thing I just learned on wikipedia; The germans in WWI fielded more british tanks (35~ captured Mark IVs) than domestic ones
>>65228901the anti-Bolshevik white russians had around 74 mark tanks during the russian civil war
>>65224979>i honestly had no idea that tanks were used so widely in WW1When the war ended, the French had manufactured around 3000 Renault FTThe little guy was ubiquitous on the battlefield, and played a leading role in the offensives of 1918, to the point it was nicknamed the "Victory Tank"Tanks in WW1 had a lot of flaws, but they definitely played a big part in the final Allied victory
>>65224979>What did the Germans do, when dozens or even hundreds of British tanks approached their lines?Shoot them with light artillery pieces, worked pretty well.> the Germans never built more than 20 tanks during the entire war.Funfact: Tank designs were presented years earlier already in Germany, but people thought the war would be over way before they'd be relevant.
>>65224979I love WW1 tanksI love new weapon prototypes in general, like early machine guns and ironclads. Peopl didn't know what they're supposed to look like, so they try out all sorts of different things, and you end up with all kinds of unique, sometime wacky designs
I recently went to the tank museum in Saumur, France (awesome place). They have the last surviving Schneider and Saint-Chamond tanks
>>65229013
>>65229013>>65229014They paraded in the Bastille Day parade of 2017, for the 100th anniversary of the first use of French tanks in combat
>>65229014I love the Saint-Chamond, it was nice to see it in the newest All Quiet on Western Front moviehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3ILZI3ZCpQ
I'd love to read first hand accounts of soldiers, Allied or German, encountering tanks for the first timeFacing those things must've been terrifying for a lot of them
>>65225275You had to have balls of steel to get into those machines. Even without enemy fire, it was extremely uncomfortable inside with the smoke, heat and crowded spaceThat said, I guess being surrounded by metal had to give at least a sense of security compared to the infantry
>>65224979>the Brits fielded almost 500 Mark IV tanks during the battle of CambraiIt must have been a sight to behold
