Tank Development In Great Britain In The 20th Century

Lieutenant Colonel Ernest D. Swinton of the British Expeditionary Force or B.E.F., envisioned using "Armoured Machine Gun Destroyers," later known as tanks, to break the stalemate of trench warfare. Swinton gained backing from some officials in Britain, but he faced many challenges and setbacks in the early development phases of the tank. Swinton met with Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defense, Colonel Maurice Hankey to discuss his idea of developing an armored vehicle. Hankey wrote the Boxing Day Memorandum which concluded that German defenses could not be breached without new solutions including the tank.

Tank Development Gets Official Support

In the early stages, the Engineer in Chief of the B.E.F. showed little interest in the tank idea. The concept of the tank did impress Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. Secretary of State for War and Minister of Munitions, Lloyd George was "much interested to see the development of the New Arm (tanks)...." Hankey's proposals in the Boxing Day Memorandum resulted the creation of the Landships Committee of the Admiralty to develop the tank. On August 28, 1915, coordinated tank development shifted between the Army and Navy.

Disagreements on Tank Deployment and Tank Warfare

The "New Arm" as it became known, developed rapidly. By September 1915, the New Arm began testing tanks and preparing them for action. Swinton argued that tanks should be used as an element of surprise attack. Wherever possible, individual tanks should target specific machine gun nests, drawing enemy fire away from advancing infantry. British artillery should be concentrated on enemy artillery, since this posed the greatest threat to the tank.

In 1915, little opposition remained to the tank idea, both successive commanders of the B.E.F. and the French Army showed eagerness to use the new weapon. Following the Battle of the Somme, which the British suffered great casualties with no success, Commander in Chief of the B.E.F. Sir DouglasHaig wanted tanks deployed immediately before all of them were ready for combat. Swinton regarded the order as "the throwing away of a chance of effecting something really big."

Lack of Support From the Trenches and Misuse on the Home Front

Unfortunately for Swinton, his difficulties extended beyond premature deployment. Many among the officer ranks, especially those at the Western Front showed little enthusiasm for the tank. Swinton complained, "much of the ignorance in regard to its (the tank) capabilities and limitations existed amongst the senior officers."

On the eve of battlefield deployment, Swinton viewed with disgust the many "shows" officers demanded of tank demonstrations. Among many officers, the antics of the tanks provided amusement and many spectators did not take the exercises seriously. Swinton complained that the exercises looked more like a "circus" and that "some of the machines were asked to force their way through wood and knock down trees - tricks which they had not been designed to play and which they were likely to damage them seriously." In addition to the almost continuous work of repairing, cleaning, and tuning up their tanks, the tank crews barely had time to eat, sleep, and maintain themselves.

The First Tank Deployment Against German Trenches

In spite of the difficulties experienced by Swinton and others involved in the project, on September 15, 1916, the tanks deployed on the Somme for offensive combat for the first time in history. Seeing this mobile weapon for the first time, many Germans fled their trenches in fear and were captured by advancing infantry. The tanks succeeded in flattening barbed-wire and destroying many machine-gun positions. Overall, the tanks inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans, while other tanks cleared up strong points.

The first tank deployments did not achieve a major breakthrough however. Historian M.C. Mitchell noted that "their machines were made for use over dry and fairly firm ground, and on the Somme they had been obliged to cross an area pitted with craters and full of loose and crumbling soil..." and "the breakdowns were due to faulty designs and the unexpected wear and tear of rollers and sprockets."

Swinton anticipated such problems for a new weapon tested in combat for the first time. The early deployments of the tank did succeed in proving their possibilities . The tanks did crush barbed-wire and destroyed machine-gun nests in spite of being used on unsuitable ground. The future development of the tank was assured when Commander Haig ordered one thousand more tanks to be constructed.