![]() ![]() By World War II, tank design had advanced significantly, and tanks were used in quantity in all land theatres of the war. Though initially crude and unreliable, tanks eventually became a mainstay of ground armies. The history of the tank begins with World War I, when armoured all-terrain fighting vehicles were introduced as a response to the problems of trench warfare, ushering in a new era of mechanized warfare. Soviet T-35, a five-turreted heavy tank of the 1930s Film of WWI-era French and British tanks ( September 2009) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. While modern weapons had helped create this problem, generals hoped that they would also assist the Army in fighting their way out of it.This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. This system was strengthened with fortifications, underground shelters and thick belts of barbed wire.įor commanders, the greatest tactical problem was to get troops safely across the fire-swept divide between the trenches to penetrate enemy defences. Communication trenches linked them all together. The front-line trenches were backed-up by second and third lines: 'support' and 'reserve' trenches. These early trenches were built quickly and tended to be simple affairs that offered little protection from the elements. Both sides dug in and a line of trenches soon ran from the Channel to the Swiss frontier. The First Battle of Ypres (20 October - 22 November 1914) marked the end of open and mobile warfare on the Western Front. ![]() The destructive power of modern artillery and machine guns forced soldiers to seek cover on the battlefield and dig in for protection. Weapons played a large part in creating the difficult and unusual circumstances of trench warfare which the British Army encountered during the First World War (1914-18). ![]()
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