GENESIS, EMPLOYMENT, AFTERMATH: First World War Tanks and the New Warfare 1900-1945

1-243050

Collection of essays reconsiders the history of WWI tanks by widening the historical perspective beyond Britain to include France and Germany and by reflecting on the pre-1914 and post-1918 history of tanks. The employment of the first tanks by the British Army on the Western Front in September 1916, although symbolic rather than decisive in its effects, ushered in a new form of warfare - tank warfare. Includes 10 b/w photos, 10 maps, and diagrams.

Based on painstaking research in archives across Europe, each of the chapters sheds new light on different aspects of the history of First World tanks. Two chapters consider why the Germans failed to recognize the possibilities of the tank and why they were so slow to develop their own machines after the first British tank attack in 1916. Two other chapters chart the history of French tanks on the Western Front and after the end of the war.

Tank communication, the employment of British tanks on the Western Front, as well as the activities of British Tank Corps intelligence, are also explained. The use of British tanks in Palestine and in the Russian Civil War is examined in detail for the first time. The volume also reflects on the impact of the Battle of Cambrai, both in terms of its psychological impact in Britain and the power it exerted over military debates until the end of the WWII.