Birth of the TANK - Armoured Warfare In WWI

The Tank was born of the uniquely brutal battlefield conditions of World War One.

This video looks at the different tanks developed during the Great War, examines how they were used and assesses how they performed.

With a focus on the British Commonwealth, French, US and German armies, this is the story of the evolution of the tank in World War One.

00:00 | Intro
01:17 | The Beginnings of WWI
02:13 | The Solution to Trench Warfare
03:47 | Initial Ideas
05:42 | How to Cross a Trench
08:08 | How Effective was the Tank?
15:40 | Battlefield Upgrades
17:09 | New Designs
24:32 | Conclusion

This video features archive footage courtesy of British Pathé.

#tankmuseum #evolution #tank #tanks #ww1 #technology

[thetankmuseum]

Hello Tank Nuts! Let us know what you thought of our latest video.

[Novous]

Can we just appreciate for a moment how YouTube channels are giving us 1000x the quality of content that History Channel ever did?

[Musketeer]

Another interesting and high quality video. Thanks.

[davidpope]

My paternal grandfather started off in the cavalry and ended up in the Tank Corps in WW1. Unfortunately his military records were lost in the Blitz in WW2 but I do know he was in a Mark IV ~ probably a Female version ~ when his tank was destroyed by a German field gun, possibly 7.7cm. The warhead detonated in the engine and he was covered in burning engine oil and fuel. He later named his house Morlancourt and I’m not sure if it was because there was a tankodrome there that he might have been based at or whether he was in an action nearby there.
He passed away in 1967 and although I was only 7 then I can remember the burn scars. I always regret that he didn’t live longer so I could really talk to him about his experiences. Those early tankers were real trailblazers, working in pretty horrendous conditions. I have the greatest respect for them all.

[ITFNBiteBayKon]

Great video again.

I've been in Guy Martin's Mk IV. My old man took me out for the day, and where it was being kept in Norfolk was just up the road from where he lives. It was an insane piece of machinery.

[chrisj]

This was excellent. Thank you Tank Museum. 👍

[Green-Mountainboy]

Outstanding video! Even my roommate who has zero interest in this type of content watched and really liked it.

[donpfoutz]

Excellent presentation! Thank you for posting such a clear presentation. I would like to see more of the experimentals especially from this era.

[jmc]

Great vid. Would love to see the inter war years as well as WW2 in this format

[fatherglyn]

excellent video. Really interesting looking at the contrasting developments and well presented. Thank you.

[philo]

Splendid to see this more in depth coverage of the Great War armored vehicles and the genesis of tank warfare. Looking forward to visiting the American Heritage Museum Trench Warfare Exhibit, along with the restored M1917, our first mass produced tank based on the Renault FT. Another outstanding video production, kudos to Tank Museum staff, keep 'em coming and thanks very much!

[petestorz]

That the FT was very forward-looking is shown by it seeing some service in WW2, and the Japanese Type 95 light tank being an improved FT-17.

[andrewclayton]

That was good. You covered all the salient points. These early tanks are quite fascinating. A bit like early naval ironclads, they didn't know how they were going to develop, , an they were feeling their way. In a longer video you could have mentioned some of the funnies they came up with. Troop and stores carriers, radio tanks, gun carriers. Good video though.

[darrenjosephgregory]

I'm guessing there is still no heating in The Great War exhibition as Chris has donned a warm coat!

As usual another great video, looking forward to Tankfest 2024.

[cmotdibbler]

"It is very unstable and prone to fall over on rough ground, which is, to my way of thinking, not an ideal tank characteristic"

I nearly choked on my cup of tea!

[stevesmodelbuilds]

One thing missing here is the role of Winston Churchill in the development of the tank. Initially, the idea was rejected by the army, but Mr. Churchill provided financing for a 'land ship' through the Admiralty.

[RaspberryWhy]

This is a very impressive video. Well done The Tank Museum

[Trebor]

The park in waltham cross, England has a replica wwi tank in it. It's a replacement for an original wwi tank that was placed there after wwi to thank the town for raising funds for one. It was scrapped in wwii for the metal.

[johnlant]

Great production as usual. Copson again in good form!

[ollyhardy]

Great stuff, thanks to all who produced this