Tank Warfare in World War One

Lieut. Col. George S. Patton, Jr., 1st Tank Battalion, and a French Renault light tank, summer, 1918.  The Renault FT (FT-17) was the first tank with a fully rotating turret.

Source: World War I Signal Corps Photograph Collection.

Freedom’s Triumph Photo Courtesy of Indiana War Memorial

They were named Tanks because the British shipped their new secret weapon in crates marked “tanks” or water carriers, to disguise their true content.  The early tanks suffered engineering problems with the view slits being too thin to see adequately, a deafening noise from the 105 horsepower engine and excessive heat, and choking exhaust fumes.  They were too hot for a driver to operate safely and the fear was the heat might ignite the fuel.  They also had trouble with mud accumulating in their treads.  The early tanks were notoriously unreliable but had a stunning effect on the German Army.  The Germans soon discovered that armor-piercing bullets could penetrate the shell.

Little Willie, Britains first

"Land Boat"

Winston Churchill organized a Landship committee in response to the stalemate of trench warfare.  On September 6, 1915, the first prototype was produced by William Foster & Co.  She weighed 14 tons, moved at two miles an hour and got stuck in the trenches, but met the criteria of being an armored vehicle on conveyor-belt tracks.  The objective was to break through enemy lines, crush barbed wire, survive machine-gun fire and traverse difficult terrain.  She evolved into the Mark 1, the first tank to enter combat.

Two Man Tank

Front view of the two-man tank manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, Detroit, Michigan. Ford Motor Company

National Archives Photo

The first Tanks were used in WW1 by the British in 1916. They were developed from the early farm vehicles that used caterpillar tracks to traverse difficult terrain.  The trenches of WW1 made this adaptation ideal but it was a while before they were refined enough to be effective. 

The first tank was called “Little Willie”. It held 3 men and traveled at 3 mph but could not cross a trench wider than five feet.  Later versions of the tank weighed 28 tons, could hold ten men, travel at 4 mph, and carried a revolving turret. 

By 1918 they would carry a crew of 8 with 24 soldiers onboard.  Early crews were assigned from the British Navy and they adopted navel terms for their new equipment, “bulkheads”, “hull”, “hatch”, “fore” and “aft”.

The Mark 1 model was designated “male” with a Hotchkiss cannon or “female” with machine guns only.

Tanks crossing a bridge repaired by Co's A & B, 103rd Engineers

National Archive Photo 24724, Indiana War Memorial

"No tank is to be surrendered or abandoned to the enemy.  If you are left alone in the midst of the enemy keep shooting.  If your gun is disabled use your pistols and squash the enemy with your tracks…If your motor is stalled and your gun broken still the infantry cannot hurt you.  You hang on [and] help will come.  In any case remember you are the first American tanks. You must establish the fact that AMERICAN TANKS DO NOT SURRENDER"    

                                                                                                             Lt. Col. George S. Patton, commander 1st Tank Brigade

The America

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_tank

A Watery Grave

A landship out of its element – a “wounded” tank abandoned.

Freedom’s Triumph Courtesy of Indiana War Memorial Archives

The Mark A Whippet, a medium-size tank, produces by the British in 1918.  This version of the Mark series of tanks bears a striking resemblance to the French Renault which was used initially by the American troops.  It could reach a speed of over 8 mph, weighed in at 14 tons, and could cross 7’ trenches with a crew of four. The crew compartment was ventilated.  It was vulnerable to heavier tanks but engineered for a longer range and was effective for reconnaissance and doing damage to back lines. A 1918 Mark V British tank carried a crew of three, used a 360 HP Rolls Royce engine, carried four 0.303" Hotchkiss machine guns, and could travel at a top speed of 30mph.

Illustrations of the interior and exterior of the Whippet Tank

Freedom’s Triumph Photos courtesy of Indiana War Memorial Archives

                   German Tanks in WW1                                Tank Splatter Masks

Splatter masks used by tank crews in World War 1 to protect them from shrapnel when peering through the viewports.  The eye covers were metal and the actual mask was made of leather with only slits to cover the mouth.  They were also designed to protect from "spalling", the energy from the impact rounds was transferred and cause a shockwave that ripped fragments loose.  These fragments acted as shrapnel inside the tank compartment.

Muckleburgh Collection., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2222350

View of two American military photographers, Sgt. Morriss and Pvt. Persse of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, going into the battle lines on a British Army tank on a battlefield between Villeret and Bellicourt, France. Photograph was taken on September 29, 1918 (September 29, 1918)

Photograph by U.S. Army Signal Corps, #24533.

Soldiers Stories:

Ernest Frederick Kusener,

Lake County, Indiana  

Distinguished Service Cross:  Near Ronssoy, France: “After his tank had been put out of action and set on fire by a direct hit which killed four of his crew, Lieutenant Kusener, utterly disregarding his own personal danger, entered the blazing tank which was still being fired on, and dragged the remainder of the crew to safety.  Displaying exceptional coolness and bravery, he then carried two members of the crew, who had been seriously wounded to a dressing station, the two trips being made over ground swept by heavy machine-gun fire.”

Leonard Edward Bierhaus, Motor Transport Service,

Marion County, Indiana

“This unit, being composed of experienced and handpicked mechanics with the strength of 35 men, functioned as a mobile organization with divisions, corps, and armies.  Being a mobile organization, only enough equipment was carried to make repairs and quick adjustments to transportation such as motorcycles, trucks, staff cars, tanks, tractors, and their component parts.”

“The care in the field of the commanding officers of organizations of this kind must be taken into consideration at all times, as to hours of moving, places of operation, etc. as there was always danger due to the nature of operations in the field, from being sighted by the enemy.

“We only rank as 1st Lieutenants, still did the work and held the responsibilities of Captain, Col. and Commander.  We were alone in the midst of the fight, as the American Army used this kind of transportation more extensively than any other Army in the world. An organization of this kind proved to be an absolute necessity and indispensable acquisition to victory”.

The 301st Tank Corps shipped out to Le Havre, France on 24 Aug 1918. They sailed with their 46 or 47 (depending on which account you read) British Mark Vs and Mark V*s (the latter pronounced Mark V Star). The Mark V had a crew of eight, and could have had, either two six pound cannons (male), or 6 Hotchkiss machine guns (female).  The Mark V* was a Mark V cut in half, with a six foot mid-section added to give it a better chance of crossing the 3.5 meter trenches in the Hindenburg line.  It also was thought that it could carry 24 troops, but later it was discovered that due to the poisonous air inside the tank, the troops were in no condition to fight when they arrived at the front, so it carried supplies, if anything, after that. Their unit was then attached to the British 4th Tank Brigade for what was to be a short stint on the Western front.

During the next two months, the 301st had four engagements against the Germans, with varying degrees of success.  The first, against the vaunted Hindenburg Line near Le Catalet and St Quentin, on 29 Sept.  Each Company of the 301st (A, B, & C) was assigned to lead one of the 27th Division’s regiments (107th, 105th, & 108th). The simple scheme was to precede the infantry by about a hundred yards to clear wire obstacles, and destroy the German machine gun nests, and artillery emplacements.  Dad’s Company (C), with 15 tanks, was attached to the 107th infantry on the left, but due to the regimental commander’s refusal to leave on the new H hour (an hour earlier than the old H hour), and lack of prior training between the Doughboys and tanks, the tanks were 1,000 yards in front of the regiment. They encountered withering fire from German guns, and heavy smoke and fog.  The visibility was so bad that the tank commanders had to dismount, and walk in front of the tanks in the dark through the mud, wire entanglements, abandoned trenches, and shell holes, to guide their tanks.  Both the 301st and 27th received frightful casualties.  Sixteen tanks received direct hits, and only five of the original 40 tanks reached the Hindenburg Line, and none of them could get through those wide trenches. It’s estimated that the 107th lost 1,000 men.  The 301st lost 3 officers, and 17 enlisted men.  Fifteen officers, and 70 enlisted men were wounded, and seven enlisted men were missing.  An ominous beginning.

The second engagement was on 8 Oct 1918, supporting II American Corps, near Brancourt.  Due to heavy losses on 29 Sep, the 301st had only 23 tanks with no reserve.  Visibility was perfect, with the light breeze taking the battle smoke over the Germans.  They were bombed from the air, and received heavy shelling from the Germans, but eleven tanks reached their objective, four received direct hits and were destroyed; five had mechanical trouble; and three didn’t make it past the jump off point.  Relatively speaking, this battle was a success, with the objective being met by 1415 that afternoon.

The third was fought on 17 Oct 1918 from Le Haie Meneresse to Mazingbien.  The tank commanders were able to view the battle field prior to engagement, and made note of the best routes and river crossings.  Twenty five tanks were available.  In spite of the excellent planning, on the day of the battle the visibility was very poor, a light breeze now blowing the smoke over the Doughboys, and communication was even poorer.  By the time the visibility cleared, most tanks were lost and out of gas.  Of the 25 tanks that started, eight had mechanical trouble, two tanks ditched in the Selle River, a couple had direct hits, and one caught fire.  Only one tank reached the objective.  Now there were only twelve tanks serviceable.

The last battle was on 23 Oct 1918. The 301st was allotted to the IX British Corps. H hour was 0120, taking advantage of the full moon. They divided their tanks into three companies of four tanks each.  Early on the tanks could easily see the routes, and gunners could identify their targets.  Later, however, the Germans gassed them, and the use of the gas masks greatly limited visibility.  There were no losses this time, and all objectives were met.

The Armistice was signed 11 November 1918.  Dad sailed home on 28 February 1919 aboard the P. W. Wilson from Marseilles, was discharged on 9 April 1919, and went back to work his farm near Alert, Indiana.

Life in the Mark V was very unpleasant, the air contaminated from poorly ventilated gases of carbon monoxide and cordite fumes.  Loud beyond belief, with temperatures reaching 120 degrees.  The crews wore helmets, and masks of chain mail to protect them from pieces of metal and rivets knocked loose from shells hitting the external armor.  The tank, to be sure, had a fitful start as a weapon system, and like the rest of the U.S. Army was rapidly dismantled after the war.  The Tank Corps future was doubtful.

Dad never spoke a word to me about any of this. The only thing I got was a diary, such as it was, with dates and places. The only emotion shown in his diary, was written onboard the PW Wilson on the way home on the 28th of February 1919. He wrote, “Just eleven months ago at 10:00am, sailed from NY bound for the fight. Happy?”

Ernest Frederick Kusener,

Lake County, Indiana  

Distinguished Service Cross:  Near Ronssoy, France: "After his tank had been put out of action and set on fire by a direct hit which killed four of his crew, Lieutenant Kusener, utterly disregarding his own personal danger, entered the blazing tank which was still being fired on, and dragged the remainder of the crew to safety.  Displaying exceptional coolness and bravery, he then carried two members of the crew, who had been seriously wounded to a dressing station, the two trips being made over ground swept by heavy machine-gun fire."

Leonard Edward Bierhaus, Motor Transport Service,

Marion County, Indiana

“This unit, being composed of experienced and handpicked mechanics with the strength of 35 men, functioned as a mobile organization with divisions, corps, and armies.  Being a mobile organization, only enough equipment was carried to make repairs and quick adjustments to transportation such as motorcycles, trucks, staff cars, tanks, tractors, and their component parts.”

“The care in the field of the commanding officers of organizations of this kind must be taken into consideration at all times, as to hours of moving, places of operation, etc. as there was always danger due to the nature of operations in the field, from being sighted by the enemy.

“We only rank as 1st Lieutenants, still did the work and held the responsibilities of Captain, Col. and Commander.  We were alone in the midst of the fight, as the American Army used this kind of transportation more extensively than any other Army in the world. An organization of this kind proved to be an absolute necessity and indispensable acquisition to victory”.

George Noble Irwin, Company C, 301st Battery, Heavy Tank Corps,

Decatur County Indiana

George Irwin left a diary of his WW1 experiences. His son, Don Lee Irwin, has graciously shared the following story and photo:

My Dad grew up on a farm near Alert, Indiana, and joined the Army when he was 23 years old in 1917.  He finished Army basic training at Camp Taylor, Ky. on 26 Feb 1918, and volunteered for the new Heavy Tank Corps.  He reported to Camp Meade, Maryland on 23 March for tank training.  But things changed rapidly, and the Army decided to move tank training to Camp Colt, PA., to train in the French Renault FT-17 tank, which was commanded by Captain Dwight Eisenhower.  However, having volunteered for the British Mark V tank, he and his unit, the 65th Engineers (later the 301st Battalion Tank Corps), sailed to Brest, France from Camp Merritt, Hoboken, N. J., on 28 April 1918, and then to Warham, England for Heavy Tank training with the Brits. The 301st' new commander was Major Ralph I. Sasse, and Company C's commander was Capt Ralph de P. Clarke. Dad seemed to alternate back and forth between Warham and Bovington Field, while in England, I assume learning to employ the new Mark V Tank with his company and crew of eight.

The 301st Tank Corps shipped out to Le Havre, France on 24 Aug 1918. They sailed with their 46 or 47 (depending on which account you read) British Mark Vs and Mark V*s (the latter pronounced Mark V Star). The Mark V had a crew of eight, and could have had, either two six pound cannons (male), or 6 Hotchkiss machine guns (female).  The Mark V* was a Mark V cut in half, with a six foot mid-section added to give it a better chance of crossing the 3.5 meter trenches in the Hindenburg line.  It also was thought that it could carry 24 troops, but later it was discovered that due to the poisonous air inside the tank, the troops were in no condition to fight when they arrived at the front, so it carried supplies, if anything, after that. Their unit was then attached to the British 4th Tank Brigade for what was to be a short stint on the Western front.

During the next two months, the 301st had four engagements against the Germans, with varying degrees of success.  The first, against the vaunted Hindenburg Line near Le Catalet and St Quentin, on 29 Sept.  Each Company of the 301st (A, B, & C) was assigned to lead one of the 27th Division's regiments (107th, 105th, & 108th). The simple scheme was to precede the infantry by about a hundred yards to clear wire obstacles, and destroy the German machine gun nests, and artillery emplacements.  Dad's Company (C), with 15 tanks, was attached to the 107th infantry on the left, but due to the regimental commander's refusal to leave on the new H hour (an hour earlier than the old H hour), and lack of prior training between the Doughboys and tanks, the tanks were 1,000 yards in front of the regiment. They encountered withering fire from German guns, and heavy smoke and fog.  The visibility was so bad that the tank commanders had to dismount, and walk in front of the tanks in the dark through the mud, wire entanglements, abandoned trenches, and shell holes, to guide their tanks.  Both the 301st and 27th received frightful casualties.  Sixteen tanks received direct hits, and only five of the original 40 tanks reached the Hindenburg Line, and none of them could get through those wide trenches. It's estimated that the 107th lost 1,000 men.  The 301st lost 3 officers, and 17 enlisted men.  Fifteen officers, and 70 enlisted men were wounded, and seven enlisted men were missing.  An ominous beginning.

The second engagement was on 8 Oct 1918, supporting II American Corps, near Brancourt.  Due to heavy losses on 29 Sep, the 301st had only 23 tanks with no reserve.  Visibility was perfect, with the light breeze taking the battle smoke over the Germans.  They were bombed from the air, and received heavy shelling from the Germans, but eleven tanks reached their objective, four received direct hits and were destroyed; five had mechanical trouble; and three didn't make it past the jump off point.  Relatively speaking, this battle was a success, with the objective being met by 1415 that afternoon.

The third was fought on 17 Oct 1918 from Le Haie Meneresse to Mazingbien.  The tank commanders were able to view the battle field prior to engagement, and made note of the best routes and river crossings.  Twenty five tanks were available.  In spite of the excellent planning, on the day of the battle the visibility was very poor, a light breeze now blowing the smoke over the Doughboys, and communication was even poorer.  By the time the visibility cleared, most tanks were lost and out of gas.  Of the 25 tanks that started, eight had mechanical trouble, two tanks ditched in the Selle River, a couple had direct hits, and one caught fire.  Only one tank reached the objective.  Now there were only twelve tanks serviceable.

The last battle was on 23 Oct 1918. The 301st was allotted to the IX British Corps. H hour was 0120, taking advantage of the full moon. They divided their tanks into three companies of four tanks each.  Early on the tanks could easily see the routes, and gunners could identify their targets.  Later, however, the Germans gassed them, and the use of the gas masks greatly limited visibility.  There were no losses this time, and all objectives were met.

The Armistice was signed 11 November 1918.  Dad sailed home on 28 February 1919 aboard the P. W. Wilson from Marseilles, was discharged on 9 April 1919, and went back to work his farm near Alert, Indiana.

Life in the Mark V was very unpleasant, the air contaminated from poorly ventilated gases of carbon monoxide and cordite fumes.  Loud beyond belief, with temperatures reaching 120 degrees.  The crews wore helmets, and masks of chain mail to protect them from pieces of metal and rivets knocked loose from shells hitting the external armor.  The tank, to be sure, had a fitful start as a weapon system, and like the rest of the U.S. Army was rapidly dismantled after the war.  The Tank Corps future was doubtful.

Dad never spoke a word to me about any of this. The only thing I got was a diary, such as it was, with dates and places. The only emotion shown in his diary, was written onboard the PW Wilson on the way home on the 28th of February 1919. He wrote, "Just eleven months ago at 10:00am, sailed from NY bound for the fight. Happy?"

Real-photo postcard of a photograph of a U.S. Army 10-ton tractor pulling a cart across railroad tracks at Fort Bragg, N.C., around the 1920s 

From Fort Bragg Postcard Collection, MMP 10, Miscellaneous Military Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.

View of a supply tank named “Griff” carrying supplies for advanced troops in the Caution Paddock, near Villeret, France, involving the 30th Division. The tank went where other transportation could not go (September 29, 1918)

Photograph by: U.S. Army Signal Corps, #24532.

From George T. Skinner Papers, WWI 59, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.