Changes

=== Tanks ===

=== Tanks ===

With wire resolved, there still remained the problem of what lay behind it: machine guns and rifles, manned by entrenched soldiers. It was necessary to get men past the wire to enemy trenches without costly frontal assaults. This would be possible by protecting the attacker with a mobile bulletproof shield, as such a shield would be too heavy to carry. To accomplish this, the Allies introduced the ‘tank,’ as it was code-named, in 1916. The intention was to restore power to the offensive by combining firepower, protection and movement. The first two were often stressed to the detriment of the third; the tank’s average speed was five miles per hour.  They were used sparingly at the Somme and had little effect until used en masse the following year.

With wire resolved, there still remained the problem of what lay behind it: machine guns and rifles, manned by entrenched soldiers. It was necessary to get men past the wire to enemy trenches without costly frontal assaults. This would be possible by protecting the attacker with a mobile bulletproof shield, as such a shield would be too heavy to carry. To accomplish this, the Allies introduced the ‘tank,’ as it was code-named, in 1916. The intention was to restore power to the offensive by combining firepower, protection and movement. The first two were often stressed to the detriment of the third; the tank's average speed was five miles per hour.  They were used sparingly at the Somme and had little effect until used en masse the following year.

The first major tank deployment was at Cambrai in November 1917, when the British launched a 318-tank attack on German trenches. Since the wire posed no threat to the tanks, the customary artillery bombardment to attempt to remove it was unnecessary, and it ensured surprise. The tanks penetrated three German lines, advancing eight miles.  The attack was an unmitigated success, although the enormous success was also a drawback: the Allied tank columns advanced so rapidly that they outdistanced supporting infantry and cavalry, and were forced to halt their advance.  

The first major tank deployment was at Cambrai in November 1917, when the British launched a 318-tank attack on German trenches. Since the wire posed no threat to the tanks, the customary artillery bombardment to attempt to remove it was unnecessary, and it ensured surprise. The tanks penetrated three German lines, advancing eight miles.  The attack was an unmitigated success, although the enormous success was also a drawback: the Allied tank columns advanced so rapidly that they outdistanced supporting infantry and cavalry, and were forced to halt their advance.