The Mark I Tank’s Role in Changing Trench Warfare

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Recommended: World War 1

During the First World War, 1914 to 1918, the “Western Front” referred to a series of trench lines that ran from the Belgian coast, to the Alps. The Western Front was a direct result of stagnation. Both the Allies and Central Powers “dug in” and settled down to a war of attrition, with little movement over three years. Born from the need to break the domination of trenches and machine guns on the Western Front, Britain designed the world’s first combat tank, known as the Mark I. It was developed to cross trenches, resist small-arms fire, travel over difficult terrain, carry supplies, and capture fortified enemy positions. The Mark I was a product of the industrial revolution. Similarly, to the Mark I, the Minie ball was a previous step towards the continued industrialization of warfare. Albeit, the Mark I and Minie ball are two different products of the industrial revolution, they are each steps towards modern warfare.

The Minie ball is considered the first modern bullet. The Minie ball’s conical shape and ridges at its base that fit into the grooves of the rifled musket, allowed this bullet to be fired from a farther distance and at a faster speed than the traditional musket ball. Fueled by the factory system of the industrial revolution, one person could cast three thousand Minie balls an hour. Musket ball production, on the other hand, involved a much more tedious and lengthy smelting process. Before the introduction of the Minie ball, most civil war battles were fought at close range. “The long-range accuracy of the Minié ball meant that the traditional model of warfare, when infantry and cavalry assaults could be successful, was over. Soldiers armed with a minié-loaded rifle could hide behind trees or blockades and take ...

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...British tanks in the First World War. London: H.M.S.O, 1984.

The History Channel. “Minie Ball.” History.com. http://www.history.com/topics/minie-ball (accessed April 5, 2011).

“The Mark I.” Daily Chronicle, September 18, 1916. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWmother.htm (accessed April 5, 2011).

Tucker, Spencer., ed. The European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishers, 1996.

Philpott, William. Bloody victory: the sacrifice on the Somme and the making of the twentieth century. London, England: Little Brown, 2009.

Piston Heads. “Anniversary of the First Tank.” Piston Heads. http://www.pistonheads.com/ultima/default.asp?storyId=11827 (accessed April 5, 2011).

Rickard, J. “MK I Tank (UK).” History of War. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_mk1.html (accessed April 5, 2011).

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