At Flers-Courcelette about one-third of the designated tanks failed to reach the start line. Of the 400-plus tanks deployed at the Battle of Amiens on, only six were still available four days later and, as John Terraine pointed out, "the German Empire was not going to be overthrown by six tanks."Īn argument might be made out for reserving their use until enough were available to make a real difference, rather than using them in "penny packets", but on the other hand, practical experience in their use, and the extent of their reliability and effectiveness, would have had to be obtained somehow. Sufficient numbers? They used as many as they had available, and mechanical unreliability played a major part. The tank was originally developed as an infantry support weapon, not as mechanised cavalry, which is the way it was best used in WW2 and later. I don't think you can say whether or not tanks were used "correctly" in WW1 as there was no generally accepted "correct" method until they had been tried, possibly using several different types of tactic, which in turn would have depended on the types of tank available.
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