Yet another fine book in Osprey's New Vanguard series is #133 on the British Mark IV tank. This was the final widely used WWI version of the original British design and to the unaccustomed eye, looks like the earlier version. However, there was a considerable amount of work done on this tank and there are such detail improvements to make the tank easier to operate and transport.

As with the earlier Mark I/II/III the tank was built with cannon (male) and machine gun (female) armament. The females were the most useful as tanks generally went into action against troops and it wasn't until near the end of the war that there were any tank to tank battles. In fact, these sorts of engagements were extremely rare. Much that was learned in battle was adopted for the Mk IV and such was the lack of available industrial capacity in the UK that many of these mods were done in France.

The author, David Fletcher, reveals the importance that the tank played in the closing years of WWI. In many ways, warfare was changed to accommodate the use of the tank and defense against it. The Cambrai campaign of late 1917 was designed around the mass use of tanks and while the British failed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by tank warfare, it changed the way that battles were fought in future engagements. After these battles, damaged or abandon tanks were often taken away by the Germans who overhauled and used them against their former owners though not in the numbers or with the effectiveness of the British.

I guess it says something about this tank that one was brought back into operating condition for the defense of Whale Island in the UK during 1940!

In line with other Osprey titles, the superb choice of period photographs and the excellent illustrations of Tony Bryan make this a must have for any armor or WWI enthusiast.

April 2007

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