Though it is difficult to believe that it was less than 100 years ago, the First World War was one that brought into the military lexicon a number of innovations in warfare. One of those was a tracked weapon developed by the Royal Navy that kept its secret code word 'Tank'.

This armored fighting vehicle had much expectation riding on its use to help quickly end the conflict, but like many weapons of war, it was unable to perform as expected. Despite initial set-backs, the British were able to develop the vehicle into something that was effective and useful.

In this book on the history of the tank during that war, the author covers not only the British developments of the tank, but also the German and French and American tank developments. The German efforts were also one of disaster and though they never really developed an effective one, they learned their lessons well and fielded the best armor of the next conflict. The French, on the other hand, went with lighter tanks and were able to field a tank that was eventually put into wide use with other nations after the war. In America, both French and British designs were studied with the French one being the one used more in US tank development.

Overall, this is a superb look at these vehicles, their development and their deployment. An excellent primer on the type and one that will augment any military library. A most enjoyable read and one I can easily recommend to you.

July 2009

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