The Tank Corps In The Great War Volume 1

This is the first volume of a new six volume history of the Tank Corps during the First World War. The first history was written shortly after the end of the Great War by Lt Col JFC Fuller in 1919. This, and the subsequent version written by Sir Basil Liddell Hart in 1959, provided a broad overview of the origins of the Tank Corps but did not undertake detailed analysis of the tank actions and the changes introduced in the organisation or operation of tank units as a result of the lessons learned. This new history seeks to overcome these shortcomings.

The first volume, which covers the period November 1914 to November 1916, gives an introduction to the initial design and development of the first battle tanks. It provides details of the selection and training of crewmen and the tactical and logistic challenges associated with bringing a new weapon system into combat within one year after acceptance of the prototype. The impact of armoured vehicles in the initial actions in 1916 was limited. However, as the British C-in-C Douglas Haig determined within two days of their debut on the Somme, tanks would soon become a key element in the all-arms battle.

The battle chapters of this initial and subsequent volumes analyses the part played by tanks in success or failure of the British Army until the summer of 1918, after which the tanks took the lead as American, Australian, British, Canadian and New Zealand forces drove back the Germans during a 100 day advance which culminated in the defeat of the German Army in the field.

Each volume is illustrated by contemporary photographs and tables showing the order of battle of tank units in each battle, as well the formations they supported, and the opposing forces, besides a selection of colour photographs showing the battlefields today. It also includes a separate map book which enables the readers to follow the course of the battle. Whilst designed for readers with a passion for detail of the development of the British Army during the last two years of the First World War, this new history aims to enable those with a general interest to gain an understanding of the part played by the tanks, their crew and their commanders in the destruction of the Germans’ will to win, some six months before the planned start of the 1919 offensive. The tanks had successfully fought through the mud and the blood, to the green fields beyond.

"Readers with interests in archival sources as well as technology will appreciate Pope’s skillful use of contemporary sources, including excerpts from letters and wartime reports, woven throughout the text, in addition to many helpful and interesting photographs in both black-and-white and color." HistoryNet

"Stephen Pope has produced a remarkably detailed post-operational report for the Tank Corps and certainly Volume 1 of his history really is a triumph. This will be compelling reading for all who wish to understand the early days of tank warfare and, by 1918, the decisive impact tanks had on the battlefield. I eagerly await the future volumes in the series. Most highly recommended." Clive Elderton, Military Historical Society, August Bulletin

"It is hard to believe that there is anything missing here about the inception, development, and deployment of the British Tank Corps in the first two years of the Great War." Roads to the Great War

"Pope has generated a new level of details, not least of all some new & interesting photographic material". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol 101, No 404 Spring 2023