First World War Tanks (Shire Library) - Softcover

Bartholomew, E

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0852637993 ISBN 13: 9780852637999

Publisher: Shire, 2009

Synopsis

Although tanks have become a symbol of military power, the first tanks were created as a temporary solution to the deadlock created by trench warfare. The early designs were unsophisticated and had little success when they were first used by the British Army on the Somme in 1916. The battle of Cambrai, however, proved that tanks were effective, and they were used extensively in the final year of the war. By 1918 over 2,700 tanks had been built in Britain, while France, Germany, the United States, Italy and Russia had all produced tanks of their own. This book covers the design and development of tanks during the First World War, describing the types that were used in action and the most important battles in which they fought. It is illustrated with photographs from the archives of the Tank Museum, at Bovington in Dorset.

About this title

About the Author

E. Bartholomew was formerly the Education Officer and Assistant Librarian at the Tank Museum. This book makes extensive use of material from the museum's collections, which contain a wide range of documents, technical manuals, handbooks, reports and illustrations.

Review

"Bartholomew does an excellent job of summarizing the design, development, and proliferation of tanks. Although the tanks initial use in combat in the Battle of the Somme was less than ideal, they soon proved their worth in the Battle of Cambrai. In addition to describing the technical aspects of the first tanks, Bartholomew includes a brief summary of the battles that the tanks participated in – from both sides of the war. Finally, the includes several photographs of the various tanks in production and action." -Jeff Grim, Collected Miscellany (www.collectedmiscellany.com)

"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... 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. " - Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness www.modelingmadness.com (July 2009)

About this edition

• Publisher: Shire
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0852637993
• ISBN 13: 9780852637999
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32