Tanks & The First World War - Intro

Just a little over one week ago marked the 100th anniversary of the tank. To mark this occasion, one very special tank took its place centre stage, in Trafalgar Square, London as a poignant reminder to those whose live was fought for inside those very tanks. To mark this momentous occasion, each week the Some Sunny Day Blog is going to be publishing an additional post all about the tanks of the first world war, as our own Tank 100 celebrations. Before this can be started, I want you to think about how tanks look today, the role they play in are battles during wartime, the protection they give, and then I want you to forget all about it. This is because, at the very start of the tank's journey, it was a completely different story.

To inspire you into thinking back to how different and new the invention of the tank was, I wanted to share with you part of an advert that the World Of Tanks game used in this years Tank Fest  show guide, because for me, I think it puts it into perspective: 

Dear Mark, 

You stood at the forefront of a new world - a world of tanks. 

Your tracks first moved 100 years ago, writing the first chapter in the history of unstoppable armoured vehicles.

You took a bold step into the future and your legacy continues to inspire millions of players every day.

The above picture accompanied this advert, showing you exactly where it all began.

At the outbreak of the first world war, you could say that there was an early tank design in the form of the armoured vehicles that were being used and had done so during the previous years, however, protection of the crew was simply not enough in many of the vehicles and so loss of life was high. 

Life began for the Tank when in early 1915, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill set up the Landships Committee, in an attempt to come up with a new weapon that would help break the stalemate that had taken place in the trenches. Originally named Landships, after the committee that was in charge of their design, they were later names tanks for secrecy reasons. 

I hope that in the following weeks, you will join the Some Sunny Day blog in exploring the tanks during the first world war, with it all beginning next week with a special guy called Willie.