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MarkI

The United Kingdom's Mark I Tank was a tracked vehicle developed by the British Army during World War I and the world's first combat tank, entering service in August 1916. It was the first vehicle to be named "tank", as an expedient to maintain secrecy and to disguise its true purpose. A requirement was found for two types of armament, so Mark Is were armed either with 6 pounder guns and four machine guns and called "Male" or two Vickers machine guns instead of the 6 pounders and called "Female."

Mark I Tank in Southern Victory[]

The Mark I was used in the North American theater of the Great War in 1916, during a British counter-attack in Ontario, Canada to great effect, driving the US army from its positions and pushing them back five miles. Jonathan Moss thought the design bizarre, but understood it once he saw it in action. There were two radically different versions of this tank, one that was armed with cannon and machine guns, and another that was armed with just machine guns.[1]

Other versions of the Mark I were exported to the Confederacy, while those in the Confederacy never referred to it as a tank but rather its US title of "barrel". Although the Confederate barrel was an equal match up against its US counterpart, the US barrels were produced in far greater quantity and simply overwhelmed all of the Mark I Tanks that were fielded.

References[]

  1. Walk in Hell, pgs. 267-268, HC.
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