British Mark V Tanks with attachments carried to help them cross the Hindenburg line,

Bellicourt, September 29th, 1918.

MM

The development of tanks was a response to the stalemate that developed on the Western Front. Although vehicles that incorporated the basic principles of the tank had been projected in the decade or so before the War, it was the alarmingly heavy casualties of the start of its trench warfare that stimulated development.

MM

In Great Britain, an initial vehicle, nicknamed 'Little Willie', was constructed during August and September 1915 The prototype of a new design that became the Mark I tank was demonstrated to the British Army on February 2, 1916. Although initially termed "Landships" by the Landship Committee, production vehicles were named "tanks", to preserve secrecy. The term was chosen when it became known that the factory workers at William Foster referred to the first prototype as "the tank" because of its resemblance to a steel water tank.