Leonardo da Vinci is also sometimes credited with the invention of a war machine that resembled a tank. The concept of a vehicle that could provide troops with both mobile protection and firepower wasn’t new – indeed the tank’s conceptual roots go back to ancient times, when siege engines provided protection for troops moving up against stone walls or fortifications. Something new was now needed to break the deadlock. The First Battle of Ypres (20 October-22 November 1914) had marked the end of open warfare on the Western Front after both sides were forced to seek cover on the battlefield and dig in for protection – trench warfare took hold. The Western Front had become a stalemate as early as Autumn 1914 as the devastating and destructive firepower from the combination of artillery and the machine gun had made it almost impossible for either side to make a breakthrough. Why and how was the tank designed? How did it evolve over the course of the war? And what attributes were required of a Tank Man? Watch Now Breaking the stalemate Tank legend David Fletcher MBE, historian of armoured warfare, and David Willey, curator of the Tank Museum, Bovington, discuss the First World War development of the tank.

First battle where tanks were used