Effectiveness of tanks in World War 1?

Answer 1

Tanks were extremely effective in WWI, if only in short supply. WWI was a trench war where both sides were so well defended that offensive assaults were extremely costly. WWI was a great example of a period in history where technology was advancing very rapidly and the countries who kept up with it were at a great advantage.

Infantry assaults were getting bogged down and had high body counts from the invention of simple defenses like barbed wire, better rifles, and later machine guns. Jumping over your trench, running across the dead zone in a mass assault troops had to cross rows barbed wire fence coils. The ground was pitted from constant artillery bombardment. Both sides could see each other coming, so you also had to face continuous rifle fire, machine gun fire, and artillery. It was very bloody and obviously these attacks did not help morale.

The tank really helped this in that it was a tracked vehicle and could cross these defenses and reach the enemy territory. It had armor to make the trip more survivable under small arms fire. It effectively led the way for infantry assaults. Although both sides were racing in technology fast enough that tank advances saw advances in anti-tank weapons both infantry portable and as artillery. and fixed defenses also adjust to block tanks. They were effective in their role on the battlefield, but did not happen in a way that caused either side a decisive victory.