Importance of tanks in world war 1?

Answer 1

Tanks did mass damage and was a weapon used to break down the barriers, or barb wire of the enemies' trenches so that they may move in and attack.

In hindsight, tanks had very little impact on the fighting in WW1. When they were first introduced to the front during the battle of Flers-Courcelette (part of the Somme Offensive in 1916), they caused some panic in the German defenders and helped secure a modest British victory in that battle.

However, the tank was far too immature technology to prove to be anything other than a novelty. The major problems with WW1 tanks were:

• Too slow - no faster than a trotting man, at 4-5mph
• Mechanically unreliable - a significant minority of available tanks would be broken BEFORE any offensive, and few could travel more than a couple of miles without breaking down
• Thin armor - at best, a few millimeters of armor plate, which was not enough to stop large-caliber (.40 or better) rifle bullets or artillery shell splinters
• Couldn't cross most trenches - a ditch more than 5 feet wide was too much for them. More importantly, they bogged down easily in the heavy mud of No-Man's land, and had none of the excellent cross-country mobility we now associate with tanks
• Poor firepower - while they were armed with several machine guns and light cannon, accuracy was abysmal due to a cramped design with poor sight lines and crew positioning.
• Low numbers - in part due to the limitations above (and the recognition by senior military leaders that the tank could not live up to its promise), production of tanks never was given a high priority. Thus, no more than 7,000 tanks were produce by all sides in WW1, with over half (3,700) being the very light French Renault FT. Compare this to the over 200,000 tanks produced by all sides in WW2.

Due to these flaws, tanks played no significant role in any WW1 battle - the tank would have to wait until WW2 to have any noticeable impact.