WW1 Tanks: From the Somme to Cambrai — and Frontkrieg

The first tank in history rolled into battle on 15 September 1916 at the Somme: British Mark I machines were built to break the trench-warfare deadlock that infantry had failed to crack for two years. By the end of World War 1 the Entente had built over 6,000 tanks, while Germany managed just 20. This article covers the history of WW1 tanks with the key dates and numbers — and then breaks down how the tank branch works in Frontkrieg, a free browser grand strategy game about the First World War with no pay-to-win, where heavy armor decides the fate of the front in exactly the same way.

It is written both for military history fans and for players who want to know when a tank pays for itself in a match and when it merely drains the budget.

Why Tanks Appeared: the Trench Deadlock

By the end of 1914 the Western Front had frozen solid: continuous trench lines stretched roughly 700 kilometers from the English Channel to Switzerland. Machine guns and barbed wire made frontal infantry assaults suicidal — we covered this in detail in our article on trench warfare.

The idea of a "landship" was born in Britain. In February 1915, with the backing of Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, the Landship Committee got to work. The prototype Little Willie was tested in September 1915, followed in January 1916 by "Mother", the machine that became the basis of the production Mark I. The word "tank" itself was chosen as a cover story: factory workers were told they were assembling water containers.

Mark I at the Somme: the First Tank Attack in History

On 15 September 1916, at Flers-Courcelette during the Battle of the Somme, the British sent tanks into an attack for the first time. Of the 49 Mark I tanks allocated, 32 reached their starting positions and only around 18 actually went into action — the rest bogged down in mud or broke down.

Technically, the Mark I was far from perfect:

• weight — about 28 tonnes;
• speed — up to 6 km/h, slower than loaded infantry;
• crew — 8 men;
• interior heat reached 50 °C, and exhaust fumes knocked crews off their feet.

Tanks came in two versions: "male" with two 57 mm guns and "female" armed with machine guns. Despite all the teething troubles, the psychological effect was enormous: wherever the machines led the way, infantry advanced with fewer losses, and the high command ordered hundreds of new tanks.

Cambrai 1917: the First Massed Tank Offensive

On 20 November 1917 at Cambrai, the British used tanks en masse for the first time: around 437 fighting Mark IV tanks attacked without days of preliminary bombardment, achieving complete surprise. On the first day the front moved forward roughly 8 kilometers — an unheard-of pace for the Western Front, and church bells rang in London to celebrate.

The breakthrough could not be held, however: a German counteroffensive recovered most of the ground within ten days. Cambrai proved the key lesson — tanks win only in combination with infantry, artillery and air power. That combined-arms principle carries over into Frontkrieg unchanged.

French and German Tanks: Renault FT and A7V

Renault FT: the Father of All Modern Tanks

France went its own way. After the medium Schneider CA1, which debuted on 16 April 1917, came the light Renault FT — the first tank with the classic layout: a rotating turret, engine at the rear, driver at the front. Tank design still follows that scheme today. The FT became the most-produced tank of the war, with over 3,000 built, and made its combat debut on 31 May 1918.

The A7V and the First Tank-versus-Tank Battle

Germany underestimated the new weapon: its only production tank, the A7V, was built in a run of just 20 vehicles — a 30-tonne fortress with a crew of 18. On 24 April 1918 near Villers-Bretonneux, three A7Vs clashed with three British Mark IVs in the first tank-versus-tank battle in history — and the British came out on top.

How Many Tanks Were Built by the End of the War

The numbers speak for themselves. Britain produced about 2,600 heavy tanks of all marks, from Mark I to Mark V. France built more than 3,800 machines, most of them Renault FTs. Germany answered with twenty A7Vs and a handful of captured vehicles: it launched its own program far too late, and in 1918 German infantry had to meet Allied tanks with field guns and armor-piercing bullets.

The fate of the concept is even more telling. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, every major army in the world bet on armored forces, the Renault FT layout became the global standard for decades, and the lessons of Cambrai fed straight into the deep-battle and blitzkrieg doctrines of the next war.

Tanks in Frontkrieg: Stats and Tactics

In Frontkrieg the tank branch mirrors the logic of the late war: a tank is an expensive strike unit that demands developed industry and a solid economy.

• A tank costs 25,000 money, 200 iron and 150 oil.
• Production takes 14 hours and requires a level 2 factory.
• Durability is 140 HP, with ground attack and defense of 30 each.
• Speed is 0.8 versus 0.5 for infantry — tanks are faster, too.
• Upkeep is 7 money and 2 oil per game day.

The heavy tank — the in-game counterpart of the British "rhomboids" — hits harder still: 200 HP, attack 45 and defense 50, but it costs 40,000 money, 350 iron and 250 oil, takes 18 hours at a level 3 factory and crawls at speed 0.5. For comparison, an infantryman has 20 HP and attack 4, so one tank on the offensive is worth roughly seven to eight infantry. The full counter system is covered in our unit types guide.

Are Tanks Worth Building?

Yes — but as the spearhead of your army, not a replacement for it. The Cambrai formula still applies:

• break the front with a combined stack: infantry soaks the losses while tanks deal the bulk of the damage;
• never leave tanks unescorted against enemy artillery — keep them stacked with cheaper units;
• save heavy tanks for storming capitals and fortified strongpoints;
• watch your oil: ten tanks burn 70 money and 20 oil every day, and without fuel reserves your armor becomes dead weight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who invented the tank?

The tank was developed in Britain by the Landship Committee, set up in February 1915 with the support of Winston Churchill. The first prototype, Little Willie, appeared in September 1915, and the production Mark I entered battle a year later.

When were tanks first used in battle?

On 15 September 1916 at Flers-Courcelette on the Somme. Of the 49 British Mark I tanks allocated, only around 18 made it into the attack — yet even that stunned the German infantry.

What was the first tank-versus-tank battle?

Villers-Bretonneux, 24 April 1918: three German A7Vs met three British Mark IVs. It was the first time in history that tanks fought tanks, and the British prevailed.

Is the heavy tank better than the regular tank in Frontkrieg?

They serve different roles. The regular tank (140 HP, attack 30, speed 0.8) is a versatile strike unit for mobile warfare. The heavy tank (200 HP, attack 45, defense 50, speed 0.5) is a slow ram for cracking fortified positions — it costs 60% more and needs a level 3 factory.

From the Somme to Your Front Line

Tanks went from 18 machines crawling through the mud of the Somme to thousands of Renault FTs that changed the face of war. In Frontkrieg you can retrace that path in a single match: build up your industry, stockpile iron and oil, and smash the front with an armored fist — combined with infantry, artillery and reconnaissance, just like at Cambrai. A new match starts every day — join the battle and see if you can handle tanks better than the generals of 1916. More guides and history breakdowns are in the blog.

Source: Tanks in World War I — Wikipedia