The world's first tank was built by the British in 1915 under the name "Little Willie".
The tank was built by William Triton of the William Ford Company using American tractor tracks, and was made into a prototype in August 1915. Subsequently, Lieutenant Wilson of British naval aviation helped Triton with this plan.
In December 1915, the improved prototype was named "William the Younger", and it was the world's first tank, which is now on display at the Royal Armoured Museum.
The William Jr. had a diamond-shaped rigid suspension with protruding gun mounts on the tracks on both sides of the hull, two tracks around the hull from the top, and a pair of steering wheels protruding from the rear of the car.
The tank had a crew of 8 people and was armed with 2 machine guns and 1 gun. However, due to the lack of engine power, the maximum speed is only 6 km/h, and the noise is so loud that the occupants can hardly communicate in the car, so they can only rely on gestures to give orders.
The world's first tank took part in combat at the Battle of the Inde-Somme on September 15, 1916. In this campaign, the British team used the Mark tank for the first time, which was the first tank in the world to officially participate in the war. Prior to this, the prototypes of the tank, the "Little Nomad" and the "Big Nomad", had already been tested in 1915, but were not actually put into battle.
In the Battle of the Somme, the British put in 60 Mark-type tanks, and their main role was to destroy the barbed wire fence on the battlefield, cross the trenches, and defend against small shots.
Although these tanks achieved certain results in battle, they also exposed many problems, such as mechanical failures, slow speed, insufficient protection, etc. The advent of tanks still had a profound effect on the war. They laid the foundation for the advent of the era of mechanized warfare and became one of the indispensable equipment in modern warfare.