WWI British Tank Recovered
You may recall that World War I came to as the result of actions by a Serbian malcontent named Gavril Princip, when he shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary in 1914. You may recall that, at the time, the Austro-Hungarian empire was quite large. However, it did not include Serbia. With the assassination of the Archduke, who, as the nephew of Franz Joseph, was the next in line to the throne of the Empire, the Emperor Franz Joseph, the war in Eastern Europe began and spread to the rest of the continent. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Ferdinand-Archduke-of-Austria-Este
There were also forays into Russia, where US troops were sent as the Polar Bears to assist the Russian army and help them succeed in chasing China out of the eastern coast of Siberia and retaking possession of Vladivostok, where the Chinese government was trying to establish a seaport.
This video is about the recovery of a WWI British tank plus some videos of tanker crews, near Flesquierre, France. From the various films that have been available to view from that time period, the lack of real protective gear such as our troops have now, and the incredible uptick in firepower on the battlefield – never mind the sorry living conditions that the troops experienced – makes it clear that modern warfare equipment was miles and decades ahead of doing something to protect the troops.
Thanks to Wartime Wrecks for the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQpTeNmYK3w
Category: Historical, War Stories
Tanks for the great post Ex. American hero’s channel was running the WW1 series last night on my cable 112 channel.
Pretty sure it is always a given that offense outstrips defense capabilities at a personal level. Can’t really think of a contradicting example – perhaps someone else can?
Saw OPFOR steamroll Bluefor “Die in Place” defenses about 98% of the time at the NTC when I was a Green-Team observer/controller.
I’m not sure what you mean by this. The advantage has swung back and forth between offense and defense over the years. At the beginning of WWI, most strategists would have told you the offensive was the superior form of combat, but by the end most would have changed their minds. Of course, there were still cavalry units armed with lances at the beginning of WWII… It is generally accepted at the operational and tactical levels of war that an attacking force has to have a relative combat power of at least 3:1 over the defender- higher depending on the extent of defensive positions, type of forces, terrain, etc. At the individual level, an infantryman or combat vehicle in a prepared position has several advantages over the attacker, to include cover, concealment, and a stable firing platform into prepared fields of fire. However, an audacious, aggressive, and unexpected attack can make a huge difference. That said, the Germans certainly thought that the offensive was the superior form at the outset of WWI- the whole point of the Schlieffen plan was to use a massive, rapid offensive to knock France out of the war and pivot their forces to defeat Russia before they could fully mobilize. Why the plan failed is an interesting debate, but there is no doubt that when given time to develop deliberate defenses in depth coupled with new technology like the machine gun and improved technology the advantage swung way over to the defensive side- which drove the Brits to develop tanks in the first place. Germans doctrine in WWII capitalized on more new technology- arguably the most revolutionary advance being the radio which allowed much better reconnaissance and decentralized mission command, and therefore auftragstaktik, and the advantage swung back to the offensive for decades. However, many modern theorists are looking at things like AI, machine learning, hypervelocity missiles, directed energy weapons, and A2AD and thinking that the Age of Offense may be over. Infantry squads are equipped with shoulder fired missiles that have a standoff advantage over fighting vehicles, hit what they are aimed at, and… Read more »
That will buff right out!
Prolly low milage too. Wonder if they have a buy here pay here program? Pay Day Loan? Monthly allotment?
In the contest between fortress and warhead, warhead will win…every.damn.time! Eventually, if not sooner.
Cool videos Ex, they kept loading after the FIRST one.
Tanks!
31st Infantry Regiment. Pro Patria. Unit crest is a Polar Bear. Raised in the Philippines in 1917. And as an interesting bit of trivia, the 1st Battalion has never served east of the international date line. BTW, my first active unit
Thanks for that info!!!