This looks to be a British or Canadian Mk IV (female) tank with a wire cutter attachment. The Mk IV was a British design and came in both male and female versions (don't laugh). The Mk IV (male) had one Lewis .303 light machine gun for the tank commander, three Hotchkiss machine guns and two 6 pounder (57mm) guns. Two cannon and two machine guns were mounted in projecting sponsons that carried one cannon and one machine gun. The female Mk IV was armed with six machine guns. Some of these tanks were "neutered" and converted to cargo carriers. Others became "hermaphrodites" or "composites" with one sponson carrying a cannon and machine gun and the other sponson with two machine guns. The photo does not show if guns were fitted to the positions. If the gun ports were plated over, the tank was used as a cargo carrier. For rail transit, the sponsons of the early British tanks could be unbolted and removed to reduce the overall width of the tank.
Above: A model of a British Mk V heavy tank (female -- left, male - center and right). Female tanks had smaller sponsons than males and carried six machine guns. The male tank sponsons were larger for the 6-pounder gun and machine guns. Note the Lewis gun (front) and Hotchkiss guns (sides, rear) on the male. The long tube running along the top of the tank is the exhaust pipe for the engine. British tanks were designed to cross German trenches and that led to the unique "lozenge" shape. In action, many tanks carried a stout 12x12 timber attached to a frame that was attached to the hull on the inside of the tracks. The "unditching beam" was lashed to the tracks to help the tank climb out of a trench and the rails allowed the beam to clear the top cupolas.
The early tanks were primitive by any standards. The dirver was told to start, stop, and turn by kicks from the tank commander (the noise was so deafening inside the tank that conversation was impossible). There were no raidos or interior communications. Conditions were stifling hot due to the exposed the engine, radiator, and exhaust (there was no separate engine compartment). The engine itself was hand cranked to start. Crew (depending on the numbers of guns fitted) could be as many as 11 men (British tanks); commander, driver, two machine gunners, two cannon gunners, two loaders for the cannon, and two or three mechanics to keep the balky engine running. When in action, many tank crewmen wore leather vests and face masks and chain mail to protect them from flying steel splinters and spalling caused by repeated hits from the German machine guns. After their initial shock, the Germans fielded a special Mauser 13mm anti-tank rifle firing steel-cored ammunition (this monster was six feet long!) and pressed 77mm guns into the anti-tank role. The 77mm guns fired HE shells that could disable the early tanks. (Most of the early tanks were so unreliable that they broke down before they ever got into action.)
Above: The Panzerabwehrgewehr 13mm M1918 was a scaled up Model 1898 Mauser rifle designed to shoot tanks. The rifle was heavy and its recoil was fierce. It was not popular with German troops assigned to use it. The rifle shown has a replacement barrel; the standard 13mm barrel is shown in the inset.
The good thing about the first tanks were they were impervious to one of the great killers of World War 1: the machine gun. The bad thing is they were slow and badly used by senior officers who had no experience with them. On at Cambrai, the British made a massed tank attack on the German lines pushed five miles forward. However, the tanks weren't supported by infantry and the Germans counter-attacked. All the gains were lost and the frontlines were about the same as when the battle started [20 November 1917] and at the end on 3 December 1917.
The Germans developed an awkward tank of their own called the A7V. It had a high boxy hull and was armed with six machine guns and a 5,7cm gun with limited traverse.. It had very poor mobility and a crew of 18! Most of the crew were machine gun teams for the guns. Wartime photos show most of the crew (the machine gunners) riding on top of their tanks because of the heat and noise inside. Speed was 6-1/2 mph, weight 31 tons, and a range of 50 miles. Twenty were built and first saw service at St. Quentin in 1918. One A7V survives today in the Queensland (Australia) War Museum.
Above: A 1/72 scale model of an A7V. The left photo shows the tank's rear with two MG08/15 machine guns and the right photo shows a 3/4 front view with the two side mounted MG08/15 guns and bow mounted 5,7cm Maxim-Nordenfeldt gun.
The French fielded three tanks during the war. The first two, the Schneider and St. Chamond heavy tanks, were based on artillery tractors and fielded in 1916. They were boxy affairs that overhung their tracks. Each mounted a 75mm howitzer or 75mm quick firng gun gun and at least two 8mm Hotchkiss machine guns. These two infantry tanks were more akin to self-propelled artillery than tanks and were not very successful. Both tanks would bog down in all but the flatest terrain and mostly stuck to roads. The Renault FT-17 light tank was much more successful. A two man light tank, it carried either an 8mm Hotchkiss machine gun or a 37mm Puteaux cannon. The gun was designed to take out machine gun nests or bunkers. Ford motor company produced a copy of the FT-17 tank for American forces in France, but few -- if any -- saw service before the war ended.
Above: The Schneider tank carried a 75mm howitzer in the right hull and two 8mm Hotchkiss machine guns on the sides. The front hull extension and two semi-circular extensions on the rear are to help the tank avoid gettin stuck when crossing trenches. The extensions did not work and the tank was easily bogged down. This is a 1/72nd scale model. French tank outfits used playing card symbols to identify them.
Below: The St. Chamond Mk 1 (left), Mk 2 (center) and both models of Renault FT-17 (right). The the St. Chamond had even worse mobility problems than the Schneider due to its overhanging structure. It carried four 8mm Hotchkiss guns (two sides, one front, one rear) and a 75mm gun. Both the Schneider and St. Chamond were heavy infantry tanks with a speed of approximately 5 to 7 mph. The Renault FT-17 was a light tank and was able to make 15 mph. It could not cross late-war German trenches (the Germans widened their trenches as an anti-tank measure), but it was very useful in the reconnaisance role and for mobile fire support. The 37mm Puteaux cannon could take out German machine gun nests and bunkers and the 8mm Hotchkiss machine gun could deal with German infantry. The extensions bolted-on the back of each tank are designed to help prevent the tank from bogging down when crossing a trench. By late 1918 many had been removed because they no longer served their intended purpose.
The two best tanks of the First World War: (1) the British Mk V heavy tank (male) and (2) the French FT-17 light tank. Armored forces did not play many vital roles during WW1. It took the inter-war years for tacticians like Hart, Gruderian, and Patton to figure out ways to use tanks effectively. Even so, the first years of World War 2 had much trial and error as the right mix of tactics and usage was hammered out.
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