![]() ![]() The Battle of Flers-Courcelette was a set-piece operation which began on 15 September and ended on the 22nd. Although their initial effectiveness is debatable and designs were primitive, the face of modern warfare was changed forever. ![]() Manufacture was discontinued at the end of the war.The first ever tanks used in combat were unleashed onto the battlefield during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916, during the larger Somme offensive. More than two thousand British heavy tanks were produced. The Mark V, with a much improved transmission, entered service in mid-1918. The Mark IV was used en masse, about 460 tanks, at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. With the exception of the few interim Mark II and Mark III tanks, it was followed by the largely similar Mark IV, which first saw combat in June 1917. The Mark I entered service in August 1916, and was first used in action on the morning of 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Somme Offensive. Later, subtypes were produced with machine guns only, which were designated "Female", while the original version with the protruding 6-pounder was called "Male". The prototype, named " Mother", mounted a 6-pounder (57 mm) cannon and a Hotchkiss machine gun at each side. Instead, the main armament was arranged in sponsons at the side of the vehicle. Due to the height necessary for this shape, an armed turret would have made the vehicle too tall and unstable. British heavy tanks are distinguished by a rhomboidal shape with a high climbing face of the track, designed to cross the wide and deep trenches prevalent on the battlefields of the Western Front. ![]()
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