15/06/2026
Talking WW1 tanks
Excited to share that The Tank Museum has included my talk in the programme for their upcoming one-day academic seminar marking the 110th anniversary of the first use of tanks in World War One. The seminar is titled ‘The Tanks Have Done Marvels’ – a quote attributed to General Sir Douglas Haig – and the presentations will examine the debut of the Mark I tank during the Battle of the Somme in September 1916, plus related topics.
I’ll be looking at the Schneider CA – char d’assaut – France’s first combat tank, which I’ve been researching since seeing the last surviving example at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France, a few years ago. On the Western Front, the French Army faced the same challenges as the British: barbed wire, increased enemy firepower, and the broken-up physical terrain and trenches. The first French solution that addressed all three and went into action was the Schneider CA. I’ll be reviewing how it was developed and comparing it with the first British solution, the Mark I.
The Tank Museum has planned well ahead as the seminar is scheduled for 21 November 2026 at the museum in Dorset, UK. For more details, head to: https://tankmuseum.org/110-anniversary
(Pic 1 = mine; pics 2 & 3 = US National Archives)
