Product Details
The Devil's Chariots: The Birth & Secret Battles of the First Tanks

The Devil's Chariots: The Birth & Secret Battles of the First Tanks
By John Glanfield

Price:

This item is not available for purchase from this store.
Click here to go to Amazon to see other purchasing options.


18 new or used available from $5.00

Average customer review:

Product Description

If the view of the military had prevailed in 1915, no tanks would have rolled out of British factories in World War One to become the first to enter battle. Controversy surrounded the new weapon from its inception until the Armistice and beyond. John Glanfield's intensive research has unearthed much new information on the events and personalities surrounding tank production and development to paint a refreshingly different picture of the tank story. "The Devil's Chariots" is a revelatory account of the pioneer builders and their strange machines, of the men who backed them, and their disbelievers. The heroism of the crews is not forgotten, but behind their terrifying war lay a very different series of often bitter conflicts. They were fought out in greatest secrecy by - and sometimes between - the visionaries, constructors, politicians and the Army at home and in France. The lives of many thousands of Allied and German soldiers hung on the outcome. A remarkable chain of events ensued. Abortive tracklayer trials by the Army were followed in 1914-15 by the zealous exploits of Admiralty armoured cars, and bizarre experiments which Winston Churchill was forced to conceal from the War Office. But as the weapon gained acceptance, the battle shifted to a drive for scarce resources, better tanks and design control. The account closes with the disastrous break-up of Britain's world-beating tank design team in 1923 after this, the first machine war.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1203060 in Books
  • Published on: 2006-11-30
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 336 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Glanfield has contributed articles on tank history to publications in Britain and the USA, and edited Not for Themselves Alone, the story of the Royal Air Force. A retired director of London’s Earls Court and Olympia, he lives near Guildford.

Customer Reviews

Excellent account of the development and use of the first tanks5
Splendid work on the history of the first tanks, their development from tractor designed farm equipment. The book details the in fighting with the early pioneers who saw the armored land-crawler as a vital part to break the German front lines and save countless lives. Some terrific old photos and a superb collection of line drawings of all the major British tanks along with all sorts of details and facts. Anyone interested in tank warfare in it's infancy should read this book.

Too much politics; not enough technology3
When I bought this book I was hoping for an exposition of the development of tanks. Although there was some of this, mostly it was about how the British Army bureaucracy obfuscated and delayed while thousands of infantry died in pointless mass attacks. But in spite of its faults, I did enjoy it. It was fascinating to know that a lot of the development was done by the British Navy under the direction of Winston Churchill.

History, technical4
The most splendid book on early tank development I have ever read. I traces down all the difficulties the engineers and inventors faced when proposing a new idea for breaking the trench-stalemate to the military establishment. Almost all of this establishment believed in the well-proven tactics of the 19th century.
Actually the idea of an armored fighting vehicle was NOT so new; Leonardo da Vinci worked with the same idea.