Designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare, tanks made their first faltering appearance at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916. How did the guns operate? How was the fuel stored?

The tank was designed to withstand machine-gun fire and break through trench defences. Horace Leslie Birks was put in charge of one of these early tanks at Passchendaele. HORACE LESLIE BIRKS ...