Gradez Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 (edited) Dear readers, I was not quite sure where to post this, as one could consider it German/British/armour related. But I wanted to share this, as in my opinion it shows in its own way, how the German Imperial Army dealt with the introduction of the tanks by the British in WWI. I do not know, when or where this picture was taken. I found it among others in a stash of photographs depicting the wartime experience of an enlisted man (Ersatzreservist), who served with 368th Regiment of infantry (10. Ersatzdivision) in France from around 1914 until late 1916 and subsequently with 429th IR (224. Division) in the eastern theatre of operations. 224. Div. was moved to France in September 1918. My guess would be, that the picture was taken in France, as tank warfare at the eastern front was limited. Futhermore I think, that the reproduktion was build for training purposes, or just to give the men an impression of what they might have to face. There is a caption on the rear: „Das neue feindl(iche) Angriffsmittel „Der Tank“ umstehend eine Nachbildung aus Holz.“ (German: The new enemy means of attack (or advance) "The Tank" overleaf a wooden reproduktion). I hope, that this is of interest for you and would be pleased to read your opinions. Kind regards Gradez Edited October 15, 2015 by Gradez correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redherring Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 How intriguing. I imagine the tanks on both sides were cumbersome and tricky to manoeuvre on the battle field. Perhaps the mock-up was used for the tactical training of German tank crews? Perhaps this is the 'before' shot ... there are no holes in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Makes a lot of sense. The British had a 'This is a Tank' program for thier troops . Aftert all 1 What is it? 2 Is it friendly? 3 If it isn't friendly, how do you damage it? Was the guy artillery? They in particular would need to judge range from apparent size and direction from aspect. The Great War seems to be a coming of age of the idea that troops on all sides have to think for themselves. So large Visual Aids are ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gradez Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Was the guy artillery? Hi Tony, thank you for your reply. As far as I know, he was not artillery - just plain infantry. Regards Gradez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondshooter Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Great picture and thanks for showing it !, I have never seen it or any other like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 The Germans made a great deal of replica wooden tanks for training purposes (as how to engage them not operate them). Tankograd publications did a book on the subject: http://www.tankograd.com/cms/website.php?id=/en/Wehrmacht-Special-4013.htm and they feature in the Beute Tanks book vol1 here: http://www.tankograd.com/cms/website.php?id=/en/beute-tanks-vol1.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted170 Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Bulgarian troops at the Salonika front, with quite an elaborate wood&canvas tank. http://www.lostbulgaria.com/?p=4632 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sim60 Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Thanks for posting the pictures and explanations as I find this very interesting as it`s part of WW1 you never normally hear about. Thanks Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flandersflyer Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Dear readers, I was not quite sure where to post this, as one could consider it German/British/armour related. But I wanted to share this, as in my opinion it shows in its own way, how the German Imperial Army dealt with the introduction of the tanks by the British in WWI. I do not know, when or where this picture was taken. I found it among others in a stash of photographs depicting the wartime experience of an enlisted man (Ersatzreservist), who served with 368th Regiment of infantry (10. Ersatzdivision) in France from around 1914 until late 1916 and subsequently with 429th IR (224. Division) in the eastern theatre of operations. 224. Div. was moved to France in September 1918. My guess would be, that the picture was taken in France, as tank warfare at the eastern front was limited. Futhermore I think, that the reproduktion was build for training purposes, or just to give the men an impression of what they might have to face. [ATTACH=CONFIG]108838[/ATTACH] There is a caption on the rear: „Das neue feindl(iche) Angriffsmittel „Der Tank“ umstehend eine Nachbildung aus Holz.“ (German: The new enemy means of attack (or advance) "The Tank" overleaf a wooden reproduktion). [ATTACH=CONFIG]108839[/ATTACH] I hope, that this is of interest for you and would be pleased to read your opinions. Kind regards Gradez it could have been used for Artillery recognition (a silhouette).. or for flyers.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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