[8] The arrow was the means of immobilising the knight by forcing him to dismount. Horse armour was never very satisfactory. Regarding the maces, a chronicler writes of their use by the archers at Agincourt: “It seemed as though they were hammering upon anvils.”
[9] The idea of a mobile fortress or battle car is very old: chariots are known to have existed in Assyria as far back as the year 3500 b.c. The Egyptians and Israelites both adopted them from this source. In Biblical times their tactical utility was considerable, as the Book of Judges relates. The Chinese, as early as 1200 B.C., made use of war cars armoured against projectiles.
[10] Much of the following information is taken from an article entitled “The Forerunner of the Tank,” by H. H. Manchester, published in The American Mechanist, vol. 49, No. 15.
[11] “The Forerunner of the Tank,” by H. H. Manchester.
[12] For Edgeworth’s invention and the short summary of the footed-wheel, etc., which follows see The Engineer, August 10, 1917, and following issues.
[13] The Engineer, ibid.
[14] The machine constructed by the Trench Warfare Department was the double bogey car designed by the Pedrail Company, of which it will be remembered twelve were originally ordered by the “Landships Committee” and eventually abandoned. The resuscitation of this machine arose as follows:
During the summer of 1915 the Trench Warfare Department approached the Pedrail Company concerning the design of a flame projector with the capacity of 12,000 gallons of petrol. In order to carry this weapon the Pedrail Company suggested their original design, which, though it was not approved of by the “Landships Committee,” was accepted by the Trench Warfare Department. One machine was placed on order and built at Bath by Messrs. Stothert and Pitt, the pedrails being manufactured by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Co., Ltd., and the frame by Messrs. William Arrol. The machine when built weighed 32 tons unloaded, was equipped with two 100 h.p. Astor engines, and when tested out on Salisbury Plain attained a speed of 15 miles an hour. Only one of these machines was made, as eventually the idea of using mechanically driven flame projectors was abandoned.
[15] This is the first appearance of the word “tank” in the history of the machine. Up to December 1915, the machines now known as “tanks” were, in the experimental stage, called “landships” or “land cruisers,” and also “caterpillar machine-gun destroyers.” On December 24, whilst drafting the above report of the Conference it occurred to Colonel Swinton that the use of the above names would give away a secret which it was important to preserve. After consultation with Lieutenant-Colonel W. Daily-Jones, assistant secretary of the “Committee of Imperial Defence,” the following names were suggested by Colonel Swinton—“cistern,” “reservoir,” and “tank,” all of which were applicable to the steel-like structure of the machines in the earlier stages of manufacture. Because it was less clumsy and monosyllabic the name “tank” was decided on.
[16] On February 8, 1915.