Patton was sent to the French Light Tank Training Center at Chamlieu for a two-week crash course on the subject. (National Archives)īefore establishing the school, Patton needed to have at least a rudimental knowledge of tanks. Rockenbach, a cavalry officer like Patton, had no previous experience with tanks when he assumed command of the Tank Corps on 22 December 1917. Patton’s superiors saw promise in the ambitious officer and charged him with the task of establishing a tank school for the AEF. Among these qualifications were his fluency in French, and the fact that he was the only American who had “ever made an attack in a motor vehicle.” This attack occurred during the Punitive Expedition of 1916 and resulted in the death of one of Pancho Villa’s key subordinates, Captain Julio Cardenas. He had gotten word of the Army’s plan for the creation of a Tank Corps and, at the encouragement of his superiors, penned a letter to Pershing highlighting his qualifications for a position in the compelling new unit. Patton, then serving as post adjutant and commander of the AEF Headquarters Company at Chaumont, was unhappy with his assignment and eager to move on to something more stimulating. Drain began another study, this time into the production, design, maintenance, and supply of tanks. In terms of manpower, Eltinge estimated that the new take force would require 14,827 men in order to man, repair, and transport the tanks, operate depots, and perform other related duties. He further estimated that fifteen percent of the original 1,800 tanks would need to be procured each month in order to adjust for attrition. Utilizing the board’s findings, Eltinge proceeded to determine the number and types of resources required to establish a “Combat Tank Service.”Īfter consulting AEF personnel, Eltinge sent an estimate to the War Department stating that 600 heavy and 1,200 Renault light tanks would be needed by the new department. Meanwhile, Pershing appointed Lieutenant Colonel LeRoy Eltinge to supervise all tank related initiatives. In regard to which model of tank the new department was to employ, the board recommended a combination of British heavy Mark VI (a model which never reached production) and French Renault light tanks, as these were found to be the only satisfactory models. In a report submitted on 1 September, the board concluded that the tank was “destined” to play a role in future combat operations and recommended that a separate tank department under the command of a single officer, who was to report directly to Pershing, be created. Encouraged by initial reports, Pershing created a board to conduct a more in-depth evaluation of British and French Tanks. After arriving in Paris in June 1917, he established committees to study tank warfare. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), approached the weapon with an open mind. Luckily, for America’s allies, General John J. ![]() When the United States entered the “War to End all Wars,” it was behind the curve. Army employed modern technology effectively in its 1916 retaliatory expedition against Poncho Villa, utilizing reconnaissance planes, armored cars, trucks, and motorcycles, it had yet to employ tanks. Having no previous experience with tanks, Patton went through a two-week crash course at the French Light Tank Center and later visited the Renault Tank Works. ![]() Patton, Jr., was commanding the AEF Headquarters Company at Chaumont in the fall of 1917 when he was assigned the job of establishing an AEF tank school in France. It was not until 1918 that the first German tanks, in very limited numbers, appeared on the battlefield. Germany, although on the receiving end of the tanks’ destructive power, remained unconvinced of their worth. ![]() Nevertheless, their impact was enough to provide hope for an end to the bloodletting in the trenches.Īfter the Somme, Great Britain and France worked at improving the mechanized behemoths. These massive, intimidating, metal hulks debuted to mixed results, as they were prone to mechanical malfunctions and were easily impeded by rough terrain. Great Britain and France developed prototypes simultaneously, but the British were the first to deploy their “landships” (as they were referred to in early development) at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. While the idea of an armored vehicle equipped with cannon can be traced as far back as Leonardo De Vinci’s fifteenth century sketches, the production of such a contraption did not occur until necessitated by the stagnation of trench warfare on the Western Front. World War I, in particular, heralded the introduction of numerous formidable and terrifying technologies: flamethrowers, poison gas, combat aircraft, and tanks, to name a few. For better or for worse, war often drives innovation.
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