Exactly 100 years on from the first tank attack in history, The Tank Museum honored the memory of pioneering British tankers with a special appearance at Trafalgar Square in central London, supported by World of Tanks publisher and developer Wargaming.
On 15 September 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the British Army sent tanks into action for the first time, changing the nature of warfare forever. The men who took part in that action were young and inexperienced – the pioneers of a completely new kind of warfare.
To mark the occasion, on 15 September 2016, a British First World War tank was positioned on Trafalgar Square in London for public display.
Trafalgar Square was been chosen to mark the centenary for the part it played hosting “Tank Banks” during the First World War. To raise funds for the new tank army, the government sent tanks on tour around the country in a series of high profile War Bond drives, where the new ‘wonder weapons’ attracted huge crowds.
Trafalgar Square hosted several “Tank Banks,” as they were known, with politicians and celebrities climbing aboard to deliver speeches.
Tank Museum Curator David Willey said; “It is fitting that we should use the tank as a ‘prop’ to honor the memory of the brave and pioneering soldiers who fought in this first ever tank battle. Their experience sheds a different perspective on the conduct of the war and the experience of the troops that fought in it.”
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