After much trial and error, the British and French produced useful tanks in WWI, but why didn't the Germans? I read that the severely flawed design of German tanks led them to capture Allied tanks, repaint them with an iron cross, and then turn them back against the Allies. Any comments on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

The tank was designed by the British and the information shared with the French. The Germans had not given a thought to designing a tank till it appeared on the battle front. When the workers in Britain asked what they were building they were told it was a Mobile water tank to take fresh water to the troops, hence the name tank

In late 1914 after observing a small American-made caterpillar tractor in France, Lt. Col. Ernest D. Swinton, an English officer, recommended to the British Committee of Imperial Defense that caterpillar tractors be armored and armed for use in combat. Although his proposal was not immediately accepted by the committee, it gained strong support of one of its members, Winston S. Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty.

The Royal Navy, largely at Churchill's urging, sponsored experiments and tests of the vehicle as a type of "land ship" during 1915, and the tank at last became a reality. In an effort to keep secret the real purpose of the early models when they were being shipped to France, the English labeled them tanks- for use as water tanks by Russia. Thus originated the name of tank for the new weapon. The naval background of the tank's development also explains such nautical tank terms as hatch, hull, bow, and ports. The great secrecy surrounding tank development, coupled with the skepticism of infantry commanders, often meant that infantry had little training to cooperate with tanks. As a result, the infantry would become separated from the tanks, allowing the German infantry to defeat the two arms separately.

Small, local attacks, beginning at Flers on the Somme on 15 September 1916, dissipated the initial surprise of the tank. Not until 20 November 1917, at Cambrai, did the British Tank Corps get the conditions it needed for success. Around 400 tanks penetrated almost six miles on a 7-mile front in an attack at Cambrai. This was the first large-scale employment of tanks in combat. Unfortunately, success was not complete because the infantry failed to exploit and secure the tanks' gains. The British scored another victory the following year, on 8 August 1918, with 600 tanks in the Amiens salient. General Eric von Ludendorff referred to that date as the "Black Day" of the German Army. The German response to the Cambrai assault was to develop its own armored program. Soon the massive A7V appeared. The A7V was a monster, weighing 30 tons with a crew of eighteen. By the end of the war, only fifteen had been built. Although other tanks were on the drawing board, material shortages limited the German tank corps to these A7V’s and some captured Mark IV’s. The A7V would be involved in the first tank versus tank battle of the war on April 24, 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux -- a battle in which there was no clear winner.

Originally Posted by LeEnfield

The tank was designed by the British and the information shared with the French. The Germans had not given a thought to designing a tank till it appeared on the battle front. When the workers in Britain asked what they were building they were told it was a Mobile water tank to take fresh water to the troops, hence the name tank

You have to wonder though, surely they were a little suspicious about bolting half a dozen medium calibre guns to a mobile water tank.

Originally Posted by Jeff Simmons

After much trial and error, the British and French produced useful tanks in WWI, but why didn't the Germans? I read that the severely flawed design of German tanks led them to capture Allied tanks, repaint them with an iron cross, and then turn them back against the Allies. Any comments on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

To be honest I have read more accounts of German vehicles being used by the Allies in WW1 than vice versa as by 1917-1918 a lot of German equipment had been captured so it made sense to reuse some of it to offset material shortages during the 1918 Allied campaigns.

However given the resource shortages faced by the Germans toward the end of the war, we have all seen the photos of church bells being melted and the pipes being dug up in Berlin to supplement the war effort I think it would make sense to reuse captured equipment as well.

I have never read accounts of German tanks being utilized by the British, but it seems entirely possible. The Germans weren't the only ones hard up for raw materials.

Never heard of German tanks used by anybody else, possible, I suppose.
There were very few produced. They were very unreliable.
A7V was the designation I recall.
I believe most of one still exists in an Australian museum.

Australian or Austrain Also why Australian and not in a british, french or american museum?

Just interested. By the way i found a video of the "Watertank" http://www.history.co.uk/this-day-in...tember-06.html

It could be that they bought the tank first and stuck in an Australian Museum and why not may I ask as they fought just as hard and as long as any other country

I'm with LeEnfield...There's nothing odd about having a German tank in a museum in Australia. They did their fair share of the fighting. I am fortunate to live about an hour south of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (US) and they have an amazing collection of planes in their museum: everything from the first Wright flyer up to a stealth fighter, and everything in between, including several German biplanes and Soviet fighters. My favorite is a WWI Italian bomber. Should these be on display in their country of origin? I think they belong right where they are.

I just wasnt expecting that Australia got one or more of that rare tanks, wich had nothing to do with me having a doubt of Australia not doing its part. Maybe just noone else wanted it or the Australians were so dominant to say "Thats ours! And thats ours too!" but i dont know how things like that work.