Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-01-27

war machine euDl0nlOuSly termed the
Tank" In reality there is nothing
strikingly original in its conception.
| The tanks most outstanding feature
! Is the remarkably ingenious way In
| which an idea of old standing has been
| adapted, and with great success. for a
| start at least, 10 modern warfare. Il
! is beyond doubt that the British tank
! few weeks ago just as disastrously
surprised the enemy as did the first
big application of German gas con-
! found OF own men on that Inflated
| day in Northern Flanders when the
! Canadians were driven from their
| trenches.
| 1t is not permissible here to describe
| in detail this marvellous engine OF war.
! Suffice it to say that it is a self
propelling and heavily armored fort
ress on wheels-not wheels as they are
| Familiarity understood, but objects al
most rhombic in shape, the better to
negotiate a shell-fissured cross coun-
try bristling with all sorts Of impedi-
| menta. Rifle and shrapnel bullets
splay off its St 81 sides like hailstones
from a tiled roof, unless by some evil
should find a fortress loophole.
The British tank is an appliance pre-
eminently for an advancing army, and
very much better suited for summer
than winter conditions, for. despite
| its grasshopper-like movements and
its tremendous horsepower, mud is
an inveterate enemy which sooner or
later calls a halt. For this reason
alone it is a clog and a hindrance,
rather han a help, to an army that
is retrogressing as the Germans to-
day are doing in the West. It may
thus be wise not to allow the bright
hopes engendered by the mighty ini-
tial feats of this strangest Of all war
contrivaLces to carry US too far. Moth
ing that moves on the war front today
can stan,1 a direct hit from field gun
or howiszer and If the wheels of the
attacking tank stick hopelessly in the
mire fronting hostile artillery nothing
can save It AMI its gallant defenders
from beng involved IN a common ruin
but the dash OF friendly infantry or
the intrepidity Of some field battery.
Several years ago a German officer
designed land battleship, which was
intended to be used in the next great
war; but try as they might, and eager
as they were, for a startling innoya-
ton, the German military authorities
could not make a success Of it.
Planned on more generous lines than
even the tank, it was designed to
mount no less than 80 guns each Of
6-inch caliber, protected by steel,
while to work this moving menace 400
men were required. AS a matter OF
fact, this would-be German terror new
er even attained to a rehearsal, not
withstanding that the emperor him.
self took q warm interest in it, and
was reluctantly ruled out of court.
In the Days Of Old -@,s
But other contriyances Of q SINH
lar nature, though of much less am.
bilious Uretensions, have come into
practical existence, and duly taken
part in warfare In the protracted
North and South struggle in America
over so years ago, both sides made
use of land ironclads, but they were
not q brilliant success. For one thing,
their Vropulsive powers were gained
from steam, and with smoke belching
from iactoryli&e chimneys they were
detected long ere getting into effec-
tive range. So slow and unwieldly
were they, too, that no sooner was
the range obtained than the enemy
by an adroit move GRADED the danger
before material damage could be done.
In the many wars this country has
been embroiled in, armored trains
have been resorted to wherever pos
sible, with more or less success, the
lack of radius of travel being more
than compensated for by the mobility
afforded by the rails. Even In the
Boer war, where well-afmed enemy
| of marvellous cunning had to be
fought, the armored trains paid their
way. But In the Crimean campaign
there were no such facilities, or what
did exist were extremely limited, and
as we were again the attacking side It
soonsbecame obvious that some sort OF
Extensively defensive device was q
crying necessity. What Is more, such
thing took shape In the brain OF an
inventor, was committed with exacti.
tude to paper and even patented but
the end of the war arrived before 1t
could make its debut. In those days
except for a few British Lancaster
guns which dispensed elongated mis-
siles-artiIlery fired round projectiles.
and these, naturally, possessed small
penGtrative, powers, so that the
Tank" as then designed was flimsy
thing compared with that of today.
II was about the size of very mod
est furniture wagon, suggesting by It's
appearance an enormous dish cover,
the smooth rounded sides being reck-
.oned invuIneraUIe to anything fired by
field piece. On. the other hand. this
wheeled vixen mounted eight sturdy
guns, in addition, had loopholes for
some forty muskets, SO arranged that
the fortress could continue to douFly
resist even when completely sur
rounded. Happily that anything but
brilliant campaign ended before the
locomotive" as 1t was called, could
show its PAGES.
Fortress Cars in South Africa -
1t takes a full-fledged war to give a
flip to inventions OF the tank order,