Trench and camp. ([Admiral, Md.) 1917-1919, 1917-12-12
Inventor Of Juggernaut
Which Germans Call
Most Wonderful Weapon
Which Modern Tactics
Have Revealed in War
fare" Tells Of Their
Origin

@@A@SSAAA s01S VkUQUCGU TWO BcuB&r
lions IN this war. They are the tanks
ana the hush-hush ships.
OF the tanks little was known until
! they began breaking down -berbed
wire entanglements. crushing In
trenches and their occupants and
proving that trench warfare was not
necessarily stalemate. OF the hush
hush ships there were many rumors
long before they appeared. They have
been seen to be leviathans among
warships, capable Of developing ire
mendOus speed and working great
havoc. How great that havoc is will
probably remain mystery until in
days Of peace there Is a recapitulation
or the achievements Of the war.
But the tanks, which came upon an
unexpecting enemy, are becoming
more and better known az the war
progresses. In the Liberty Loan pa
rades America saw one of these
monsters at close range.
1t was under Lieutenant General
Sir Julian Byng that the tanks came
into their own. Sir Julian was a
great believer in their efficiency from
tine time he first, saw them in opera
tion. In his plans for battle they en-
tered well into his reckoning. He
pleaded for the mobilization of a
large force Of them and protested
that. II sufficiently large force were
available, he would establish some
new presidents In warfare and would
shatter some old beliefs.
One day last month, without any
preliminary barrage, q battalion of
tanks emerged from the rear of Sir
Junang lines. They had been quietly
assembled in the night. They had
come quietly, 30 quietly that even the
@rgus-eyed espionage system of the
German military was taken nm
awares. The rest Of the story is well
known.
Idea Game from o. 8. A.
But what are the tanksf Why are
they % wonderfully eficient?
Their story was told recently by
Colonel p. ID. Swinton, C.B., D.SO..
=. H., Assistant Secretary OF the Brit
lsh War Cabinet. Colonel Swinton
told . correspondent for the New
York Herald that the germ Of the
tank idea came from America, in the
Holt tractor. He said: 1--WE had
been looking for Q new war machine,
capable Of going over rough ground
and being able TO fight. We had
made no headway until July, 1914, Q
month before the war began. Then
an olMceR reported to me that he had
seen . tractor near Antwerp, which
was able TO climb over rough ground
and which might supply the principle
81 the machine for which we were
searching.
~ went to zee the machine and
found Q farmer &C work with it In his
held. Without letting him know my
identity or the purpose Of my ques-
ta0Nimg. succeeded in making him
demonstrate it, working to me.
pretended 20 be enthusiastic about It
and the farmer caught something OF
my enthugiagm and tried TO show it
on 30 the best p0ngihle advantage. He
climbed over some Of the toughest
ground he could ind. Immediately
saw the possibilities In the tractor.
When the war started, events
moved with such rapid succession
that e was October before we were
able 20 give our attention to the de-
veiopmeut of the tank. am not an
tnvsntlR, but obtained the services
OF two oz1eers who are inventors and
wo set about making q war machine
along entirely new lines. The devel-
Upmemt Of the machine was slow and
Il was almost two years before the
first tank appeared on the field to
teTFafy the Germans"
In the September number of the
Strand Magazine, Colonel Swinton
told Of the difaculty in finding name
for the new Juggernaut. ut was nee
essaTy that the name should reveal
nothing to the Germans. Finally the
word 'arank" was chosen because IL
waa 10 nOM-committal. Says Colonel
eWlnton In the Strand: aside from
being called 'Panzerkraftwagen' and
Observation-Disclosures auto
mobip By the Germans, the machines
were otherwise miscalled."
Blg Ones and Little Ones
Coloael EWinton told Of the fear
Of the German intelligence service