 The British War Office carried out a rudimentary trial with a Holt tractor. Several key figures in tank development, including J.B.E. Estienne and Joseph Vollmer, were influenced by Holt tractors and investigated the possibilities of tracked fighting vehicles. They decided not to pursue production of the Holt design and instead independently developed the first British tanks. The French also purchased Holts from the USA and used them as the basis for their own early tanks, the Schneider and Saint-Chamond. Later in the War, Holt tractors commandeered by the Austro-Hungarian army and loaned to the Germans formed the basis of the German A7V tank.
