A Russian armored car in Poland Collier's photographic history of the European War.

Collier's photographic history of the European War.

A Russian armored car in Poland.

The invention of the car was a helpful vehicle for militaries around the world. Troops and supplies could be moved further in much less time, and as more advances were made, special vehicles were invented to meet the needs of militaries. This “iron-clad” automobile is a forerunner to the military tank. Covered in metal sheets and equipped with a place for lookout and weaponry, this disguised motorcar was used by the Italian Army just a few short years before World War I (1914-1918). However, in 1915, shortly after war broke out, an Australian engineer named Lance de Mole successfully invented the tank. The tank didn’t rely on a motorcar as a framework on which armor was fixed. Instead, two large tracks rotate and moved the vehicle instead of wheels. This enables them to cover rough terrain like going up hills that cars wouldn’t be able to climb. WWI tanks were also very slow and could not travel faster than 4 miles per hour. Over the course of the war, 8,200 tanks were built by all sides.