In that attack it became stranded in a shell crater, and was eventually recovered from the battlefield by men of the AIF and their British comrades. Its second operation came at Villers-Bretonneux on 24 April 1918. Mephisto fought its first ever battle at St Quentin on 21 March 1918. Despite these problems, the value of the armoured machines was such that they were prized by all sides – the British through ongoing development and production, and the Germans through the salvage and reuse of broken British tanks taken from the battlefield. Visibility was difficult through the small vision slits in the sides and front, and the tanks stopped regularly for the officer in charge to reorient himself. In battle the machines lurched through shell holes and trenches, and the men inside were thrown around mercilessly.

Despite the tank’s protective armour, each hit sent tiny particles of hot metal flying off the inside walls and onto the men’s faces.

The driver and commander sat above the tank’s engine, wearing asbestos-impregnated suits to protect themselves from the heat, while others preferred to sit atop the tank when not in action to escape the fumes and discomfort of the interior. The German models held much larger crews than the British, with anywhere between 18 and 26 men on board. These newly invented war machines were hot, noisy, and cramped.

Ww2 main british battle tank