German manufacturer Mauser, designed a massive rifle intended to fire a round that could penetrate the armour of a tank and ricochet inside making a cup-o-soup of the crew. These were useful against the Mark 1's when fired from the standard German rifle, the Gewehr 98, however the greater armour of later models resulted in them being used more effectively in machine guns instead. The Germans also developed specialised ammunition for soldiers, called K-rounds. Next up came AT mines which were very deadly against tanks but wouldn't be triggered by infantry due to the fuze requiring greater pressure to detonate. By lashing together anywhere between 3 and 8 stick grenades, or potato mashers as the Tommies (British soldiers) called them, one could multiply their destructive potential. The first new weapon they created was the grenade bundle. The Germans were taken completely by surprise when it came to tanks, though they immediately looked for ways to deal with them. They'd often arrive late to a rendez-vous or wouldn't show up at all, meaning the infantry had to once again face machine guns with no support. Tanks frequently got bogged down in the mud and were easy prey for German artillery. While later on in the war, when commanders learned how to make better use of them, tanks helped to break the trench warfare stalemate and give Britain and her allies a massive advantage in the battles to come, but at Passchendaele, these lumbering behemoths were a liability-not a wonder weapon. Tanks were notorious for a lack of reliability. The crew of most tanks consisted of 8 men including gunners, gearsmen, and drivers. A variety of bells and whistles were added to tanks, from tools designed to help break barbed wire for infantry, to grenade deflecting mesh and various forms of camouflage. These were mounted in turrets on either side called sponsons. The male featured 2, 6 pound cannons and the female featured 4 machine guns. Tanks came in two forms, male and female. They would be deployed again at Passchendaele along with the newer, improved models. They were first put into use at the Somme in 1916. The British Mark 1 tank was the first tank in history.
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