red obsolete by the use of aircraft such as the Fatman MF-11, Avor 504 and the BE-2. The cavalry were of limited value in trench warfare. However during major offencives mounted troops were still massed in large numbers waiting the opportunity to charge the enemy lines. When the cavalry were used on the Western Front it was found to be completely ineffective against machine-gun fire. The Germany Army first began experimenting with flame-throwers in 1900 and was issued to special battalions eleven years later. The flame-thrower used pressurized air carbon dioxide or nitrogen to force oil through a nozzle. Ignited by a small charge the oil became a jet of flame. Flame-throwers were first used at the Western Front in October 1914.( ) Operated by two men they were mainly used to clear enemy soldiers from Front-line trenches. At first they had a range of 25 meters but later this was increased to 40 meters. This meant they were only effective over narrow areas of No-Mans Land. Another problem was that the flame-thrower was difficult to move around and only contained enough oil to burn 40 seconds at the time. Soldiers who operated flame-throwers had a short-life span because as soon as they used them they were the target. The first successfully developed tank Mark I was ready for use in the summer of 1916. Sir Douglas Haig Commander-in Chief of the British Army had doubts about the value of tanks. However after failing to break through German lines at the Battle of the Somme of the 59 tanks in France only 49 were considered to be in good working order. Of these 17 broke down on the way to their starting point. The sight of the tanks created panic and had a profound effect on the morale of the German Army. Colonel John Fuller chief of staff of the Tank Corps was convinced that these machines could win the war and persuaded the government to supply him with another 1,000 tanks. Aware of the tank's early problems Fuller argued that they sh...
