Why no World War 1 Games?

[Atari5200]

tanks were invented by the British and rolled out in 1916, the French used them in 1917. I don't know if the Germans ever got a hold of tanks or not, so depending on the game, if you were fighting against the germans, you'd have no tanks to contend with.

[BassGuitari]

tanks were invented by the British and rolled out in 1916, the French used them in 1917. I don't know if the Germans ever got a hold of tanks or not, so depending on the game, if you were fighting against the germans, you'd have no tanks to contend with.

 

The Germans did use tanks, but they were almost exclusively captured French (usually Renault FT-17s) and British models (often Marks IV and V), repainted with the Iron Cross. It is interesting though, since Germany was often ahead of the curve when it came to armaments and technology, that they wouldn't pursue the tank.

 

Germany produced only one model of tank during WW1, and only something like 20 of them. Google the A7V Sturmpanzerwagen, and it should be easy to see why they didn't catch on.

 

But, there were no such things as "tank battles" in WW1. Tanks were used to support infantry during attacks. They'd roll along at a brisk 5 or so MPH, providing cover for advancing soldiers as well as additional firepower. Unfortunately, since they were so slow, and since the battlefields on the Western Front were often mucky, tanks were easy targets for artillery gunners. And getting back the point, tanks were not typically used to combat tanks, though it's conceivable that enemy tanks did clash from time to time.

 

I truly pity the tank drivers of WW1. Inside many tanks, it was so loud that crews had to communicate by hand signals, and fumes and heat from the engine (cabin temperatures approaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit were not uncommon) often resulted in respiratory illnesses, cancer, and other diseases.

[PressureCooker2600]

Plus, the tanks caused sheer terror in the regular infantry that were manning the trenches. Most had never seen such a machine and were scared stiff.....and most got run over as they stood frozen in terror. But yea, there were no pitched tank battles at all. Tanks were support.......as opposed to WWII, when they became the main assault force in some theatres, with infantry and the air force backing them up.

 

And, like bassguitari said, the tanks of old were just as deadly to the occupants, as they were to the opponents. The cramped quarters and sheer heat was enough to destroy anyone with a weak constitution.

 

 

Man, I love talking history with my fellow peers. Can't wait to finish my major.

[BassGuitari]

Plus, the tanks caused sheer terror in the regular infantry that were manning the trenches. Most had never seen such a machine and were scared stiff.....and most got run over as they stood frozen in terror.

 

Well, I don't know about that...you'd have to be pretty shell-shocked to not move out of the way of a vehicle moving 5 MPH, give or take. Reminds me of the steamroller scene from Austin Powers.

 

At first though, you're right, tanks scared the shit out of enemies (usually Germans) who hadn't seen them before. And at first, they just fled from them. Unfortunately for the attackers of the early tank campaigns, the tanks only made it a few miles before they broke down (assuming they weren't destroyed or mired in mud/trenches and abandoned along the way), rendering the attack unsustainable, and ground gained by the offense was quickly regained by the defenders.

 

And history is fun to discuss. We should go start a World War 1 thread.

[Atari5200]

Plus, the tanks caused sheer terror in the regular infantry that were manning the trenches. Most had never seen such a machine and were scared stiff.....and most got run over as they stood frozen in terror.

 

 

At first though, you're right, tanks scared the shit out of enemies (usually Germans) who hadn't seen them before. And at first, they just fled from them. Unfortunately for the attackers of the early tank campaigns, the tanks only made it a few miles before they broke down (assuming they weren't destroyed or mired in mud/trenches and abandoned along the way), rendering the attack unsustainable, and ground gained by the offense was quickly regained by the defenders.

 

And history is fun to discuss. We should go start a World War 1 thread.

 

from what I read, the allied tanks were quite successful.

[+remowilliams]

I truly pity the tank drivers of WW1. Inside many tanks, it was so loud that crews had to communicate by hand signals, and fumes and heat from the engine (cabin temperatures approaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit were not uncommon) often resulted in respiratory illnesses, cancer, and other diseases.

Yeah between the noise, temperature, exhaust fumes, armor bolt/rivet spalling, and the many layers of cloth/leather they had to wear that must have been hell inside a steel box.

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

from what I read, the allied tanks were quite successful.

 

The german artillery was quiete more successful.........

[Recycled]

from what I read, the allied tanks were quite successful.

 

The german artillery was quiete more successful.........

 

 

fascist

[BassGuitari]

from what I read, the allied tanks were quite successful.

 

I guess that depends on the definition of "successful."

 

I'm not saying the tanks of WW1 were disasters. In fact, they were far from it. They did, more or less, what they were designed to do. In that regard, they were successful, and at the time, highly innovative.

 

But they were not without their problems, and they were weapons in their infancy. Tank tactics had not really developed yet; no one knew how to use them to their full potential. That would come by 1939, though. Also, as mentioned before, they were very slow, vulnerable to artillery, dangerous to operate, and got almost no gas mileage. Thanks in part to these things, the number of tanks destroyed and/or abandoned was proportionately high.

 

Nevertheless, despite those shortcomings, tanks participated successfully in many battles, notably during the Allied Counteroffensives in the summer and autumn of 1918.

 

I can't really say much about Germany's use of tanks, though. I can venture that since Germany relied largely on captured tanks (equating to tanks being less available), their use must have been comparatively limited. They were probably used heavily during the Spring Offensives in 1918, which were initially successful.

 

By the way, in case anyone's interested, I read recently that two WW1-era American "Six-Ton Specials" (U.S.-built copies of the Renault FT-17 light tank) were found in a scrapyard a few years ago in Afghanistan, of all places...I'll try to find a link and post it later.

 

EDIT: spelling

Edited March 17, 2008 by BassGuitari

[marcfrick2112]

I can't really say much about Germany's use of tanks, though. I can venture that since Germany relied largely on captured tanks (equating to tanks being less available), their use must have been comparatively limited. They were probably used heavily during the Spring Offensives in 1918, which were initially successful.

 

By the way, in case anyone's interested, I read recently that two WW1-era American "Six-Ton Specials" (U.S.-built copies of the Renault FT-17 light tank) were found in a scrapyard a few years ago in Afghanistan, of all places...I'll try to find a link and post it later.

 

EDIT: spelling

Awesome thread! As mentioned before, the majority of German tank forces used captured British tanks, mainly Mk IV's and Whippets. Also, the French Should have had a tank (Schneider) as early as December 1915, but changing requirements, and production delays hindered the design. It didn't service in any number until April 1917, by that time, there were other more capable French tanks, like the Renault FT. There were still Renault FT's in service in 1940!

 

Oh, as awkward as the German A7V was, did you know there was a design for an even bigger, less-useful monster? The K-Wagon...weighed 148 tons, crew of 22, four 7.7 cm guns. The only prototype was almost complete when Germany surrendered..

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

Here it is......

 

[Recycled]

Here it is......

 

 

 

Is that your car?

[BassGuitari]

Oh, as awkward as the German A7V was, did you know there was a design for an even bigger, less-useful monster? The K-Wagon...weighed 148 tons, crew of 22, four 7.7 cm guns. The only prototype was almost complete when Germany surrendered..

 

Another Milwaukeean! Geezus, we're all over AA, aren't we?

 

Anyway, yes, I've read about the K-Wagon. I don't even know what to say about it! Had it reached France, it probably would have sank in the mud...heck, even the conventional tanks did that sometimes!

 

Speaking of ridiculous tank designs, the Russians were designing something pretty ridiculous that never got past the prototype stage. I forget what it was called, but it looked like a gondola suspended between two Ferris Wheels. Absolutely crazy. I think it was named after the Czar?

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

During WW2 this was another crazy german project! The P-1000 Landkreuzer

 

Edited March 17, 2008 by iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin

[Recycled]

During WW2 this was another crazy german project! The P-1000 Landkreuzer

 

 

 

cripe...I'm surprised those haven't caught on over here. Seems they'd be all the rage with yuppie mothers.

[+remowilliams]

During WW2 this was another crazy german project! The P-1000 Landkreuzer

Wow - it's the Ogre's little brother!

 

[PressureCooker2600]

Reminds me of the steamroller scene from Austin Powers.

 

 

And history is fun to discuss. We should go start a World War 1 thread.

 

 

That's my favorite scene from the first movie.

 

And let's start that topic............get all us history nuts a'goin'!!!

[PressureCooker2600]

By the way, in case anyone's interested, I read recently that two WW1-era American "Six-Ton Specials" (U.S.-built copies of the Renault FT-17 light tank) were found in a scrapyard a few years ago in Afghanistan, of all places...I'll try to find a link and post it later.

 

Interesting.....hmmm.....

 

Post it when you find it. That's awesome. Only reason they would be there, from what I think, is that we loaned them out when we came out with better tanks. Or they could have been stationed there during the war for the Iraqi and other Arabian campaigns.

[PressureCooker2600]

I think the Russians had the best artillery during WWII. Most of that comes from the massive quantity they had. The Battle of Berlin comes to mind.

 

My favorite artillery pieces from Germany were the massive railway guns like Leopold . Those weapons were pure destruction and were a sight to see.

[stirrell]

During WW2 this was another crazy german project! The P-1000 Landkreuzer

 

 

 

cripe...I'm surprised those haven't caught on over here. Seems they'd be all the rage with yuppie mothers.

 

It's Megaweapon! (Sorry, obscure reference, but I am sure some will get it).

 

The only "World War I" game I have played is Iron Storm which really isn't a World War I game. It is an alternate reality "what if" game where the war has continued into the 60s. It is an okay game. I really wanted to like it but it has a few major problems. First, it is really tough. At least in my opinion. Maybe I am just not a good FPSer. Related to the first problem, the game seems too much like trial and error. Like you need to figure out where enemies will kill you with a head shot and then reload the game and take care of them. Then save... then wait for the next head shot. Finally, a couple levels are very cramped... there is on inside a train and another inside of a facility littered with security machine guns. The more open levels were more fun. I never did finish the game but wanted to just to see how the story ends.

 

Actually, I also had Warbirds on the Lynx which is a really nice game.

 

I was a history major in college (graduated and everything) and the subject really interests me. There seems to be very little in the way of documentaries on television on World War I. Well, really everything is overshadowed by World War II and, to a lesser extent, the Civil War. I recently had purchased a book on World War I but it turned out to be more of a long list of dates and names and was very dry, unfortunately. I've also been interested in looking up some of the literature that was popular in post-war Germany. While books like "All Quiet on the Western Front," which gave a very grim view of war were popular in the United States, books apparently glorifying the war, like "Storm of Steel", were popular in Germany.

[warmachine]

The history channel created the documentry "world war I in color" which I thought was really good.

They colorized a lot of WWI footage and pasted it all together in a way that works really well.

 

I ordered the box set, it takes up about 4 dvd's and is about 10 hours long.

[RARusk]

Oddly I found this particular link at GTAForums that may be of interest for this thread:

 

WWI Color Photos

[Classic Pac]

The closest thing that ever came to a WW1 game that I ever heard of was when Red Baron Pizza included at one time "Red Baron Ace of the sky" It was an actual PC game they included free in the boxes.

[Atari5200]

those proto tanks are massive, I'm truly surprised that at least by WWII that something like that wasn't in production in Germany.

 

Also, in Medal of Honor for the PS2, i forget which one, there is a mission where you have to stop production of a prototype German jet fighter, was that mission based on actual fact does anybody know?

[HammR25]

The closest thing that ever came to a WW1 game that I ever heard of was when Red Baron Pizza included at one time "Red Baron Ace of the sky" It was an actual PC game they included free in the boxes.

 

The best WWI flight sim to date is a really old one called Red Baron 3d

 

Knights of the Sky is currently in development. It's being done by Russians. Russians programmers are the only ones with a low enough wage that they can make a profitable flight sim. Hopefully it actually gets finished.