American Military Vehicles of World War I : An Illustrated History of Armored Cars, Staff Cars, Motorcycles, Ambulances, Trucks, Tractors and Tanks

Although the internal combustion powered motor vehicle was invented nearly three decades before World War I, it was in the crucible of this war that the American motor vehicle industry was truly tested - and enhanced - through the sudden necessities of vast transport challenges. During the war, the United States' immense manufacturing capabilities and abundant natural resources proved to be a dynamic combination, allowing standardization and mass production of motorized vehicles to become the norm rather than the exception. As a result, the United States' entry into World War I became a turning point in the defeat of the Axis nations, and motor vehicles and aircraft were cemented as the most influential military tools of the early twentieth century.This book describes and analyzes how the advent of specialized motor vehicles during World War I indelibly altered the nature of modern warfare and transportation. The author discusses several types of military vehicles, including armored cars, staff cars, motorcycles, ambulances, trucks, tractors and tanks. A significant portion of the text focuses on Pancho Villa and the Punitive Expedition of 1916-1917, included because it was the United States' first experience with motorized ground transport and military aviation, the latter of which was still largely derivative of motor vehicle technology at the time. The book also includes more than 300 photographs, along with a thorough chronology of the war.