A mobile personnel shield is a type of

bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protecti ...

shield equipped with wheels. Such devices were employed experimentally during the trench warfare of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The immobility of the

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

characterizing the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

led to a need for a device that would protect soldiers from enemy fire and could help them move on the extremely irregular terrain of battlefields. The French colonel

Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne Jean Baptiste Eugène EstienneEstienne's forenames are frequently incorrectly given as Jean-Baptiste Eugène. He was christened with the three names Jean, Baptiste, and Eugène, but disliked the name Baptiste, and preferred to be addressed as Eu ...

considered armed cross-country vehicles such as the future

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

as early as August 1914,Gudmundsson, p.38
/ref> but also imagined mobile personnel shield to assist individual soldiers.Gougaud, p.110 Apart from a few exceptional cases, these mobile personnel shields proved too cumbersome and heavy for the strength of an individual under fire, and would only work on short distances and on favourable ground.

Notes

References

* Alain Gougaud ''L'Aube de la Gloire, Les Autos-Mitrailleuses et les Chars Français pendant la Grande Guerre'', 1987,

Musée des Blindés The ''Musée des Blindés'' ("Museum of Armoured Vehicles") or ''Musée Général Estienne'' is a tank museum located in Saumur in the Loire Valley of France. It is now one of the world's largest tank museums. It began in 1977 under the leade ...

, * Bruce I. Gudmundsson ''On armor'' Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, Shields Protective gear {{World-War-I-stub

See also

Notes

References