It’s a pretty straightforward question but I feel like the answers will be anything but, the question came to mind while replaying Battlefield I earlier today I wondered how terrifying or shocking t must have been to actually see a tank for the first time, let alone being told to take one down.
In documentaries online I saw how they were used to go over trenches, mitigating the one defense that the soldiers would have previously been used to, and cover vast distances in weeks.
I know that modern soldiers still face off against tanks, and the psychological trauma they can bring, but I imagine that knowing they exist, and seeing them in action in media, would at least give you some advantage compared to what the first soldiers to face them would have to drawl with.
The first use of Tanks on the battlefield occurred at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette 15th-22nd September 1916. The tank force deployed were beset with mechanical failures resulting in a reduced number actually joining the battle as intended - in total, of the fifty tanks in France, 49 were assembled for the attack, 36 reached the front line and 27 reached the German front line but only six reached the final objective. Whilst considered an allied victory an analysis of the battle concluded that while the use of tanks was beneficial to the battle they were not a decisive factor in the outcome due to unreliability. German troops were reported to have panicked at the first sight of tanks and were unable to effectively counter them - however they did manage to destroy two using artillery during the battle. The Germans were also confused by inaccurate reports of the nature of the new weapons and this led to an incoherent response on their part in developing tactics to oppose tanks on the battlefield. To summarize German forces were confused and panicked by the appearance of tanks but did not flee in terror and still mounted an effective defense during the battle. As most German troops did not have any means of attacking tanks or any idea of how to do so effectively when they did breach German lines it was described as a "slaughter".