<P> Early tanks were unreliable, breaking down often . Though at first they terrified the Germans, their use in the engagements of 1917 provided more opportunities for development than actual battle successes . It was also realized that new tactics had to be developed to best make use of this weapon . In particular, planners learned that tanks needed infantry support and massed formations to be effective . Once tanks could be fielded in the hundreds, such as at the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, they began to show their potential . Still, reliability was the primary weakness of tanks throughout the remainder of the war . In the Battle of Amiens, a major Entente counteroffensive near the end of the war, British forces went to field with 534 tanks . After several days, only a few were still in commission, with those that suffered mechanical difficulties outnumbering those disabled by enemy fire . </P> <P> Regardless of their effects on World War I, tank technology and mechanized warfare had been launched and grew increasingly sophisticated in the years following the war . By World War II, the tank had evolved into a fearsome weapon and restored mobility . </P> <P> The years leading up to the war saw the use of improved metallurgical and mechanical techniques to produce larger ships with larger guns and, in reaction, more armor . The launching of HMS Dreadnought (1906) revolutionized battleship construction, leaving many ships obsolete before they were completed . German ambitions brought an Anglo - German naval arms race in which the Imperial German Navy was built up from a small force to the world's most modern and second most powerful . However, even this high - technology navy entered the war with a mix of newer ships and obsolete older ones . </P> <P> The advantage was in long - range gunnery, and naval battles took place at far greater distances than before . The 1916 Battle of Jutland demonstrated the excellence of German ships and crews, but also showed that the High Seas Fleet was not big enough to challenge openly the British blockade of Germany . It was the only full - scale battle between fleets in the war . </P>

New methods of fighting in world war 1