Giffard Martel
British tank strategist and engineer who pioneered armoured warfare.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Lieutenant-General Sir Giffard Le Quesne Martel (10 October 1889 – 3 September 1958) served in both world wars as a British Army officer. Often called "Q Martel" or simply "Q," he was a key figure in military engineering and tank strategy, shaping early ideas on armoured warfare and military bridging.
Martel came from a traditional military family; his father, Brigadier-General Sir Charles Philip Martel, was Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories. He married Maud Mackenzie on 29 July 1922, and they had one son. Entering the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1908, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 23 July 1909. In 1911, he helped found the Royal Navy and Army Boxing Association and was Army and Inter-Services boxing champion both before and after the First World War.
During the First World War, Martel deployed with 9th Field Company RE, taking part in the Great Retreat, the First Battle of the Marne, the First Battle of the Aisne, the Battle of Armentières, and the Second Battle of Ypres. He commanded the 9th Field Company from October 1915 to July 1916. As a sapper officer who witnessed the first British tank use on the Somme in 1916, he was tasked with building a 1.5-mile replica of British and German trench systems, including no man's land, at Elveden, Norfolk, for tank training. This deepened his interest in tank theory; he believed tanks were the future of warfare and in November 1916 wrote a paper titled *A Tank Army*, proposing an army made entirely of armoured vehicles. As J. F. C. Fuller's GSO3, these broad ideas significantly influenced Fuller, who at that time saw tanks only as infantry support. Martel also studied wire net roads used in the 1917–1918 Sinai and Palestine campaign and their potential for tracked vehicles. In late 1916, he served on Hugh Elles' staff at Bermicourt, France, assisting Fuller with operational planning. He earned a Military Cross (1915), a Distinguished Service Order (1916), and was mentioned in despatches five times.
After the Armistice, now a major, Martel merged his interests in tanks and bridging as head of the Experimental Bridging Establishment at Christchurch, Hampshire. There he researched using tanks for battlefield engineering—bridge-laying and mine-clearing—and continued trials on modified Mark V tanks. The bridging work included an assault bridge designed by Major
- born
- 10 October 1889
- died
- 3 September 1958
- field
- Military engineering, tank strategy
- nationality
- British
- known_for
- Martel bridge, tankette design, advocacy of armoured warfare
Lore & Background
Martel was born into a military family, the son of Brigadier-General Sir Charles Philip Martel. He entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1908 and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1909. He helped establish the Royal Navy and Army Boxing Association in 1911 and was Army and Inter Services boxing champion before and after World War I. During the First World War, he served with 9th Field Company RE, participating in the Great Retreat, First Battle of the Marne, First Battle of the Aisne, Battle of Armentières, and Second Battle of Ypres. In 1916, he was put in charge of recreating a replica trench system at Elveden, Norfolk, for tank training. That year he wrote the paper 'A Tank Army', proposing an army composed entirely of armoured vehicles, which influenced J. F. C. Fuller's thinking. He was awarded the Military Cross (1915) and Distinguished Service Order (1916) and was mentioned in despatches five times.
Reader's Guide
Between the wars, Martel combined his interests in tanks and bridging as head of the Experimental Bridging Establishment at Christchurch, Hampshire. He designed the Martel bridge, a modular box girder bridge adopted by the British Army in 1925 as the 'Large Box Girder Bridge'; a smaller version was adopted in 1932 and copied by Germany and the United States. In 1925 he built a one-man tankette in his garage, leading to test models by Morris Commercial Cars and Carden Loyd Tractors. Though the one-man concept was dropped, it influenced the Light Tank Mark I. Martel served on the Mechanical Warfare Board, attended the Imperial Defence College, and from 1936 to 1939 was Assistant Director and then Deputy Director of Mechanisation at the War Office. In 1936 he attended a large-scale tank exercise in the Soviet Union and pressed for a cruiser tank design. During the Second World War, he commanded the 50th Northumbrian Division in France and directed the tank attack at the Battle of Arras on 21 May 1940. He later became Commander of the Royal Armoured Corps and, in March 1943, Head of the Military Mission to the Soviet Union, where he assessed Soviet tactics. His reports were commended but relations deteriorated after the arrival of Air Marshal Sir John Babington. He was recalled in February 1944 and lost his right eye in a German bombing raid. Knighted in 1943, he retired in 1945 and stood unsuccessfully as a Conservative candidate in the 1945 general election. He died at his home in Camberley on 3 September 1958.
Did You Know?
- Martel built a one-man tankette in his own garage in 1925, powered by a car engine and capable of 15 mph.
- He wrote the paper 'A Tank Army' in November 1916, proposing an army composed entirely of armoured vehicles.
- The Martel bridge was copied by Germany as the Kastenrager-Gerät and by the United States as the H-20.
- In 1954, the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors awarded Martel £500 for infringement of his bridge design by the Bailey bridge.
More in European Military Leaders Of The Early Modern Era 1-24
Elsewhere in the European Military Leaders Of The Early Modern Era universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record