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When the Allies first fielded the powerful armoured vehicles termed as tanks during the First World War, the Germans had no idea of what they were facing. Initially they were thrown into complete disarray, but with typical German thoroughness they consolidated and fought back with stoicism. The only weapons they could bring to bear on these huge lumbering machines were their field guns depressed to fire directly at the tanks. However, it was realised that this was a classic case of 'overkill', and other more economical means had to be found to destroy them. Once it was realised that these machines were here to stay, a reliable and cost-effective method of countering them had to be found. The first dedicated anti-tank weapons tobe tried were large calibre rifles, such as the 13mm, simply laid out like an over-sized bolt-action rifle weighing more than 15kg.