The development and use of armoured cars by German forces had their beginnings at the start of World War I in 1914. In keeping with the Schlieffen Plan for the attack on France on the Western Front, the bulk of the German forces were to invade Belgium and then move into France. The Belgian Army, a fraction of the size of the German forces, nonetheless put up stiff resistance, delaying the German advance. During the German siege of Antwerp in 1914, the Belgians mounted a series of attacks and raids on the besieging troops, using light armoured cars to disrupt local areas in the German positions, conduct reconnaissance and capture prisoners for interrogation. The primary vehicle used was the Minerva armoured car, a chassis of the Belgian Minerva automobile fitted with an open riveted armoured body made of 4mm plate and mounting an 8mm Hotchkiss light machine gun in an armoured shield. Most of the cars also carried riflemen for protection and as marksmen.
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