Astounding New Technology

The early 20thC was a time of excited invention and a push to make use of new technologies and to make money. One hotbed of invention and experiment was the continuous or caterpiller track tractor. Companies like Hornsby  in the UK and Holt in the USA were demonstrating effect models by 1905. Hornsby even proposed mounting a gun on one but did not pursue the project.

Early Hornsby Tractor.
Picture from Wikipedia article.

In WWI such caterpiller tractors were widely used by the Allies for hauling artillery and other heavy loads and eventually provided the basis for the design of the Tank.

WWI Holt Tractor
from http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cacunithistories/Vehicles%20of%20the%20AEF.html

I am sure it will be no surprise to readers that Atlantica was way ahead of the curve. In late 1905 the Dinkie Arms Company produced a lightly armoured, tracked, combat tractor nicknamed the Armadillo. It was very small with a crew of 2 men, a driver and a commander/machine gunner, but it was a promising entry into the market and its excellent cross country ability  was of especial interest for those areas where lack of good roads and train tracks limited the possibilities of support by armoured cars and armoured trains. The design of this early vehicle was so successful that 30 years later it was scaled up and turned into a light tank.

Bidding by competing interests was fierce.