Origins and design
After encounters with Belgian and Allied armored cars, the German Army asked several manufacturers for indigenous designs. Ehrhardt’s large 1915 vehicle used an armored body, multiple machine guns, and four-wheel drive, but its weight and size exposed the limits of simply scaling up a road vehicle. 1, 2
Operational use
Improved 1917-pattern cars were lighter and served on the more mobile Eastern Front, where armored cars had greater room to maneuver than on the trench-bound Western Front. Additional postwar vehicles were produced and used for internal policing and security. 1, 2
Reconnaissance role and lineage
The Ehrhardt sits near the beginning of a German wheeled-reconnaissance line that later emphasized lower silhouettes, multiple steering positions, and increasingly sophisticated multi-axle chassis. 1, 2
Sources and further reading
Representative source set used for this profile. Primary image source and reuse terms are listed with the image.