In early 1916, the tactical conditions on the Western Front could leave infantry who had captured positions exhausted, disorganised, short of supplies, out of touch with the rear and incapable of defeating a counter-attack.

[4] The vehicle had an endurance of about eleven hours, with a top speed of 3.7 mph (6.0 km/h) on flat ground and could cross trenches up to 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) wide.

The Ordnance Board refused to approve the design on 15 June 1916 and Albert Stern, the Secretary of the Landship Committee appealed to David Lloyd George, the Minister of Munitions.

[5] On 29 May 1917 the War Office ordered ...a motor gun carriage which could keep closer to infantry than a horse-drawn field gun… The object of such a weapon would be the destruction of buildings and emplacements.

[6] The two forward driving cabs were removed, the carrying platform was covered and a hand-crane to lift 3-long-ton (3.0 t) loads on a jib or 10 long tons (10 t) using shear legs.

The box had a cab in front, behind which was a winding drum connected to the engine for hauling with a wire hawser; the price of the two vehicles was £10,000.

[10] Gun Carrier GC 100 arrived in France before the Third Battle of Ypres (31 July – 10 November 1917) and was attached to XVIII Corps for field trials.

At the Battle of Hamel (4 July 1918), Captain James Smith led the four machines of the 1st Gun Carrier Company forward with 20–25 long tons (20–25 t) of engineer stores to within 400 yd (370 m) of the final objective, within thirty minutes of its capture.

One gun carrier moved 133 rolls of barbed wire, 450 screw pickets, 45 corrugated-iron sheets, fifty tins of water, 150 mortar bombs, 10,000 rounds of ammunition and twenty boxes of hand grenades.

[18] When not needed for tank support, the gun carriers shifted engineer stores and ammunition for the infantry, being of great use in areas swept by machine-gun fire.

The 2nd Gun Carrier Company carried forward a 6-inch howitzer to conduct harassing fire at night, moving around to deceive the Germans.

For the remainder of the war, gun carriers were in great demand to carry tank supplies over ground unfit for wheeled vehicles.

[19] On 18 September, during the Hundred Days Offensive, Australian infantry were so understrength during operations against the Hindenburg outpost-line, that two gun carriers moved supplies to the first objective.

As supply vehicles, the gun carriers excelled, being able to carry a heavy load on the platform, rather than inconveniently placed inside a converted tank.