"The Land Ironclads" is a short story by British writer H. G. Wells, which originally appeared in the December 1903 issue of the Strand Magazine. It features tank-like "land ironclads," 80-to-100-foot-long armoured fighting vehicles that carry riflemen, engineers, and a captain, and are armed with semi-automatic rifles.
1904 illustration of the short story, showing huge ironclad land vessels, equipped with pedrail wheels
Armoured fighting vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).
WW1 Mark V tank, in The Tank Museum
Battle of Zama by Henri-Paul Motte, 1890
Model of a vehicle sketched by Leonardo da Vinci
Modern reconstruction of Hussite war wagon