The Belgian Army pioneered the use of Armored Cars.
Belgians were the first among Great War combatants to make extensive use of armored cars as a military weapon.
During the siege of Antwerp, from mid-August to the first week of October 1914, numerous motor vehicles were stripped and rebuilt with armor plating. Machine guns were mounted and even rotating cupolas were fitted. Most vehicles were rebuilt by the Minerva Motor Car Company.
In 1912 the Belgian Army was already pioneering small patrol units of regular road cars equipped with machine-guns. The most well-known of Belgian Army armored vehicles was the Minerva.
Minerva Type X 26CV car platform was converted into an armored vehicle using 4mm armored plates. To cope with the extra weight, double wheels were added to the rear drivetrain. For better rigidity, there were no doors, the crew having to climb into the vehicle.
The single open-top body (also called "bathtub") housed the driver, commander, gunner and gun servant (although the crew could be from 3 to 6 including sharp-shooters).
The machine-gun, a standard air-cooled 8mm Hotchkiss model 1912 or 1914, was protected by a shield. The engine hatch was armored, as well as the radiator, by a small twin hatch.
Around 30 Minervas were converted as armored cars in 1914, before the factory was captured during the German advance; by 1916, the design was completely revised.
The open-top was fully enclosed, the machine gun now relocated aft under an armored cupola and two side doors added. At least one was equipped with a Puteaux 37mm gun, however it is not know how many of this version were made.
They were used in the motorized cavalry units, for reconnaissance, fire support for infantry and long missions behind the German lines.
It seemed their off-road capabilities were rather limited. The Germans captured four model 1914, and modified them.
Minerva Armored Cars continued fighting after the Russian Revolution until the treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed. The Belgian armored car force was recalled but had a difficult time returning home. The trip back to Arkhangelsk being unfeasible, the Belgians, much like the Czech Legion, followed the Trans-Siberian railway, crossed northern China and ultimately arrived in Vladivostok. On April 18th, 1918 they boarded an American vessel, the SS Sheridan and sailed to San Francisco.