August 1941. In 1945, occupying troops came across two badly damaged Mk V tanks in Berlin. Photographic evidence indicates that these were survivors of the Russian Civil War and had previously been displayed as a monument in Smolensk, Russia, before being brought to Berlin after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.Accounts of their active involvement in the Battle of Berlin have not been verified. Cultural impact Although the first limited use of tanks in 1916 had been militarily disappointing, the first British press reports hailed them as wonder weapons, and used elaborate language to compare them to dragons, whales, dreadnoughts, crabs, mammoths or "armoured toads". Public fascination was deepened by the release of several documentary films about tanks, it has been estimated that these were seen by 20 million people in the United Kingdom. Tanks were celebrated in music hall songs such as The Tanks that Broke the Ranks and manufacturers were soon producing toy tanks, tank teapots, tank-shaped handbags and tank fairground rides. Following the appearance in London of several tanks at the Lord Mayor's Show in November 1917, one was dispatched to Trafalgar Square, where an immense crowd was encouraged to buy National War Bonds to help finance the war. Following that success, starting with a "Tank Week" held in March 1918, tanks, known as "Tank Banks", and other military vehicles were displayed at bond-selling events across the country. Citizens were encouraged to save small change towards buying more bonds in miniature "tank banks", small ceramic piggy banks in the shape of a tank. A competition ensued to see which British city or town could raise the most in relation to their population. Surviving vehicles A number of tanks have survived, although several are just shells that have had all internal components removed. The largest collection is at The Tank Museum at Bovington in the United Kingdom, which holds eight tanks. Two of these are maintained in running condition, the Mark IV Male, Excellent and Mark V Male number 9199. Excellent last ran in the 1980s and 9199 in the 2000s. The Bovington museum does not intend to run them again, due to the wear and tear that would be inflicted on the now-fragile, historic vehicles. Instead, the museum acquired a replica Mark IV tank (constructed for the film War Horse), which is used for public demonstrations. Little Willie Little Willie survives at the Bovington