The tanks approach the German second line.
Tank Angst 1916!
Or how A Section won the war!
Report by Lieutenant Oswald-Bowstrey, Machine Gun Corps, Heavy Section,
of the actions of his section of “tanks” on the Somme.
Following a night march from our positions in the rear, our way marked very well by the white tapes laid by the Royal Engineers and each tank lead by its commander, my section of tanks awaited the jump off signal as dawn broke. Fortunately all three arrived at the front line without serious mechanical mishap, a feat I attribute to the emphasis I placed upon regular maintenance of these complicated machines. I was in command of “A” section consisting of three Mk I Male tanks:
Apple: Named after my 5 year old son, the apple of my eye.
Agetha: Named after Sgt Hughes intended.
Artist: Named for the abilities of private Jones who had painted the all-seeing eyes on each tank.
The jump off was signalled by crimson flares and we immediately moved forward into no-mans land, our accompanying infantry following some 50 yards behind. Our view of the outside world from within the tanks was very limited and nothing could be heard over the din of the massive Ricardo engine that provided the tanks' motive force. As we were to find, nothing short of direct hits by machine guns or shells bursting nearby was audible with the tanks under way.
As we ground forward we kept as good a lookout as possible, and within the first few minutes we observed the stumps of New Forest copse ahead of us and a ruined house to our right. No sign of the enemy was apparent more or less as expected due to the proximity to our front line. Our infantry secured both of the above as we moved further forward.
Progress was slow due to the broken ground, we were making barely 1mph at the most and were in danger of falling behind schedule.
Apple bore left around the broken tree stumps. From our experience in training it was all too easy to get a tank wedged on one so they were best avoided. Agetha bore right around the other side whilst Artist advanced ahead.
More tree stumps were observed, not marked on our map! Again we manoeuvred carefully around them towards some ruined stonework, probably the remains of a wall around a field long since churned up by shellfire. Still no sign of the Boche, and we pressed on.
At more or less this point, Agetha’s crew spotted some barbed wire entanglements and these were covered by a section or two of enemy infantry! They opened fire as Agetha clanked towards them, brave fellows! Agetha’s driver, Pte Watson, was injured by spalling from the rifle bullets and had to be replaced by Sgt Hughes. This left Agetha stationary and under fire, the enemy not being put off by her return fire and the situation becoming more than a little hot.
Meanwhile, Artist had flushed an MG nest and both sides exchanged fire to little effect.
Agetha, with her new driver at the helm, managed to see off the infantry opposing her and crushed a path through the entanglement to the delight of our supporting infantry for whom this had been an almost insurmountable obstacle. Up until now! Artist and the MG continued a hot fire against each other but still with no harm to Artist and no slackening of the reply from the MG. Having afterwards received the report of this action within a battle from Artist’s commander, Corporal Simmonds, I berated him for sitting still and giving the Germans an easy target especially as prior to the battle I had emphasised that the tanks' very size, weight and appearance were as powerful weapons as their guns and enemy positions could be taken as easily as by running them over as by fire. Furthermore, our magnificent machines were very likely to terrify the enemy into fleeing if they were kept moving forward!
While all this was going on, myself in Apple advanced on the left heading towards the ruins of a church which marked the first main German trench system. Luckily I was in a high state of alert and spotted a dug-in field gun, probably one of the ubiquitous 77mm pieces emplaced to sweep away our brave lads as they closed with the German lines. A brace of 6lb shells and a torrent of MG fire from the well-practiced crew of the left hand sponson settled their account with interest! Artist by this time had finally driven the MG crew off but with a bit more “Vim” from Simmonds they could and should have been taken prisoner. I will recommend the loss of his stripe for lack of offensive spirit.
Flers - Courcelette.
September 15th 1916
'B' troop:
Barchester (Lt. Bromley)
Blenheim (2nd. Lt. Harcourt)
Bessie (2nd. Lt. Fairhead)
'B' troop reached the starting position between 'A' and 'C' troops without mishap and was able to set off on time. A short distance from our front line all three tanks entered a slight declivity in the ground which was not marked on our maps and was not apparent from the start-line. On entering the dip Barchester came under fire from rifles and machine-guns, and several rounds hit the vehicle without effect. The fire appeared to come from a line of ruined walls to our left front, which presumably once marked a field boundary, and Barchester without halting fired at the enclosure. I also observed shell bursts, which I took to be from Bessie, on the target and the enemy fire ceased. A few minutes later Bessie, on the left of B troop, came under heavy fire from a wood further on. Barchester & Blenheim, unaware of the fire, continued to advance, veering slightly to skirt the wood on either side - the dangers of stranding presented by fallen trees having been emphasised in training.
Bessie meanwhile halted to fire into the wood, and 2nd. Lt. Fairhead was observed standing on the roof of his tank observing fall of shot with no apparent concern for his own safety. After several rounds from the six pounders the fire ceased and Bessie joined Blenheim and Barchester in bypassing the wood. On passing the further edge of the wood Barchester was exposed to fire from enemy infantry in shellholes behind a band of uncut wire. I continued to advance directly towards the wire, under intermittent rifle fire, and Barchester was able effortlessly to crush the wire. There was no more fire from ahead and the infantry sheltering behind the tank were able to pass through the gap in the wire and occupy the position. Barchester was now ahead of the other two vehicles and through my periscope I could see the village and cluster of pillboxes which formed the German second line and which had been designated as our objective. On approaching them they appeared to have been abandoned. Cautiously opening the hatch I could see tanks, presumably of 'C' troop, to our north-west. Within a short time Blenheim and Bessie, with their accompanying infantry, joined Barchester astride the enemy positions. The infantry were able to occupy the pillboxes unopposed, taking only a few wounded men as prisoners, the rest having apparently fled on our approach.
September 15th 1916
'B' troop:
Barchester (Lt. Bromley)
Blenheim (2nd. Lt. Harcourt)
Bessie (2nd. Lt. Fairhead)
'B' troop reached the starting position between 'A' and 'C' troops without mishap and was able to set off on time. A short distance from our front line all three tanks entered a slight declivity in the ground which was not marked on our maps and was not apparent from the start-line. On entering the dip Barchester came under fire from rifles and machine-guns, and several rounds hit the vehicle without effect. The fire appeared to come from a line of ruined walls to our left front, which presumably once marked a field boundary, and Barchester without halting fired at the enclosure. I also observed shell bursts, which I took to be from Bessie, on the target and the enemy fire ceased. A few minutes later Bessie, on the left of B troop, came under heavy fire from a wood further on. Barchester & Blenheim, unaware of the fire, continued to advance, veering slightly to skirt the wood on either side - the dangers of stranding presented by fallen trees having been emphasised in training.
Bessie meanwhile halted to fire into the wood, and 2nd. Lt. Fairhead was observed standing on the roof of his tank observing fall of shot with no apparent concern for his own safety. After several rounds from the six pounders the fire ceased and Bessie joined Blenheim and Barchester in bypassing the wood. On passing the further edge of the wood Barchester was exposed to fire from enemy infantry in shellholes behind a band of uncut wire. I continued to advance directly towards the wire, under intermittent rifle fire, and Barchester was able effortlessly to crush the wire. There was no more fire from ahead and the infantry sheltering behind the tank were able to pass through the gap in the wire and occupy the position. Barchester was now ahead of the other two vehicles and through my periscope I could see the village and cluster of pillboxes which formed the German second line and which had been designated as our objective. On approaching them they appeared to have been abandoned. Cautiously opening the hatch I could see tanks, presumably of 'C' troop, to our north-west. Within a short time Blenheim and Bessie, with their accompanying infantry, joined Barchester astride the enemy positions. The infantry were able to occupy the pillboxes unopposed, taking only a few wounded men as prisoners, the rest having apparently fled on our approach.
After action report ‘C’ Troop, Flers - Courcelette, Northern France. September 15th 1916
C’ Troop
‘Centaur’ Lt. J. D. Worthington
‘Cardiff’ 2nd Lt. P.B.R. Evans
‘Chesterfield’ 2nd Lt. A.N. Wedgwood-Benn
Supporting infantry ; 2nd Pln. 'A' Coy. Lancashire Fusiliers (Lt. G.R. Edwards)
0635hrs - 0715hrs
Our troop advanced to the right of 'A' and 'B' troops - moving east-north-east towards the German front lines ranging from the village of Courcelette in the north via Martinpuich in the centre and Flers in the south. Our initial advance brought ourselves and Chesterfield up to a ruined farm building and some long abandoned trenches without incident. 2nd Lt. Evans' 'Cardiff' however, came under fire from a German scouting patrol dug in behind a ruined wall. Cardiff returned a brisk fire with her 6-pounder and MGs and the Fritzes took to their heels.
Our advance continued and we passed another ruined farm building and had just come in sight of a wooded area ahead when Centaur's Daimler-Knight engine began to misfire and to lose power alarmingly. We first slowed to around 1 mph and then ground to a halt with tendrils of smoke coming from the engine mounting. The gearsmen, Cpl. MacDougall and Pte. Wilcox immediately set to work using rags and pliers to manhandle the still smoking engine parts. Aware of our vulnerable predicament, I ordered the four gunners to keep a sharp lookout for any enemy troops who might be sneaking up on us with grenades or whatever as our accompanying infantry appeared to have vanished.
Meanwhile 'Cardiff' and 'Chesterfield', unaware of our engine failure, continued to advance beyond the wooded area and encountered another trench line which proved to be occupied by a German MG. In a fierce exchange of fire 'Cardiff's forward Lewis Gun was hit and put out of action but the concentrated fire of the two 'tanks' was able to destroy the MG and the remaining crew fled. After this brief exchange of fire both 'tanks' advanced, passing another ruined farm and towards an extended trench line from which enemy troops were engaging another advancing 'tank' - from (presumably) 'B' troop.
In the meantime, our 'Centaur' was still inert despite the furious efforts of (and some dreadful language from) the two gearsmen. I had previously ordered the rear escape hatches opened when we came to a halt both to clear any smoke in the vehicle and to cool down both the engine and the interior. Despite having travelled only a mile or so from our 'jumping off point' the temperature in 'Centaur' had risen to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Our respite from the appalling heat was not to last as, within a few minutes of us breaking down, an artillery burst landed about fifty yards to our front followed by two more to our right flank. We slammed the escape hatches closed and waited in apprehension as our two gearsmen worked on. There was a brief pause outside followed by another series of artillery bursts, one of which landed uncomfortably close and we heard the clatter of scattered shrapnel striking our left hand hull plates. Realising that our stalled vehicle was almost certainly under observation and that a direct hit was only a matter of time I resolved to order the crew to 'abandon ship' in between the next two salvoes. However, just as I was articulating the words our two stalwart gearsmen re-started our engine and with a communal sigh of relief from our eight man crew we set off at 3mph just as another salvo landed behind us. The advance continued and we were able to join 'Cardiff' and 'Chesterfield' on the German second line of trenches.
Below is a test game, laying the groundwork for the real thing above.
An RFC reconnaissance photo of the area after the action reveals 'C' Troop's 'Juno' and 'Vera' on their objective while on the right 'D' Troop's 'Dennis' has cleared the final trench of the Germans' third line of defence. 'Dinnaken' & 'Dunstable' are bogged down as is 'C' Troop's 'Indomitable'.
