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The Tanks on the Somme. 18th October 1916.
C Company with 30th Division, XV Corps, 4th Army
D Company intended to get 2 tanks into action on 18th October 1916
D company
Possibly
2Lt Head
C20, 523, 2Lt Hastie
or
C22, 533
Notes:
The tank commanders names are given in Tanks on the Somme, p65f.
On 29th September, Hastie was given tank D19, 753 (WDA)
Trevor Pigeon states that Head was still in command of tank 728 (s2.p66) , but 728 was still ditched on 7th October (W3), the author now believes this tank was lying derelict close to 547 just north of Flers at N31a.8.2 (WDA)
Hastie may have been back with 759 as this tank had been recovered to Green Dump by 1st October. (WDA)
A third tank was originally allocated for the attack, probably commanded by 2Lt Pearsall (s2.p66), possibly tank 516 (the original D4, referred to as Storey I in the source) which had been allocated to pearsall on the 19th September (WDA) the orders were apparently changed a few days prior to the action and thus only two tanks were used (s2.p66).
Unfortunately there is no evidence for this attack in either “C” or “D” Company's War Diaries. They were probably the other two tanks from “D” company’s detachment.
Orders
Zero was 3:40am. (s2.p56)
Two tanks to assemble at M30c.3.1, 21st Brigade’s HQ, when called forward by the infantry to go to the five way crossroads via Turk Avenue. Then cross Cobham Trench and go north to M18d.1.1 on Gird support near The Maze. (S2.P
2 tanks ordered to assist 21st Brigade, 30th Division attack NW of Flers.
Account of operations (S2.p60ff)
The tanks struggled to the assembly point, the female broke down in Flers, the male tank reached the Assembly point at 6:30am. By now the initial infantry attack had been stopped and the infantry had already retired to the start line in their own trenches. The male proceeded, alone, at 7am, didn’t cross the British front line until 8:04am and finally reached M24a.9.6. The tank sat astride the German trench for 23 minutes, silenced an MG and killing Germans. The OIC de bussed and tried in vain to persuade the infantry to advance. The OIC re boarded the tank and it moved to M18c.4.7, firing on fleeing Germans, it stayed at M18c.4.7 for ten minutes emptying the trenches of Germans before turning back and rallying at the assembly point, M30c.3.1 by 10am.
Meanwhile the female tank had started forward again, reaching the British forward lines about 10am. She then became stick behind the British front at M24b.3.2 and thus was unable to support a renewed attack.
Summary
Intended: 2
At start: 1
Failed to Start: 0
Engaged enemy: 1
Ditched / Broke Down: 0
Hit and Knocked out: 0
Rallied: 1
Penetrated by AP bullets: 0
Note
Aftermath
728 no further record
523 and 533 with “C” Company on 23rd October 1916.
523 in action on 15 November 1916
Epilogue
Two tanks, commanded by 2Lt Phillips and Hopkins were hit and knocked out by shells on 23rd October whilst lying up on the Albert – Bapaume Road. (S2.p101) Possibly the two tanks indicated as derelict in R36a on a Trench map drawn in 1917: 57dSE2 Beaumont 17-2-1917 AA
and Photographed IWM Q 11619: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205247196
Two tanks were to participate in an attack on the 28th October, but it was delayed until the 5th November and the tanks didn’t participate due to the very poor ground.
Sources
W4 - "D" Company’s War Diary. Transcript from Bovington Tank Museum.
S2 - Pidgeon, Trevor (2010) Tanks on the Somme
S12 - Chris McCarthy. (1998) The Somme. The Day by Day Account. Brockhampton Press.
S22 - Staedman, Michael (1995) Thiepval, Leo Cooper P. 86ff
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