25 September 1916 - Supporting III Corps

The Tanks on the Somme. 25^th September 1916.

D Company with 23^rd Division, III Corp, 4^th Army.

D Company intended to get 2 tanks into action on 25^th September 1916

D Company

D18, 743, Lt Enoch

A second, unidentified tank

Notes:

The above is based on Trevor Pidgeon ^(s2.p34)

Orders

To clear Twenty Sixth Avenue from M26c.2.9 (Point 29) to M26 central to M26b.5.3 (Point 53). 743 was to clear the latter, eastern part of the trench. ^(S2.p34)

Zero: 12:35pm ^(S2.p34)

Assembly point: Gunpit road / Gunpit Trench . ^(S2.p34)

Account of operations

One tank ditched on its way to the start point. The attack on the western part of the trench was thus cancelled. ^(S2.p34)

743 started on time and made it to the crest line just before Zero where it brought down a German Barrage; this destroyed the tank at M26d.8.8 and halted the attack. ^{(S2.p34f)(Wirn)}

Summary

Intended: 2

At start: 1

Failed to Start:

Engaged enemy:

Ditched / Broke Down: 1

Hit and Knocked out: 1

Rallied: 0

Penetrated by AP bullets: 0

Note

Aftermath

743 Sketched in situ in December 1916: X2 photographs.

Sources

W3 – C Company’s War Diary. Transcript from Bovington Tank Museum.

W4 - D Company’s War Diary. Transcript from Bovington Tank Museum.

WIrn -

S2 - Pidgeon, Trevor (2012) 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

25 Sept 1916 - Map

Somme 1916 Narratives