26 September 1916 - Supporting XV Corp

The Tanks on the Somme. 26^th September 1916.

D Company with 64^th Brigade, 21 Division, XV Corps, 4^th Army

D Company intended to get 4 tanks into action on 26^th September 1916

D Company –

XV 21 Div

D19, 753, Capt. Sellick SS

D2, 742, Capt Nixon.

D3, 728, 2Lt Head HG

D4, 541, 2Lt Storey CE

Notes:

2Lt Storey and Nixon's tanks tank identified in WBA

Background

It had been intended to use four tanks to support the attack on the 25^th however three came to grief: 753’s OIC was wounded, Capt Nixons tank (742) was Knocked Out by a shell, and 728 threw a track and failed to make the start point. The Divisional commander didn’t wish to attack without Tank support so the assault was postponed until the 26^th. ^(S2.p26f)

Orders

Four tanks were to support 21^st Division’s attack by eliminating the MG nest at Point 91, N32d.9.1. which had been causing heavy casualties to the British over the previous weeks.

Account of operations

The other tanks being out of action D4 attacked alone on the 26^th. The tank drove out of Flers early on the 26^th, drove to Gird Trench and turned right at N26c.4.5 where the 8^th Leicesters had set up a trench block the previous evening. The tank drove along the trench, closely followed by a bombing party, the Germans were driven along the trench, eventually emerging at Point 91 where they were captured by the Guards Division. The tank thus enabled the capture of 1500 yards of Gird trench and the capture of 366 prisoners in the process. D4 may now have driven into Gueudecourt and engaged the Germans there before turning back. Whilst returning through Flers the tank ditched and was abandoned ^(W2) at N33a2.7 with a broken left track ^(WBA)

Summary

Intended: 4

At start: 1

Failed to Start:

Engaged enemy: 1

Ditched / Broke Down: 1

Hit and Knocked out:

Rallied: 0

Penetrated by AP bullets: 0

Note

Aftermath

541 - an attempt was apparently made by Lt Head to salve the tank on the 3rd October 1916, it si decrbed as "a tricky job", ^(WBA) it was presumably unsuccessful as the tank is not refereed to again.

728 is possibly the tank that failed to arrive to support and attack by the New Zealand Division on the 28^th September ^(S2.p53). It may have broken down as it was handed over to 711 ASC, it was still ditched on approximately the 15^th October.

It is is probably the male tank photographed derelict near Flers in 1918 as its position, N31a.8.2 ^(WBA) is the same as that given for 547 "Die hard" ^(WBA) which also appears in one of the photographs.

IWM Q46138: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205280267

IWM Q46139: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205280268

753 was at the Loop on 1st October, having got there via Green Dump ^(WBA) and had still not seen action by 7^th October 1916.

D4 - an attempt was made to recover the tank but the tank threw both tracks and was thus abandoned.

X7.p23

Sources

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

S2 - Pidgeon, Trevor (2012), Tanks on the Somme

S12 - Chris McCarthy. (1998), The Somme. The Day by Day Account. Brockhampton Press.

S16 - Flers & Gueudecourt (2002) Trevor Pidgeon

S22 - Staedman, Michael (1995), Thiepval, Leo Cooper P. 86ff

26 sept 1916 - XV Corp map

Somme 1916 Narratives