thiepvalandmorval

Thiepval and Morval

Tank Actions on the Somme

Tanks that survived 15th and 16th September 1916 according to Trevor Pidgeon (1995) The Tanks at Flers.

1C – C2 (522) Lt FW Blumel – In Albert

C5 (721) Capt AM Inglis – In Albert

C6 (504) ²Lt J Allan – In Albert

2C - D (507) Capt H.H. Hiscocks

E (722) ²Lt AL Arnaud

F (513) ²Lt TEF Murphy

H (760) Lt HB Elliot

K (554) Lt Ambrose

3C - A (741) Lt JE Tull

B (746) ²Lt JP Clarke

C13 (716) Lt Sir John Dashwood – Broken track, not mentioned in sources again until Arras.

4C - C19 (705) Capt A Holford Walker

C20 (523) Lt G Macpherson

C21 (740) Lt HH Vincent

C22 (533) Lt BLQ Henriques (Wd)

C24 (??) ²Lt HRC Cole – [Possibly 505] C Company Total 16 tanks

1D- D2 (539) Lt HR Bell

D3 (728) ²Lt HG Head

2D- D7 (742) Lt AJ Enoch – Tank in care of ASC

D8 (720) Lt HGF Brown

3D- D16 (538) Lt AE Arnold (wd)

D17 (759) Lt SH Hastie – Not recovered for some time –Then to ASC

D18 (743) ²Lt LC Bond (Wd)

D19 (753) Capt SS Sellick

4D D20 (744) ²Lt HCF Fowler

D21 (512) LT AE Sharp - Ditched until at least October 8^th

D22 (745) Lt FA Robinson

D23 (528) Capt GW Mann

D25 (511) ²Lt ECK Colle D Company Total 13 tanks

Also 10 reserve tanks – One in Albert, others nine at Green Dump. Possibly include 703 and Storeys new D4.

Battle of Morval:

A dozen tanks were allotted to assist Fourth Army’s attack on Morval as follows:

C Company –

A– Capt Hiscocks. Assemble at SW Corner Trones wood

XIV. Gds Div. 722 ²Lt Arnaud

505 ²Lt Murphy

760 ²Lt Ambrose

B – Capt AH Walker. Assemble at SW Corner Trones wood

XIV 5th Div 741 Lt Tull

746 Lt Clarke

740 Lt Smith

C – Lt Dashwood. Assemble at Wedgewood

XIV. 56th Div. 705 Lt Henderson / Lt Bates

523 Lt Sir J Dashwood

III 23rd Div D18 (743) Lt Enoch

D7 (742) – Unknown commander

XV 21 Div D3 (728) ²Lt HG Head

D4 (new) ²Lt CE Storey

25^th Sept

None of C Companies tanks made it into action on the 25^th, they arrived very late due to mechanical problems and the state of the ground.

D18 (743) Lt Enoch and D7 (742) attacked to the west of Martinpuich, starting out from Gunpit Road they assisted 23^rd Divisions attack on Twenty Sixth Avenue. D18 ditched prior to the attack, at which point Enoch appears to have transferred to D7.

D7 made it to the crest line where it brought down a German Barrage which destroyed D7 and halted the attack. ⁽⁴⁾

26^th September

C companies 705 Lt Bates and 523 Lt Sir J Dashwood attempted to attack Mutton trench in support of 56 Division (XIV Corps); but both ditched prior to starting, the attack was cancelled. The other C company tanks also failed to make it into action and all were withdrawn back to Trones wood.

D3 (728) ²Lt HG Head and D4 (a new female tank with an unknown production number) ²Lt CE Storey moved to attack Gird Trench in support of 21 Div (XV Corps).

D3 (728) ditched before entering Flers and was handed over to 711 ASC, it was still ditched on approximately the 15^th October.

Storey drove D4 up Pilgrim Trench firing all the way and enabled the capture of 1500 yards of Gird trench taking 600 prisoners in the process. D4 was abandoned in Flers whilst attempting to return to British lines.

Battle of Thiepval

8 tanks were allotted to Reserve Army for the 26^th September attack on Thiepvil.

The Canadians 2 Division’s attack NE from Courcelette was assisted by D22 (745) Lt FA Robinson and D25 (511) ²Lt ECK Colle.

A German counter barrage caught the attackers in no mans land, D22 was destroyed in this Barrage and D25 was ditched.

Four tanks were to assist 18 Division, II Corp

54 Brigade’s attack on Thiepval itself was assisted by C5 (721) Capt AM Inglis and C6 (504) ²Lt J Allan. C6 ditched, C5 made it into the ruins of Thiepvil Château where it became ditched and was abandoned, but not before the ruins had been captured. ⁽⁵⁾

53 Brigades attack to the east of Theipvil was to be supported by two, one ditched before reaching the British Front Line, the other in the newly captured Schwaben Trench.

Two tanks were ordered to assist 34 Brigade, 11 Division, II Corp attack on Mouquet Farm but both ditched before reaching the farm, one tank’s crew dismounted its MG’s and assisted in the attack.

The four tanks that assisted 34 and 53 Brigades must have been drawn from:

D8 (720) Lt HGF Brown, D16 (538) Lt WJ Wakeley; though these two were in action again on the 1^st Oct and were destroyed on that date.

D20 (744) ²Lt HCF Fowler and D23 (528) Capt GW Mann are stronger candidates as they are not heard of again until Oct 23^rd when they are listed (by production number) in C Company’s War diary as allotted to the attack on the 25^th Oct.

D19 (753) Capt SS Sellick is recorded as not having been in action by October 15^th in D Company’s War Diary.

C2 (522) Lt FW Blumel is also a candidate, as is the Reserve tank left at Albert and the other 8 reserve tanks (i.e. not including the one Storey is commanding).

Sources

1. General Historical Information: Chris McCarthy. (1998) The Somme. The Day by Day Account. Brockhampton Press.

2. D and C Companies Respective War Diaries. Transcripts obtained from Bovington Tank Museam.

3. Tank Numbers and names: Pidgeon, Trevor (1995) The Tanks at Flers

4. Notes from Cpl Ironmongers notebook, Quoted on Accessed:

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

October 1916

Mk I Tanks