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12 Company 9 April 1917
The Tanks at Arras. 9th April 1917
12 Company. D Battalion with 2nd Canadian Division 1st Army
Part of 1st tank brigade
12 Company intended to get 8 tanks into action on 9th April 1917 (W21):
12 Company - Maj. Ward ROC DSO (S62.p74)
No 9 Section
D41, 793, 2Lt C.M. Knight
D42, 791, LT W.S. McCoull
D43, 598, 2Lt A.R. Lowrie
D44, 794 2Lt F.J. Lambert
No 10 Section
D46, 795, Lt E.J.Smith
D47, 596, Lt T. Westbook
D48, 595, 2Lt H.R. Chick
D49, 580, 2Lt R.C. Cooney
NOTE: Tank Company and Production numbers from Battlegraph for 9th April.
OIC names those given in Battlegraph for 3rd May and thus may be incorrect for the 9th April.
Orders
Four tanks to support 6th CIF Brigade in the attack on Thelus, 2 passing either side of the village. The other section, 4 tanks to support the British 13th brigade, sending two tanks along the Intermediate Line to Counts Wood [A6a9.6] to deal with the suspected strongpoint there. Then the tanks were to turn right and flattened the wire on the reverse slope of the hill. (OH.pg335)
12 Company was split into two sections of four tanks. Each section was to assist one of the two brigades in the first wave of 2nd Canadian Divisions attack on Hill 135. They were the only tanks allocated to first army’s assault of Vimy Ridge (S18.p81f).
The tanks assembled in a sunken road known as Elbe Trench, in front of Neuville St.Vaast. The Germans spotted the deployment and secretly deployed 204 Hahkampfsbatterie, an Anti Tank battery on four 77mm field Guns, 500 yards in front of the Canadian lines at Les Tilleuls (S18.p81f).
In order to screen the tanks advance at least one section was provided with 8 infantrymen from 16th Royal Warwicks, the British 13th Infantry Brigade having been attached to assist Canadian 2nd Division, it would attack in the second wave, leapfrogging through the 5thCanadian Brigade. The 8 volunteers were split into four groups of two men each and each pair was attached to a tank. Their job was to walk behind he tanks firing smoke grenades from their rifles, thus providing the tanks with their own bespoke smokescreen (S18.p81f).
Account of operations
Fortunately for 12 company two of the AT guns were destroyed by the preliminary bombardment and the crews of the other two abandoned them within twenty minutes of Zero hour as their positions were overrun by the advancing Canadians. The guns did not apparently register any hits on the Tanks (S18.p81f).
When the attack went in the infantry fired smokescreen was apparently worse than ineffective, mainly serving to blind the tank drivers. The infantry smoke firers suffered badly; three were killed and three wounded. The two men who survived unscathed, including Private Edward Francis who left an account of the action, were taken into the relative safety of their tank once they had run out of grenades (S18.p81f).
The ground was set and very bad (HQto)
No 9 Section were probably photographed at their starting point http://www.flickr.com/photos/7700258@N05/937591628/in/set-72157601073015696/ (IWM CO 1568), (X58.p68), from whence they started at 5.30 a.m. reaching the British front line at 7am and subsequently crossing the German front line at 7:15am (W21) . 793 stopped in the British front line for two and a half hours and the German front line for two and three quarter hours (HQbg) , it then broke down beyond the German front line but was repaired and continued to advance (W21). 598 fired on the Enemy after crossing the German front line (HQbg). All the tanks reached the Black Line where they ditched within 100 yards of one another (W21). There are several photographs of 598 going forward
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7700258@N05/936748979/in/set-72157601073015696/ (IWM C0 1575) (X51.p80) (X58.p68),
and one of her ditched (CWM 19930013-548), http://www.flickr.com/photos/7700258@N05/3927029129/in/set-72157601073015696/.
No 10 Section also set off at 5:30am though they did not cross the British front line at Lichfield Crater [ A4c.9.9 ] until 7:20am (the two is overtyped) and subsequently crossed the German front line at 7:30am (W21). 795 and 596 both stopped in the British front line, for two and quarter and two hours respectively (HQbg); the section then proceeded astride the Grenadier Graben to within 100 yards of the Black line where they all became ditched within 100 yards of one another, 596 penetrated furthest (W21).
The original hand drawn battlegraph in PRO WO 95-91 indicates 598 fired its weapons, this has not been copied onto the more neatly drawn versions. The sources do not mention the other seven tanks engaging the enemy at all, the Canadians having done the job successfully without them. The Tank which picked up Private Edwards slid sideways into a crater (S18.p81f).
One of the female tanks was photographed ditched (X58.p66)
Summary
Intended: 8
At start: 8
Failed to Start: 0
Engaged enemy: 1
Ditched / Broke Down: 8
Hit and Knocked out: 0
Rallied: 0
Penetrated by AP bullets: 0
Aftermath
All the tanks bar one were dug out and entrained by the night of the 13th April; the remaining tank was extricated and entrained a day later (W21).
12 Company were next in action on 3rd May 1917.
Sources
Location of “Lichfield crater” and “Count’s Wood” from Trench map corrected to 4-3-17
W21 – Reports on proceedings of “D” Battalion H.B.M.G.C. during operations of period 9th to 13th April 1917. and relevant Battle graph. PRO WO 95 - 97
HQbg - Battlegraphs in Tank Corps HQ War Diary appendixes. PRO WO 95 - 91
HQto – Tank operatipons April 9th to 13th in Tank Corps HQ War Diary appendixes. PRO WO 95 - 91
S18 - Nicholls Jonathon (2005) Cheerful Sacrifice. The Battle of Arras 1917, Pen and Sword
S58 - Buffetaut, Yves (1997) The 1917 Spring Offensives
S62 - Maj Watson WHL (???) A Company of Tanks
OH – Official History 1917, Vol 1, pg.335
IWM online Photographs – Search at - http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/qryPhotoImg.asp
CWM online Photograph - http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/guerre/photo-e.aspx?PageId=3.E.2&photo=3.E.2.o&f=%2fcwm%2fguerre%2fbattles-fighting-e.aspx
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