23nov1917dbattalion

23 Nov 1917 D Battalion

The Tanks at Cambrai. 23^rd November 1917

Composite Companies, D Battalion, with 121^st Brigade, 40^th Division, 3^rd Army

D Battalion had 14 tanks in action on 23^rd November 1917 ^(W21):

No 1 Composite Company Company Commander - Maj. J.H.L Watson

1 Section. Capt J.M Martin

D2, 8064, m, “Duke Of Cornwall II”, 2/Lt. W.G.J. Wallace, ^(W21)

D3, 2693, f, “Drone”, 2/Lt. A.S. Heffill, ^(W21)

???, 4569, ?, , Lt HF Smith, ^(W21)

2 Section. Capt E Mackeown

D1, 8072, m, “Druid II”, 2Lt RC Baker, ^(W21)

D4, 2634, f, “Dryad II”, 2/Lt. S. Knox, ^(W21)

D21, 8057, m, “Dreadnought III”, 2/Lt. H.L. Richards, ^(W21)

D23, 8067, m, “Dashing Dragoon III”, 2/Lt. E. Hemmings, ^(W21)

D27, 2655, f, “Double Dee III”, 2/Lt. FCB Lloyd, ^(W21)

D34, 2861, f, “Dalliance“, Lt. J.A. Edwards, ^(W21)

No 2 Composite Company - Company Commander Maj. R.F. Cooper

? Section. Capt H G Head

D44, 8053, m, “Dracula II”, 2/Lt. C.L. Symonds, ^(W21)

D46, 8050, m, “Dragon III”, 2/Lt. J.T. Clark, ^(W21)

? Section. Capt G Nixon

D42, 8054, m, “Daphne III”, 2/Lt. G.C. Killey, ^(W21)

D48, 2621, f, “Diablo II”, 2/Lt. F.J. Tritton, ^(W21)

D54, 8048, m, “Diadem II”, 2/Lt. E. Owen, ^(W21)

Notes

D13 (2859) recorded as being detached to G Battalion as Tank G75 ^(W21)

Orders

Objective for all tanks: Bourlon Wood Village and Heights

Account of Operations

4569 Broke down and failed to start.

The other 13 tanks all attacked, Engaged the enemy, Reached their objectives (Bourlon Wood Village and Heights) and Rallied. D21 had its Crew reduced and radiator pierced by AP MG fire; D34 also had its Crew reduced and all guns put out of action by AP MG fire and splinters ^(W21).

An account of this action is contained in S62 = A Company of Tanks (1919) WHL Watson - IT HAS NOT YET BEEN USED FOR THIS NARRATIVE

Maj WHL Watson mentions seeing a tank being hit and set afire on the ridgeline ^(S62.p190) George Edwards, who commanded "Dalliance" on this date, annotated a copy of Watson's work and states this was an "E" battalion tank. ^(S62a) This is almost certainly "Exterminator".

Summary

Intended: 14

Reserve:

At Start: 13

Started: 13

Engaged enemy: 13

Ditched / Broke Down: 0

Hit and Knocked out: 0

Rallied: 13

Note

The Narrative of operations in W21s states that only 7 D Battalion tanks reached their final objectives. Two of the remaining tanks had their Lewis guns shot away, one broke down in Bourlon Wood and the remaining three expended all their ammo before rallying.

Aftermath

D Battalion had twelve tanks ready to be transported to the rear when the German Counter attack started on 30^th November. ^(H4)

"E" and "D" battalions were supposed to deploy a fourteen tank composite company to support the attack of the 3rd Guards brigade on the 1^st December 1917, however this company did not get into action because the "E" Battalion tanks got lost and the "D" Battalion tanks could not obtain petrol. ^(OH.p240) However two unidentified "D" Battalion tanks were apparently eventually committed to action.^(H4) these may be some of the supposed nine that supported the Guards.

"D" Battalion's remaining tanks were transported to the rear and handed over to 12^th Battalion in January.^(H4)

D2, 8064, D23, 8067, D44, 8053, D46, 8050, D54, 8048, D27, 2655, D4, 2634, D3, 2693, 4569 - No further record

D1, 8072 - possibly captured when Germans overrun Bray in March 1918

D21, 8057 - Photographed as a supply tank in 1918.

D42, 8054 - 26^th March 1918 handed from 12^th to 1^st battalion.

D48, 2621, D34, 2861- Aug 1918, with 12^th battalion

The battalion drew new tanks in February.

Sources

W21 = 1st Tank Brigade War Diary relevant Battlegraphs

W21s = The Summary of Operations 20^th – 23^rd November 1917” in PRO WO 95/98

H4 = History of the 4^th Tank Battalion. Transcript from Bovington Tank Museum.

S62 - A Company of Tanks (1919) WHL Watson - NOT YET USED IN THIS NARRATIVE

S62a - A Company of Tanks (1919) WHL Watson, with annotations by George Edwards, OIC "Dalliance", information courtesy of Stephan Pope.