6 Battalion, A Company 8 October 1918
The 2nd Battle of Cambrai. 8th October 1918
6 Battalion, with the 6th Division, IX Corp, 3rd Army (OH)
6 Battalion, A company had 6 tanks in action on 8th October 1918 (H6):
A Company - Capt Howell RE
Section – Lt Sanders VG
A331, Lt Sanders (W6)
A228, 2Lt Reed G
A381, 2Lt Jones P
Section – Lt Underhill W
A261
A351
A378
Notes
2Lt Jones and Reed may have been in charge of A228 and A381 respectively.
Orders
Lying up place: Fosse Wood (H6) H20d.2.3 (W6)
“A” Companies 6 whippets were to operate on the extreme right with 6th Division. One section of three tanks was to support the attack on the Red lines, the second three tank section was to exploit into the area immediately in front of Fresnoy-le-Grand. (H6)
Account of Operations
Lt Sanders section moved forward (H6) on the left (W6) behind (H6) the 9 / Norfolk, of 71st Brigade (OH) at 4:50am and came into action at 7:50am. The infantry were held up (H6) at I4a and I4c (W6) 1000yds south of Brancourt by fire from a sunken road, (H6) in I4b and I5c (W6) the whippets closed to within 20 yards of the sunken road and engaged the enemy, driving them from their positions (H6); they fled down the sunken road towards Fresnoy (W6). The tanks now turned towards Brancourt and fired on the enemy as the fled the village (H6); A331 obtained good targets in C28c as the enemy fled Bancourt Village (W6). All three tanks came under heavy MG fire, A331 turned back with mechanical trouble and broke down at the fork roads east of Montbrehain (H6) I2d.4.7 (W6). A228 and A381 remained in action in the exploitation area until 8:45am (H6) (W6) when both became immobile at C28d.0.2 -OR - I4b central (W6) east of Brancourt. 2Lt Reed returned to British lines, his crew were missing; 2Lt Jones was severely wounded, he and all his crew were captured (H6). Once the tanks had neutralised the opposition in Brancourt the 9 / Norfolk were able to advance without meeting much resistance. (OH)
Lt Underhill’s section (H6) attacked on the right (W6) left the starting point (H6), I28d.6.5 (W6) at Zero and came under heavy MG fire (H6) from the right flank (W6) as it crossed the current British front line at 5:30am. The infantry did not follow so the tanks turned back and successfully helped them forward. A351 had a loophole plate blown off and the OIC was wounded. The tank returned and rallied at 11am. A261 was immobilised by an AP bullet (H6) at H30b.8.6 (W6) to the North of Sequehart, the OIC becoming a casualty. A378 broke a fan chain but repaired it and rallied. (H6) Rallying point H20d.2.3 (W6) These whippets helped the 1/ West Yorkshires, part of the 18th Brigade in reserve, clear the Mericourt valley and then work round, cut off and capture some MGs that had been enfilading the attack from the right. (OH)
Summary
Total Tanks: 6
Failed to Start:
Engaged enemy:
Ditched / Broke Down: 3
Hit and Knocked out: 1
Rallied: 2
Notes
The ditched / broke down total includes A228 and A381 who are recorded simply as immobilised.
A261 is recorded as being hit and knocked out.
The two rallied tanks are A351, which was damaged and A378 which had broken down.
Aftermath
Sources
H6 – 6th Battalion War History, (1919) Naval and Military Press
W6 – 6th Battalion War Diary. Transcript from BovingtonTank Museum.
OH – Official History, 1918, Vol. 5, pg.190