301 US Tank Battalion 17 October 1918

The Battle of the Selle. 17^th October 1918

301^st US Battalion with 59^th Brigade, 30^th Division, II American Corp, 4^th British Army

301st US battalion had 25 tanks in action on 17^th October 1918. ^(WWvets)

Presumably some of the following which were in action on 29^th September and probably rallied undamaged, roughly half the survivors were lost on the 8^th October:

A Company

958?, “ Watts

9389, “ Taylor

9397, “ Colburn

9892, “ Dean

9004, “ Webb

9593, “ Hart

9890, “Gutkowistu

B Company

9592, Lt Elingwood

9117, Sgt Killingen

9352, “ MacDonald

9047, “ Hamdraught

9429, “ Jones

C Company

9279, Lt Willard

9390, “ Shanks

9396, “ Latham

9111, “ Budd

9017, “ Brown

9043, “ Dinsmore

9088, “ Logan

9376, “ Vernon

9027, “ Holmes

Notes:

The official history states 20 tanks were used, WWVets says 25.

The tanks listed above are those that survived the 29^th September action undamaged, some ditched or broke down on the 29^th and may not have been recovered. Some, unidentified, tanks had not attacked on the 29^th and thus probably attacked on the 8^th. Half of the 20 tanks which attacked on the 8^th failed to rally.

Orders

The Selle was not thought to be an obstacle to tanks, it was to be crossed and the tanks were to support the attack. ^(OH) “The tank commanders were able to view the battle field prior to engagement, and made note of the best routes and river crossings. Twenty five tanks were available. “Quoted verbatim from WWvets site (WWvets)

Account of Operations

The tanks were photographed moving up:

IWM Q 49398: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205084664

The Selle did prove to be an obstacle for the tanks. One ditched therein, the others were delayed in crossing and then by the thick fog. They were of little material use to the infantry. Nine were lost ^(OH)

“In spite of the excellent planning, on the day of the battle the visibility was very poor, a light breeze now blowing the smoke over the Doughboys, and communication was even poorer. By the time the visibility cleared, most tanks were lost and out of gas [petrol]. Of the 25 tanks that started, eight had mechanical trouble, two tanks ditched in the Selle River, a couple had direct hits, and one caught fire. Only one tank reached the objective”. Quoted verbatim from WWvets site (WWvets)

The attack was mostly successful. ^(OH)

Summary

Total Tanks: 25

Failed to Start: 5

Engaged enemy:

Ditched / Broke Down: 2

Hit and Knocked out: 3

Rallied: 11

Notes

Failed to start is based on the discrepancy between the official history which states 20 tanks were used and WWVets which says 25.

The rallied total is based on the statement in the Official history that nine of the twenty tanks were lost.

Aftermath

Only twelve tanks were serviceable. ^(WWvets)

The battalion was next in action on 23^rd October 1918 ^(W6)

Sources

H6 – 6^th Battalion War History, (1919) Naval and Military Press

OH – Official History, 1918, Vol. 5, pg.306

WWvets - A (brief) account of the action can be found here: http://www.wwvets.com/WW1_Tanks.asp

Selle - 17 to 25 October 1918

301 US Tank Battalion