TANK CORPS

In this history of the Tank Corps in the Great War the authors begin with the origins of the tank, the earliest designs and the evolution of the ‘land cruiser’ which appeared on the battlefields of the Somme in September 1916, and its later models. By the end of the war there were three main types – the Mark V, the Mark V,Star and the Whippet; all are described in the opening pages with a cutaway diagram of a Mark V. The early days were not easy, as this account reveals. A number of people were involved and ideas were being floated within a few weeks of the outbreak of war. One name stands out, that of Colonel Swinton and with him Captain Tulloch; as far as the authors are concerned they got the show on the road, despite an unenthusiastic, even hostile attitude from the War Office. Ironically it was the Admiralty under the leadership of Churchill that was the driving force behind the project, including financial backing that he provided on his own responsibility from Admiralty funds. All this and the birth of the new corps are covered in the opening chapters.
The first appearnce of the tanks on the battlefield was at Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916, during the Somme offensive, and the memorial to this event on the outskirts of Pozieres will be familiar to all who have visited the battlefields. And now the story of the tank becomes the history of the Tank Corps as we are taken through all the battles and actions in which the tank made an appearance, including in Palestine, and including French and American operations. This account is based on personal reminiscences, on official Despatches, on Operation Orders, on various Tank battalion and brigade histories, onWeekly Tank Notes (a confidential official periodical for private circulation, referred to as W.T.N.), on German reports, and on Press reports, all brought together in a narrative that makes a most entertaining and authoritative account. At the end there is an epilogue in which the tank’s contribution to final victory is discussed ending with a plea:We lead the world in the design and manufacture of Tanks. Let us not abandon that lead in the production and use of a vital weapon. We weren’t listening, but others were! There is a long, interesting introduction by Major-General Hugh Elles, who commanded the Tank Corps in which, (at the request of the authors) he comments on this history, adding his own views.