Tank Corps Memorial

The Tank Corps Memorial is located near Pozières, in the Somme department of France. The location was chosen because it was near this spot that tanks were first used in combat, when they were deployed by the British Army at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, part of the Battle of the Somme, on 15^th September 1916.

The First World War was characterised by trench warfare, particularly on the Western Front, as a result of which, the combatants developed new technologies in an attempt to break the stalemate. The concept of a vehicle to provide troops with both mobile protection and firepower was not new, but the idea became more realistic with the increasing availability of the internal combustion engine, armour plating, and the caterpillar track.

Britain was the first country to develop the concept, with the first practical design being produced by William Foster & Co Ltd of Lincoln. Completed in September 1915, "Little Willie" was deemed to have potential, and after further modifications, led to the trial of "Big Willie" in early 1916.

The British ordered the production of 150 of these tanks, known as the Mark I. Its rhomboid shape, caterpillar tracks, and 8-metre length meant that it could negotiate obstacles that wheeled vehicles could not. The Mark I mounted a pair of 6-pounder cannons plus machine guns, and was equipped with steel armour that could stop small-arms fire and shrapnel. It had a crew of eight, four of whom were needed to handle the steering and drive gears, and had a top speed of 6 km/h.

The Mark I would make its debut on 15^th September 1916, on the first day of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The tanks were to be deployed ahead of the infantry, in groups of two or three, to punch holes in the German defences and destroy enemy machine gun posts. Although 49 tanks were earmarked to take part, only 32 made it to the starting line due to mechanical failures. Of these, 18 eventually went into action. The rest of them became stuck in shell holes, broke down, or were quickly knocked out.

Despite all these shortcomings, the few tanks that did participate in the battle helped break through the enemy lines in some places, ploughing through barbed wire and driving right over trenches, while their unusual appearance and apparent invulnerability to rifle and machine gun fire caused fear in the German troops. As a result of the day’s actions, the villages of Flers and Courcelette were captured.

Despite the modest impact of the tanks on 15^th September 1916, they had demonstrated enough potential to justify their continued use. As time went on, tactics evolved, and tank design was improved. By mid-1918, they were a common element of British fighting methods, with around 2,600 tanks manufactured. The French also created their own designs, with over 3,700 built. By contrast, Germany only produced 20 tanks.

Although initially tanks formed part of the Heavy Section of the Machine Gun Corps, the Tank Corps was established in July 1917. It would be involved in every one of the later battles, particularly at Cambrai in 1917, and Villers-Bretonneux in 1918. Although ultimately unable to end the stalemate on the Western Front, the tank would have a massive impact on the evolution of modern warfare.

In 1919, the Tank Corps applied for permission to erect a memorial near the site where the tank first saw combat, and put forward a design comprising a granite obelisk on a plinth with a miniature bronze model of a First World War British tank at each of its four corners. Three bronze panels around the base of the memorial list the major battles in which tanks were involved in 1916, 1917, and 1918. Another interesting feature of the memorial is the boundary fence around the obelisk, which consists of ten upright 6-pounder tank gun barrels with tank driving chains mounted across them.

The memorial was inaugurated in July 1922 by Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland, who was aide-de-camp general to King George V. It commemorates all the men of the Tank Corps who fell during the First World War.