Tank Corps Memorial

These pictures are taken from the small models on the Tank Corps Memorial near Pozières Mill on the Albert - Bapaume Road.

It was from near this point that the tank was first used on the 15th September 1916 - actually attacking Flers.

This and the Australian Memorial are just on the Bapaume side of Pozières.

As you come up to the crest of the hill out of Pozières look out for the signs and also the unmissable radio mast which sits immediately behind the Tank Corps Memorial.

On the opposite side of the road is the Pozières Mill Memorial, dedicated to the Australians who captured Hill 160.

Pozières Mill

This entire area is of great significance to the men of the Australian Imperial Forces who fought to take Pozières in 1916.

Pozières

The The Tank Corps Memorial is for all the men from the Corps who fell during the war and not simply those that died in the first battle at Flers Courcelette on 15 September 1916.

The Mk I Tank was the first type of Tank to be used as a fighting vehicle anywhere in the world.

They were very slow and prone to mechanical failure. Only 32 of the intended 50 tanks made it into battle.

Tactically they were poorly used and a golden opportunity was missed.

The heavy tanks came in two versions.

• Male with two 6 pounder guns
• Female which had four Machine Guns

Initially they were made in more or less even numbers but it was then realised that there wasn't a great deal for them to fire a 6 pounder gun at.

Female tanks became more prevalent until the Germans started to introduce their own machines.

Like the Mk I the Mark V tank had a crew of 8 men. Improved power meant that it could trundle along at the amazing speed of 3.7 mph for 23 miles.

If the engine didn't give out!

The Whippet only weighed 18 tons, which meant that it could manage nearly double the speed of its heavier counterpart: 6 mph.

It had a crew of three or four men who could operate machine guns from the fixed turret - it did not revolve as you would expect from modern tanks.

(In fact the first tank with a revolving turret was a French invention - the Renault FT17, used en masse later in the war)

This is the Worlds First Self Propelled Gun. The Gun Carrier Mk 1. It lacks the Gun, as these vehicles were mainly used for the transport of supplies, in which case the gun - a standard artillery piece - was simply winched out.

My thanks to Peter Kempf for enlightening me.