Poem ~ Somme Shock Tactics - Friday, 15 September 1916 - Sunday, 24 September 1916

Source: File: Battle of Flers–Courcelette. Four Mark I tanks filling with petrol. Chimpanzee Valley, 15 September 1916, the day tanks first went into action. Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia Wikimedia Commons. 
See an original image at:<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Battle_of_the_Somme,_July-november_1916_Q5576.jpg> [Accessed 15 September 2016] 

Source: File: Infantry moving off with a tank, at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (the cage on top was to prevent grenades from being tossed on top of the tank). See an original image at: <http://www.historywiz.com/tank.htm> [Accessed 15 September 2016]

Source: File: WW1 The Introduction of the Tank - History Channel.  See original footage: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLCdNudUxk/> [Accessed 15 July 2016]

i

29th July 1916, a letter arrived

Into the hands of Haig - he opened

The envelope and unfolded

The paper - to read words written

By Chief of the Imperial General

Staff, Sir William Robertson.

His statement spelt out that to an

Extent, the pressure on Verdun

Had been relieved - but at what

Cost? Nearly 300,000 casualties

For some little gain - Haig wrote his

Reaction in margin; 'not very CIGS.'

1 August 1916 Haig sat and penned

His reply to Robertson - intentions

Were to maintain the pressure over

The Somme - wherever their

Preparations were ready, the army

Were to push with strong attacks.

ii

All gains had to be secured

Against counterattacks - with

Such processes the offensive

Would carry on well into the

Autumn; Z day at summers

Height then 4 week’s before.

September would see further

Drafts of plans, in order to keep

Intensity across the front line,

And exploit any opportunities

Made on the field - Haig held

Deep concerns close to home.

He found a lack of standards

In his staff, as many leaders had

Been lost - a sudden expansion

Of a raw army lacked experience;

Haig reinforced the need for

Preparation in all new operations.

This in part, was to target

German defences of Somme

Ridge - high points of Pozieres

And Martinpuich, Mouquet

Farm and Thiepval village; as

With Delville and High woods.

Amid other targets were all

Set in localised operations -

Yet not without struggles;

High wood had proved itself

Impenetrable, Delville wood

Had been counter attacked.

iii

Gullemont village finally fell,

Its ruins prized and the line

Swung slowly out to Leuze

Wood - all events leading

Into September, while French

Made for impressive moves.

Fall of German held Falfemont

Farm freed the way of enemy

Watchers - a French arm swept

Into Clery and Ommiecourt -

But all faltered at Combles

For Germans had found safety.

Underground in ancient cave

Systems, with solid steel and

Masonry above - so their aim

Set out to cut off the occupied

Commune - the French began

Their attack September 12th.

French infantry groups dropped

Down into German trenches,

Where fierce exchanges made

Mid day results; Colonial Corps

Past Le Forest gained spurs,

Others pushed about Combles.

The Rancourt road was taken,

The lines were broken - orders

Of Foch to advance further

Proved impossible, due to their

Troop exhaustion - but French

Would give British gun support.

Therefore assaults September

15, would not involve French.

The Somme outline for planned

Third main offence would act

Out in three stages; first capture

Of the remaining German line.

Support would come form

The Heavy Section Machine

Gun Corps - secondly, taken

Ground was to be then held

By Reserve Army, while more

Of 4th army would break line.

The German held Bapaume,

Albert road, along with Flers,

Then on out into country were

To go the cavalry - once more

1 July was replayed on a narrow

Front - but with a new weapon.

iV

A deadline for preparations

Had to be met for the new

Force to be in place - the date

15 September 1916 - these

New machines made their

Arrival in France August 30.

Security of these arrivals had

Continued with a crawling

Advance of fifty machines,

Gaining great attention; those

Who saw them made distraction 
In demand of demonstrations.

The unknown celebrities crawled

Their way to make their premiere.

They drew wide eyes and jaw

Dropping looks; 'What are they?'

Were likely asked; 'tanks' came an

Answer. 'Tanks? what are tanks?'

'They are the heavy beasts, you'll

See. They'll break through the Hun,

Just wait and see,' as the pellet

Shaped hulks wheeled on their

Way. to their waiting assignment -

Yet it was not all glamour inside.

Constant wear and tear, even before

They got to where they were to be -

Squeezed in among engines and

Arms, the crew could hardly speak

For noise - having to devise hand

Signals to make any operation.

A man would take note and change

Gears, as each track had a man

To work levers to brake tracks,

In adjusting directions of the thirty

Tons of metal and moving parts,

Into the darkness of 13 September.

The surviving tanks now 36, edged

Forward towards their assembly

Positions - groans and splutters

Disguised by combined artillery,

Pulverizing the way ahead - white

Tapes guided their torch lit way.

V

A signaller of 19 years Bert Chaney

Stopped on hearing rumbling noise,

To see three of the strange visions,

Mechanised monsters who toppled

On their noses, as two small wheels

Of their tails balanced the metal.

Each side bulges held doors with

Swivel machine guns, to surprise

The signallers - further were their

Sex; these Mark 1 differed in male

Hotchkiss 6-pounder guns, 4 to the

5 machine guns of the female.

Throughout the darkness all were

Sat in position - the crew of four

Likely enjoying some relief before

The big hour of 6.20 a.m. but night

Was not quiet, a barrage continued.

After slow hours engines started.

Even though one Mark 1 failed -

Prior to zero hour the other tanks

Began to move - this was now

A battle environment, that training

Had not been able to recreate.

On the left section two late starters

Got into difficulties - to veer towards

Right direction - one ran short of fuel

And had to turn back, as the other

Ditched - not quite a glorious start,

But the others crawled on their way.

Vi

Zero hour 6.20 a.m.  A creeping

Barrage began - to take advantage

Of eight hours of daylight, the Red

Line had to be achieved by 12 noon,

At a point between Abbey and Ligny

Road, to establish a new allied line.

This was the fourth objective to lay

Beyond the third Blue Line of Flers,

And the first Green Line; defences

Of Martinpuich. Rawlinson's plan

Favoured cautious step by step

Attacks - everything was planned.

The presence of the tank though

Was an unknown quantity - a need

Being to defeat German strongpoint

Called Quadrilateral - the forward

Battalion were to be accompanied

By three tanks, but two broke down.

The third tank tracked the railway

Line towards the Quadrilateral,

The time 5.50 a.m. - between

British troops the tank fired at

Them - an officer dodged firing

To inform the tank crew of error.

Setting it on the right direction

The tank turned towards Straight

Trench in an attack - battle plans

And realities of field were obvious;

Wire was untouched and fire gave

Halt to advance - the tank turned.

Back to the start; low on fuel and 
Bullet riddled - a tank group of three
Reached Ginch-Lesboeufs road,

To progress to the Triangle's south.

While three tanks on left were to go

West of Ginchy towards Pint trench.

But one was lost - meanwhile central

Tank group were to go to the NW

Point - but all broke down as did the

Tenth, which had been to support

Corps attack east of Melville wood -

All these errors were not a good start.

Vii

Attacking troops unused to tank

Presence pushed on all about -

Communications suggesting

The guards brigade had taken

The third objective by 8.20 a.m.

Yet successes were steady.

Majority of the tank force had

Been assigned with the 41st

Division to target Flers village -

Within 40 minutes of zero hour

Switch Line and Tea support

Trench were quickly gained.

50 minutes later 7.50 a.m. Flers

Trench was taken  - 14 tanks

Were to take part, yet D14 was

Ditched close to Flers and D15

Close to the Switch Line had

Come a cropper, knocked cold.

Shell fire damaged D18, then

To withdraw from Flers trench -

D17 with D6 and D9 circled

East part of Flers, targeting

Machine guns and strong points;

Fate of D6 lay near Gueudecourt.

D6 was set alight as D9 halted

At Glebe Street - artillery fire

Hit D17, to be abandoned and

Later recovered by 8 20 a.m. -

With the 122nd Brigade troops

D16 rolled proudly into Flers.

Enemy scattered, driven out by

10 a.m. fleeing to Gueudecourt.

The New Zealanders had dug

In about the Switch Line - on the

Left uncut wire halted progress,

Prompting a wait for their tanks.

Metal support arrived with D11

And D12, with D10 left out cold

At Flat Trench - raking over wire

The tanks made a path for last

Objective; Abbey road was made

By D8 though its vision damaged.

Viii

West of Flers D12 had become

Ditched, to leave D11 along

The Ligny road to stand guard.

The British Mark 1 Tank had

Made a debut, to form a shock

Tactic to the German held lines.

A foggy September morning

Had dawned hours before,

Around the Flers village that

Had become a hold of German

Troops - they emerged from their

Dugouts bleary eyed, expectant.

An allied bombardment had

Fallen, now would come assault

Of allied foot soldiers - the lull

Ended as a creeping barrage

Began - the soldiers stirred to

Alert, expectant of an advance.

A journalist there experienced

The feelings of his blood freeze -

Among the defenders he saw,

From out of the morning haze,

Two objects like beasts, slowly 
'Limping, staggering, swaying.'

Metal shapes took a steady

Pace towards them, moving

With supernatural force; they

Had no wheels - crawling easily

Over pitted ground devoid to
Harm, gave men shocked breath.

Throwing hand grenades at these

Objects had no effect - what

Then might be these machines?

Something like land submarines

Perhaps carrying British troops -

Then the objects opened fire.

German crews held onto their

Forward shell holes, crushing
Easily any slow, hesitant man

In its path and straight across

German lines - an experience

Seen all round the Flers areas.

Overcoming dumb surprise,

Resistant Germans used all

Their weapons, trying to find

The weakness of the machines -

A German field gun had hit one

Outside Flers to allow studies.

iX

German engineers quickly took

Close examinations of machine,

To discover inch thick armour

Plating, steered by and up and

Down levers carrying much food,

Ammunition and a pigeon’s cage.

Germans were reported making

Their attack, despite being under

Its fire, they ran at the crawling

Tank - attacking hand to hand -

Climbing onto it trying to open

Its hatch and fire into any slot.

Despite efforts and resistance

The Germans found Flers fall

From their hands, as D16 made

It to objective Blue line - perhaps

Relief and reassurance filling

Those following in their tracks.

12th east Surreys troops along

With Royal West Kents, as they

Entered Flers - for one Private

Ernest Rueben Hicks, aged 21,

About to become a father in 4

Days, fought this his first battle.

There on the Somme for those

Who might learn, years later

Of his foot steps among others,

Marching behind the lumbering

Tank, whose tracks made claim

Of the village for hope of future.

That this then could be final

Breakthrough - Private Hicks

And company walked on - about

The Hun ran about like rabbits -

The tank rolled on seemingly
Intent to flatten everything about.

Troops spreading out, taking

Over remnants of the village,

Gathering together prisoners.

All seemed something like a

Game - please with the ease

Of progress, the tank halted.

Four men emerged, stretched.

They took a slow inspection

Of their machine and conferred,

Standing about looking lost -
Producing a primus stove and

With tank as cover made tea.

by Jamie Mann.

Source: File: Battle of Flers–Courcelette. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Flers–Courcelette> [Accessed 15 September 2016]

Source: File: History of the tank. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_tank> [Accessed 15 September 2016]

Source: File: British heavy tanks of World War I. Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_heavy_tanks_of_World_War_I#Mark_I> [Accessed 15 September 2016]

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 15 September 2016). 

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