Thursday 15 September 2016

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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