Tanks at the Battle of the Somme
Tanks were used in battle for the first time, by the British, on 15 September. Still mechanically unreliable, the tanks were rushed into action in small groups. Many broke down, and the Germans soon devised ways to stop them. Some senior officers had advised keeping them under wraps until large numbers could be assembled to strike a decisive blow.
HQ New Zealand Defence Force, Library
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TwitterHow to cite this page: 'Tanks at the Battle of the Somme', URL: /media/photo/battke-of-the-somme-tanks, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 30-Aug-2012
Hi
I am doing a bit of research on the reasons why NZ war graves for the Great War overseas were not permitted to have inscriptions on them, although I am aware of several which have inscriptions. I have seen newspaper accounts of the anguish this caused, especially as the rule was changed after people had applied to have inscriptions done as per the government requests for inscriptions.
Hi James
The First World War site is a work in progress and we are still to cover the major battles of 1918 - we do have a small feature on Le Quesnoy though: /war/le-quesnoy/new-zealand-and-le-quesnoy . Regards, Jamie Mackay
Why is there nothing about the Battle of the Somme 1918 when the NZ Division famously halted the German advance on Amiens on the old 1916 front line in March April 1918 then counter attacked eventually taking Bapaume and pushing on to Le Quesnoy after tha?
In September 1916 the (magnificant) NZ infantry were accompanied by Mk1 Tanks, not the Whippet tank as shown here. This did not enter service until 1918. There is a famous photo showing your infantry accompanying such a vehicle...but it was taken in 1918
Everett Sharp
Military Historian
Oxford University Great War Archive
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/
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