The Tank Museum in Dorset is hosting a seminar to examine the debut of the Mark I tank during the Battle of the Somme.
Named after a quote by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, “The Tanks Have Done Marvels”, will be taking place on 21 November at The Tank Museum. The new event brings together historians, researchers, and military scholars in a full-day programme of talks from distinguished speakers covering a range of subjects.
On 15 September 1916, the first ever tanks were unleashed onto the battlefield during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. This major offensive of the Somme campaign changed modern warfare forever.
Of the 49 Mark I tanks allocated to the attack, only 32 reached their starting positions. Just 18 entered combat, with the remainder suffering mechanical failures or becoming stuck in shell holes and trenches.
Stuart Wheeler, Senior Historian at The Tank Museum, said: “Our brand-new seminar is shaping up to be a jam-packed day. We have ten speakers covering topics from the debut of the Mark I on the Somme battlefield, to its later use in Gaza and the training and morale of the men who fought in these mechanical steel machines.”
“It’s fantastic to be able to bring together military historians and researchers more than a century later to analyse both the decision to deploy the first tanks, and the impact it had militarily and culturally.”
Attendees will get to go inside the Museum’s Mark IV tank, which is just one of 6 left in the world.
