On the 105th anniversary of the Battle of Cambrai, we look back at how the victory was celebrated with the ringing of joy bells back home in Britain….
Tank Numbers
Like all military and civilian vehicles before and since the First World War, British tanks were given unique registration, or serial, numbers. …
The Battle of Cambrai: The German Counterattack
The Battle of Cambrai had begun at 6:20am on the 20th November with a stunning advance, spearheaded by tanks and supported by new artillery techniques, but within a few days the British had been fought to a standstill. …
The Battle of Cambrai: Graincourt
Pride of place at the entrance to the Tank Men Exhibition is the Graincourt gun – captured by Albert Baker during Cambrai. This is its story. …
The Battle of Cambrai: Flesquières Ridge
The Battle of Cambrai (20 November 1917) is always deemed to have been a British success, this is true, up to a point, although it had its setbacks. The earliest of these, which caused a significant, if temporary delay, occurred on Flesquières Ridge at about ten o’clock in the morning of that first day….
The Battle of Cambrai: The Fascine
One of the adaptations added during the Battle of Cambrai was the fascine, enabling tanks to cross deliberately widened trenches. …
The Battle of Passchendaele – Tanks at Third Ypres
Third Ypres was planned as an infantry and artillery attack, with tanks in a supporting role….
The Battle of Passchendaele – Background & Planning
The German invasion in August 1914 led to the conquest of almost all of Belgium. …
Tanks On Trains In The First World War
Tanks in the First World War were very slow. There were no tank transporters so tanks had to go by train and, as the war went on, they were getting bigger and heavier….
French First World War Tanks
The Renault FT is by far the most well-known French tank of the First World War, but it was not the first Char d’Assaut used by the French Army….
Experimental WWI Tanks – Part II
While the first instalment looked at early experimental tanks, this blog post examines vehicles created as a reaction to problems tanks were encountering in combat, such as the Invicta Roller and tadpole tail. …
Tanks in Palestine in the First World War
While writing on the First World War generally focuses on the Western Front, Palestine was the site of several tank battles against Turkey. …
A. A. Milne Poem
In 2016, an undiscovered A.A. Milne poem honouring the Tank Corps was found in The Tank Musuem Archive….
Camouflage
From the very beginning the tank had to be well-camouflaged, first when it was a secret weapon and then later when it advanced on to the battlefield….
The Tail Assembly
The pair of tail wheels on a Mark I tank seem to fascinate most people; they are in fact the rump of the articulated Landship idea devised by Colonel Crompton….
