The general organisation of the 1917–18 training, though, of course, on a much larger scale, was very much like that of the previous winter. New training centres had been established and old centres extended.
But perhaps a chronicle of the numbers who passed through these courses of instruction at Wailly, Le Tréport, Bermicourt and Merlimont, and of the sequence in which the different Brigades took their turns at the different areas, might prove less interesting than a brief account of what was actually taught and of the sort of way a syllabus would be carried out.
In the official “Instructions for the Training of the Tank Corps in France” these are the sort of general principles we find laid down:
“All work must be carried out at high pressure. Every exercise and movement should, if possible, be reduced to a precise drill.
“Games will be organised as a definite part of training (see S.S. 137, ‘Recreational Training’).
“Order is best cultivated by carrying out all work on a fixed plan. Order is the foundation of discipline. Small things like marching men always at attention to and from work, making them stand to attention before dismissing them, assist in cultivating steadiness and discipline. Each day should commence with a careful inspection of the billets and the men, or some similar formal parade. Strict march discipline to and from the training grounds must be insisted upon.
“It is an essential part of training for war that the men are taught to care for themselves, so as to maintain their physical fitness. To this end the necessity for taking the most scrupulous care of their clothing, equipment and accoutrements will be explained to them.”
The following is the syllabus (slightly condensed) of a Maintenance Course for Tank Commanders:
How to drive a Tank.
How to set a magneto.