Some sort of immediate action was always having to be taken by junior Commanders on information which they justly believed to be untrustworthy. There were often more Germans to the flank of any given body than to its front. When we try to form any general conception of the events of this period, we seem to see the actors moving in a kind of mist from which they emerge for a moment, perform some action which may or may not appear relevant, and then disappear again into the confusion, leaving us to guess at the meaning of the play. As far as the events of such a time can be chronicled, we propose for this fortnight to follow separately the doings of the three Tank Battalions chiefly involved, and to make no effort to present a coherent picture of this return to the reign “of Chaos and old Night.”
The 4th and 5th Battalions (4th Brigade) lay near Cartigny (south of Péronne).
On the morning of the 21st the two Battalions of Tanks were moved up into the line, two Tanks of the 4th Battalion counter-attacking at Peizière and clearing a railway cutting of the enemy.
On the 22nd all the Tanks were ordered into action. The infantry were retreating, and their chief duty was to gain time and to cover that retreat.
Twelve Tanks of the 5th Battalion attacked the enemy at Hervilly Wood, and several from the 4th Battalion near Epehy. Both detachments suffered rather severely.
At this point the two Battalions seem to have more or less parted company.
Seventeen Tanks belonging to the 5th Battalion rallied at Cartigny that night, and next day (the 23rd) were ordered to retire over the Somme.
The only available crossing place was the bridge at Brie, a few miles to the south.
They set off immediately, but the enemy advance was too rapid for them. They were unable to cross the bridge, and, lest they should fall into the hands of the enemy, all the machines were destroyed by their crews.
The story of one of these Tanks is told in the 5th Battalion History: