North of the Somme, with the 3rd Corps (which included the 33rd American Division) the 10th Tank Battalion put sixteen Tanks into action.
They had a hard task round Chipilly, where the enemy had a large number of machine-guns cleverly concealed in woods and gullies. By the early evening, however, all the objectives were taken, and our positions advanced in line with those which we held south of the river, an advance achieved at a cost of five casualties to the sixteen machines engaged.
The Whippets’ action, in as far as they were billed to act with the cavalry, was disappointing. By some fault of liaison they were kept too long at Brigade Headquarters.
At Beaufort and Warvillers, however, they were able to give great help to the infantry by chasing hostile machine-gunners out of the standing corn and shooting them down as they fled.
On the whole August 9th was a successful day, for we continued to push forward steadily all along our line.
VIII
We had, in fact, pushed forward so far that all along the line during the next day’s fighting we reached the old trench systems of the First Battle of the Somme. And it was this fact, combined with the usual and inevitable petering out of all attacks which are not supported by immense reserves, that now slowed our rate of advance down to nothing. Two days later we left off hammering.
The 10th proved an unfortunate day for the Tanks, for though we advanced, the eighty-five Tanks engaged suffered heavily in every sector.
With the Canadians, owing to orders having been issued late, the hour of attack had to be altered, and it finally took place in daylight without smoke.
A stubborn resistance was encountered, and of the forty-three Tanks engaged no less than twenty-three received direct hits.