“Tank Corps.—The success of the operations of August 8 and succeeding days was largely due to the conspicuous part played by the 3rd, 4th and 5th Brigades of the Tank Corps, and I desire to place on record my sincere appreciation of the invaluable services rendered both by the Mark V. and the Mark V. star and the Whippets.
“The task of secretly assembling so large a number of Tanks entailed very hard and continuous work by all concerned for four or five nights previous to the battle.
“The tactical handling of the Tanks in action made calls on the skill and physical endurance of the detachments which were met with a gallantry and devotion beyond all praise.
“I desire to place on record my appreciation of the splendid success that they achieved, and to heartily congratulate the Tank Corps as a whole on the completeness of their arrangements and the admirable prowess exhibited by all ranks actually engaged on this occasion. There are many vitally important lessons to be learned from their experiences. These will, I trust, be taken to heart by all concerned and made full use of when next the Tank Corps is called upon to go into battle.
“The part played by the Tanks and Whippets in the battle on August 8 was in all respects a very fine performance.
“(Signed) H. Rawlinson, General,
“Commanding 4th Army.
“Headquarters, 4th Army,
“August 16, 1918.”
Nor were the Australians less generous.
The following message is typical of many. It was sent to Brig.-General Courage (commanding 5th Tank Brigade) by the 4th Australian Divisional Commander:
“G.O.C. 5th Tank Brigade.