Up to 6 o’clock on the morning of August 9, some 16,000 prisoners had passed through the British and French cages, and over 200 guns had been counted. Many prisoners testified to the rapid advance of the tanks which, appearing suddenly out of the mist, rendered all resistance useless. It is interesting to record that those prisoners who had seen tanks before all noticed that they were up against a new type which moved faster and manœuvred better than the old ones.
On the evening of the 8th orders were issued that the attack should be resumed on the following morning with a view to advancing it to the line Roye—Chaulnes—Bray-sur-Somme—Dernancourt, particular attention being paid to the left flank. A strong position was to be established north of the Somme in order to form a defensive flank to the Fourth Army.
On August 9, north of the Somme, the 10th Battalion put sixteen tanks into action with the 12th and 58th Divisions. The attack was, however, at first held up by machine-gun fire from the woods round Chipilly, and the work entailed in engaging these weapons by means of tanks was found most difficult on account of the steep valleys in this sector and the close nature of the woods. Later on in the day, objectives were gained, but only after five tanks had been put out of action.
South of the Somme the 5th and 4th Tank Brigades attacked the front Framerville-Rosières-Bouchoir with 89 tanks. Near Lihons five machines received direct hits, but in the action round Framerville out of the 13 tanks engaged only 1 was hit. The fewness of tank casualties here was undoubtedly due to the excellent infantry co-operation, riflemen working hand-in-hand with the tanks and picking off the enemy’s gunners directly the machines came under hostile artillery observation.
The 3rd Tank Brigade’s action with the Cavalry Corps was disappointing, the tanks being kept too long at their Brigade Headquarters. At Beaufort and Warvillers the Whippets rendered great assistance to the infantry by chasing hostile machine-gunners out of the crops and shooting them down as they fled.
On this day in all 145 tanks went into action, of which 39 were hit by hostile gun fire.
On the night of August 9–10, the attack had reached the line Bouchoir—Warvillers—Rosières—Framerville—Mericourt. On the 10th the Fourth Army orders were to continue the advance with the object of gaining the general line Roye—Chaulnes—Bray-sur-Somme—Dernancourt. New French forces were also going to attack on the front south of Montdidier.
On the morning of August 10 the 10th Battalion co-operated in two small attacks carried out by the 12th Division. Seven tanks took part and attacked the enemy north of Morlancourt and along the Bray-Corbie road. This was the last action fought on this front by this battalion.
South of this, the 5th Tank Brigade carried out a minor night operation against Proyart, and the 4th Tank Brigade with 43 tanks supported the 32nd Division, fresh from the general reserve, and the 4th Canadian Division in an attack on the line Roye—Hattencourt—Hallu; owing to the late issue of orders, the hour of attack was altered, and eventually the advance took place in daylight without smoke. A stubborn resistance was met with, and out of the 43 tanks operating no fewer than 23 received direct hits.
The Whippets with the cavalry fared equally badly on this day. They were ordered to capture Parvillers, but neither the cavalry nor Whippets reached this spot owing to the old trench systems and the broken nature of the ground. The edge of the old Somme battlefield had now been reached, and the time was rapidly approaching when the shelled area would offer as great an obstacle to the attack as it would an assistance to the retiring enemy.