From the above it will be seen a good deal was expected of the tanks, in fact these seven machines were to tackle a problem which in France would have been considered distinctly formidable for two complete battalions.
Of the two tanks with the 53rd Division one broke its track, consequently the other—the Tiger—led the advance alone and drove the enemy from Sampson ridge, which was then occupied by our infantry; it then proceeded to El Arish redoubt, but, the infantry being unable to follow, after six hours’ action, during which it fired 27,000 rounds of S.A.A., it withdrew to Regent’s Park, all its crew having been wounded. On the front of the 52nd Division a desperate battle took place: the tank operating against Lees hill and Outpost hill fell into a gully, the sides of which unexpectedly collapsed. Its place was taken by the tank detailed for Green hill; Outpost hill was reached and cleared, when this machine received a direct hit.
The enemy’s machine-gun fire was now intense, so one of the reserve tanks was ordered up. After desperate losses the infantry eventually captured the hill, only to be driven off it by a counter-attack; they then withdrew to a line passing east and west through Queen’s hill, the reserve tank withdrawing at the same time to Kurd hill. In the attack delivered by the remaining division, the 54th, no better luck was experienced. The one machine working with this division moved on the great redoubt north-west of Kirbet El Sihan, and reaching this work the Turkish garrison surrendered. The infantry then took over the position. Shortly after this a direct hit broke one of the tracks of this tank, and a counter-attack eventually resulted in its capture with the infantry who had occupied the redoubt.
In spite of the fact that this battle was unsuccessful, the work carried out by the Tank Detachment constitutes a remarkable feat of arms. The tanks engaged were Mark I’s and II’s, which, by the time the battle was ended, had each covered on an average some 40 miles of country. Reconnaissance, due to want of time, was practically non-existent, and the limitations of the tank were not understood by the infantry commanders, who expected miracles from a far from perfect machine. The objectives allotted were not only difficult, but too numerous, yet in spite of this the protection which these eight tanks afforded the attacking infantry on a five-mile frontage was considerable and fully appreciated; it was, however, quite inadequate on account of the hundreds of ingeniously hidden machine-guns, to which the Turks mainly owed their victory.
CHAPTER XII
STAFF WORK AND BATTLE PREPARATION
The foundations of the success or non-success of a battle rest on its organisation, that is, on the preparations made for it. This is the duty of the General and Administrative Staffs of an Army or Formation and usually entails an immense amount of careful work. The fact that success depends as much, if not more, on organisation (brain power) as on valour (nerve power) is not generally recognised, and many an officer and man in the firing line is, through ignorance of the causes and effects which are operating behind, only too prone to forget what the staff is doing, and, never more so, what the staff has done than after a really great victory has been gained.
The more scientific weapons become the more will good staff work decide whether their use is going to lead to victory or defeat. This was very early realised in the Tank Corps, and every endeavour was made by its commander and his subordinate leaders to select only the most capable officers for their respective staffs; this resulted in ability more often than seniority deciding the filling of an appointment.
The work of the Staff of the Tank Corps was often considerably complicated by the fact that, the tank being a novel weapon of war, it was little understood, not only by the other arms, but by many members of the Tank Corps itself. This resulted in a great deal of educational work being required before many measures, very obvious to the Staff itself, were accepted by others. In the early days of the Corps the tank was generally placed by the other arms under one of two categories—a miracle or a joke, and this did not tend to facilitate or expedite preparations.