In conclusion, it is interesting to summarise the statistics available and compare them with those of the British Tank Corps given at the end of [Chapter XXXVII].
In August the strength of the French Tank Corps was 14,649 all ranks, approximately the strength of an infantry division. During 1918, 3,988 individual tank engagements were fought: 3,140 by Renault, 473 by Schneider, and 375 by St. Chamond tanks. Tanks were employed on 45 of the 120 days which elapsed between July 15 and November 11. In personnel the casualties between these dates were approximately 300 officers and 2,300 other ranks.
Finally it may be stated that as there can be no doubt that July 18 was the second greatest turning-point in the war on the Western Front, the first being the battle of the Marne in 1914, so can there be no doubt that the battle of Soissons would never have been won had not the French possessed a powerful force of tanks whereby to initiate success. The German General Staff, which should be the best judge of this question, candidly admit that the French victory was due to the use of “masses of tanks.” Neither was the General Commanding-in-Chief of the French Armies reticent, for on July 30 he issued the following special order of the day to the French Tank Corps: “Vous avez bien mérité la patrie,” whilst General Estienne, to whom so much was due, received the Cravat of the Légion d’Honneur and was promoted to the rank of General of Division for the great services he had rendered to his country.
CHAPTER XXVI
PREPARATIONS FOR THE GREAT OFFENSIVE
As soon as the position resulting from the great German attack of March 21 began to stabilise steps were taken by the Headquarters of the Tank Corps to reorganise and refit its battalions. This work was most difficult on account of the reopening of the German offensive in the Lys area, which necessitated converting the 4th Tank Brigade into a Lewis-gun unit and dispatching it north to assist in stemming the German advance. Besides this, towards the middle of April instructions were received that on account of the difficulty of finding the required number of infantry reinforcements the number of tank brigades was to be reduced from six to four; this meant the disbanding of the 5th Brigade in France and the breaking up of the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th Tank Battalions in England. Yet another difficulty was the question of re-arming, many machines had been lost during the retirement, nevertheless, on account of insufficient transport, it was not found possible to ship out to France the new Mark V tanks, the production of which in England was now in full swing.
All these difficulties were eventually overcome, with the result that during June and July four brigades of the Tank Corps were re-armed; but before this question is dealt with it will be necessary to hark back to the various operations which bridge the period between April 4, the date upon which the Second Battle of the Somme ended, and August 8, when our own great offensive was begun.
On April 9 the Germans launched their second great attack between Festubert and Fleurbaix against the British front. It succeeded, so it is thought, even beyond their expectations, and by the 11th the enemy’s line roughly ran as follows: East of Ploegsteert—Armentières—Steenwerck—Estaires—Lestren—Vieille Capelle, through Festubert to Givenchy, with the apex of the salient near Nieppe. This attack in all probability was meant as a feint directed against a weak spot in our line in order to threaten the coalfield round Bruay and so cause Marshal Foch to weaken his reserves in Champagne and on the Somme. Succeeding as it did at first, it appears that the German command attempted to develop it from a feint to a decisive attack, with the result that their own reserves, of which they had none too many, were involved as well as those of the Allies.
In order to meet the requirements of the new situation on April 11 detachments of the 7th and 11th Battalions of the 1st Tank Brigade were dispatched to hold a line west of Merville. Two days later the 4th Tank Brigade, now consisting of the 4th, 5th, and 13th Battalions, was turned into a Lewis-gun Brigade. On the 13th the 5th Battalion moved to Berthen, on the 16th the 13th Battalion to Boescheppe, and on the 17th the 4th Battalion to the same place.