The Western Front Today - Tank Corps Memorial
The Tank Corps memorial, at Pozieres on the Somme battlefront, marks the first occasion upon which tanks were used in battle.
This was at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916 as part of the ongoing (primarily) British Somme Offensive. The obelisk memorial, surrounded by four mini tanks, is sited at a position where tanks were gathered in readiness for the attack on the night of 14 September 1916.
Directly across the busy main road (the Albert-Bapaume road) from the Tank Corps Memorial is the Australian Memorial at Pozieres Mill. Also nearby is the Courcelette Canadian Memorial.
References:
Before Endeavours Fade, Rose E.B. Coombs, After the Battle 1994
Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide - Somme, Leo Cooper 2000
A "box barrage" was an artillery bombardment centred upon a small area.
- Did you know?