WW1 Tank Corp Cap Badge

WW1 Tank Corps Cap Badge

The Tank Corps was formed with the invention of the tank. Tanks were first used in 1916 at flers in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. There were six tank companies all attached to the Machine Gun Corp (MGC) as the Heavy Branch. It was in 1917 that the Heavy Branch was by Royal Warrant was given its official statues as the Tank Corp. The tank crew were trained by experts, but it was a new field and so much knowledge was gained from the battle field. In general The crew of the Tank consisted of a junior officer and seven crew, three to drive (and would normally fire the Hotchkiss gun)and three gunners. The tank crew had to operate in almost complete darknesse and had to rely upon their periscope and alternatively on tiny holes drilled through the armour plating no more than half a centermeter in diameter. If they were caught under heavy fire the periscope was often lowered and the officer and men had to rely on the view afforded by these holes. They were therefor highly reliant on their maps and special tank compass. This brought about a new service in the Intelligence corp called reconnaissance. Before tanks would enter battler the reconnaissance staff were responsible for providing detailed maps and sketches of the proposed battle site . In these maps and sketches the route of every individual tank was marked out from landmark to landmark with assigned objectives and any obstacles likely to be found. By 1918 the system had been so highly effective that the infantry became to rely on their follow tanks for directions.  The first commander of the Tank Corps was Hugh Elles.

Reverse of tank corps badge

The first tanks were the Mark 1s which took four men to drive it and they fought on the 15 september 1916 at the Tha Battle of the Somme. Most of the tank crew had never experienced battle before, not even heard before the artillery which fired around them. After this attack the tank had a big impact on the German moral.