Tank Corp Memorial - Pozieres, France. - World War I Memorials and Monuments on Waymarking.com

The Tank Corp Memorial sits alongside the D929 near Pozieres in France. This spot was chosen by the Corp for the Memorial as it was near to the location on the Somme battlefield that the British Army first deployed their 'secret weapon', the "Tank". A few miles south Tanks were deployed in the Battle of Flers - Courcelette between 15th and 22nd September 1916, three of which actually set off into battle from this very point. On the night of the 14th September 1916, a total of 36 tanks launched the British and French attack on German lines between Courcelette and Combles. In 1916 the Tank Corp did not exist, they were still known as the Heavy Branch - Machine Gun Corp. It was not until 28th July 1917 that the Tank Corp came into existence.

The memorial, a granite obelisk, sits on a plinth on which a model tank sits on each corner. If you look closely, you will see bullet marks in some of the tanks due to them being hit by bullets fired from a US Army P-51 Mustang which strafed a retreating convoy of Germans in 1944. Another point of interest is the boundary fence of the memorial. It consists of ten upright 6 pounder tank gun barrels connected by tank driving chains. On the are inscribed the battles in which tanks took part;

1916 - 1st SOMME - ANCRE and  1918 - 2nd SOMME - RIVER LYS - HAMEL - MARNE - MOREUIL - AMIENS - BAPAUME - ARRAS - EPEHY - CAMBRAI - ST. QUENTIN - SELLE - MORMAL FOREST.

A bronze plaque on the front of the memorial reads; NEAR THIS SPOT THE FIRST/TANKS USED IN WAR WENT/INTO ACTION ON 15th SEPT 1916/THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED/TO THE MEMORY/OF/ OFFICERS, WARRANT OFFICERS,/NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS & MEN/OF/THE TANK CORPS/ WHO FELL IN ACTION IN THE YEARS/1916 - 1917 - 1918/DURING/THE GREAT WAR

The Tank Corp Memorial was unveiled in July 1922 by Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland.

Date the Monument or Memorial was built or dedicated: 08/01/1922 Private or Public Monument?: Other Name of the Private Organization or Government Entity that built this Monument: British Army Tank Corp Geographic Region where the Monument is located: Europe Website for this Monument: [Web Link] Physical Address of Monument: Tank Corp Memorial Route d'Bapaume (D929) Pozieres, Picarde Framce Rate this waymark: Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes

Visit Instructions:
New logs to this waymark must contain at least one photo of the monument with your GPS in the shot as proof of your visit. No old vacation photos please. You must have taken a picture while seeking this waymark. Logs that don't meet the photo requirement will be archived.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/11/2011 Biquidou visited it