Existing comment:
September 29, 1918: Confusion on the Battlefield:
May things went wrong for the 301st Tank Battalion during its first battle. The attack start line turned out to be right on top of an enemy strong-point. The day before, the 27th division had lost nearly an entire infantry regiment trying to capture the start line for the attack. The decision was made to start the attack without an artillery barrage because of the wounded American soldiers still on the field.
When the attack started, the wind changed direction. The protective artillery smoke screen was blown back onto the American lines. The tanks and infantry were blinded. The infantry could not keep up with the tanks. The inexperienced soldiers fought their way forward, but they failed to clear out the pockets of German resistance they bypassed. Many of the Germans escaped into the St. Quintin Canal tunnel. They came back out onto the battlefield after the Americans passed by. Because they had no experience in working with tanks, the soldiers of the 27th Division did not known how to take advantage of the tank's strengths.
The German artillery was more accurate than expected. Sixteen tanks were hit by artillery fire and the rest either broke down or got stuck in holes or trenches. Nearly all of the 40 tanks that were in the assault were damaged. The only tank to survive unharmed was the wireless (or radio) tank. The 301st Tank Battalion lost 112 men, killed, wounded or missing, which was over 50% of their soldiers. The damage of so many tanks meant that the men of the 301st Tank Battalion had to work long hours to repair their vehicles for the next battle. LTG Sir John Monash, the Australian Corps Commander pulled the badly hurt US division out of the line. The 301st went back into combat a few days later. |