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ON account of the assistance rendered to the British infantry by tanks during the battle of the Somme a decision was arrived at in England to despatch a number of these machines to Egypt to assist our troops in the Sinai peninsula, especially in the neighbourhood of El Arish, south of the Turkish frontier. The number originally decided on was twelve, but this was eventually cut down to eight, and, through an unfortunate error, old experimental machines were sent out instead of new ones as intended.

The detachment, under the command of Major N. Nutt, consisted of 22 officers and 226 other ranks drawn from the original E Company, and together with its tanks, workshops, and transport, it embarked at Devonport and Avonmouth in December 1916, arriving in Egypt during the following month .

Demonstrations and schemes were at once arranged for so that the staffs of the various fighting formations could witness what tanks were able to accomplish. These schemes were carried out on the sand dunes near Gilban, some ten miles north of Kantara on the Suez Canal.

In February, {21} orders were suddenly received one day for the detachment to move with all possible speed to the fighting zone. This was carried out, and within three hours of receiving the orders the entire detachment, with tanks and accessories, had entrained at Gilban, and was speeding northwards towards the area of operations. Next day a delay occurred at El Arish, which the day previously had been captured by the Australians; but, the same evening, the train proceeded to Rafa, a frontier town, which had only just been evacuated by the Turks, and early next morning reached Khan Yunus, some fifteen miles south-west of Gaza, an old Crusader stronghold surrounded by vast fig groves and other vegetation; here the detachment remained for ten days .

During this halt the First Battle of Gaza had come to an end, our troops having been obliged to retire and take up a position to the south of the town owing to the appearance of strong Turkish reinforcements from the direction of Beersheba; these threatened the British communications.

Hostilities now ceased and preparations were begun for the Second Battle of Gaza, which was to prove one of the fiercest contests of the war in its eastern theatre. For this battle, early in March, the Tank Detachment moved from Khan Yunus to Deir el Belah.

The Turkish Army at this period, numbering some 30,000 men, was disposed along a sixteen-mile front extending from Gaza south-eastwards to Hareira and Shekia. The British plan of operations was as follows:

The G.O.C. Desert Column was entrusted with the operations against the Hareira front, protecting the right flank, whilst the task of seizing the important ridges of Sheikh Abbas and Mansara, both commanding Gaza and situated to the south of this town, was assigned to the 52nd, 53rd, and 54th Divisions; the 74th Division remaining in general reserve.

Z day was to be April 17. Two days prior to this the eight tanks left Deir El Belah after dusk, two proceeding over the Druid ridge through St. James’s Park, thence by Tel El Nujeid across the Wadi Ghuzze to Money hill; four from Deir El Belah in an easterly direction through Piccadilly Circus over the prominent ridge of In Seirat, then eastwards to Sheikh Nebhan on the Wadi Ghuzze; two followed the same route as far as In Seirat, and from there made for a point south-east of Sheikh Nebhan.

All eight tanks reached their positions of assembly before dawn without mishap and in good condition. Meanwhile ammunition and supply dumps had been established at various spots close to the Wadi Ghuzze.

In the battle which now ensued the position of the tanks in relation to the infantry varied according to the nature of the ground and the resistance of the enemy. The attacks of the 53rd and 52nd Divisions came as a complete surprise, the two tanks allotted to the former moved to a position south of Money hill on the evening of the first day, and the four with the latter reached a point south of the Mansara ridge. None of these machines came into action as the Turks retired from their trenches and strongholds in complete confusion. On the 54th Division’s front both of the tanks allotted to this Division came into action; one, however, received a direct hit and was destroyed, but the other did good work in clearing the enemy’s trenches north-west of the Abbas ridge, killing many Turks and enabling our infantry to occupy these defences.

On the evening of April 17, the three attacking divisions entrenched themselves on the line running approximately from Marine View, on the coast, through Heart hill-Kurd hill-Mansara-Abbas, and thence south-east to Atawineh ridge. A pause of forty-eight hours now took place wherein to prepare for the second phase of the battle .

On the morning of April 19, this second phase opened. The Australian Corps, on the right flank, was to deliver an attack on the eastern defences of Gaza, whilst the 52nd, 53rd, and 54th Divisions were to constitute the main attack, and to advance on a line running from the coast to the stronghold of Ali El Muntar. Battleships were to co-operate in this attack.

From the above it will be seen a good deal was expected of the tanks, in fact these seven machines were to tackle a problem which in France would have been considered distinctly formidable for two complete battalions.

Of the two tanks with the 53rd Division one broke its track, consequently the other—the Tiger—led the advance alone and drove the enemy from Sampson ridge, which was then occupied by our infantry; it then proceeded to El Arish redoubt, but, the infantry being unable to follow, after six hours’ action, during which it fired 27,000 rounds of S.A.A., it withdrew to Regent’s Park, all its crew having been wounded. On the front of the 52nd Division a desperate battle took place: the tank operating against Lees hill and Outpost hill fell into a gully, the sides of which unexpectedly collapsed. Its place was taken by the tank detailed for Green hill; Outpost hill was reached and cleared, when this machine received a direct hit.

The enemy’s machine-gun fire was now intense, so one of the reserve tanks was ordered up. After desperate losses the infantry eventually captured the hill, only to be driven off it by a counter-attack; they then withdrew to a line passing east and west through Queen’s hill, the reserve tank withdrawing at the same time to Kurd hill. In the attack delivered by the remaining division, the 54th, no better luck was experienced. The one machine working with this division moved on the great redoubt north-west of Kirbet El Sihan, and reaching this work the Turkish garrison surrendered. The infantry then took over the position. Shortly after this a direct hit broke one of the tracks of this tank, and a counter-attack eventually resulted in its capture with the infantry who had occupied the redoubt.

In spite of the fact that this battle was unsuccessful, the work carried out by the Tank Detachment constitutes a remarkable feat of arms. The tanks engaged were Mark I’s and II’s, which, by the time the battle was ended, had each covered on an average some 40 miles of country. Reconnaissance, due to want of time, was practically non-existent, and the limitations of the tank were not understood by the infantry commanders, who expected miracles from a far from perfect machine. The objectives allotted were not only difficult, but too numerous, yet in spite of this the protection which these eight tanks afforded the attacking infantry on a five-mile frontage was considerable and fully appreciated; it was, however, quite inadequate on account of the hundreds of ingeniously hidden machine-guns, to which the Turks mainly owed their victory.