The tanks had a victory of their own yesterday morning. They captured three strong German redoubts north of St. Julien, and created widespread panic among the garrisons of other enemy forts not affected by this operation, who thought it better nevertheless to bolt. The attack was a surprise for the German infantry, and they have never shown greater fear of the tanks.
The redoubts lie above St. Julien near the Poelcapelle road. They are the usual concrete structures based on remains of farm buildings, very heavily sheathed and armed, with a wide field of fire along our front east of St. Julien and Langemarck. Artillery made little impression on them. The occupants plied their machine-guns apparently undisturbed.
The infantry commander said to the tanks, ╥Well, you see what you can do with them.╙
╥We will try,╙ said the tanks.
They moved out of their anchorage late on Saturday night and slipped into cover within striking distance just before dawn. The ground was still soft and yielding, but they manoeuvred so adroitly that none of them was bogged, and the entire fleet ╤ I cannot give the number, but the Germans must have thought there were scores of them ╤ moved forward in line of battle at the exact moment agreed on.
A Surprise for the Enemy.
We had given the redoubts a preliminary dressing of high explosive ╤ in other words, a short, very intensive bombardment. The Germans thought it prefaced an infantry attack. Up went their white and coloured rockets of distress, and tired reserves sleeping in shell-holes and under hedges were kicked out to meet another British blow. The German batteries were prompt enough with their retort. One barrage succeeded another.
Then silence. Nothing happened. The German observers strained their eyes through the mist, but they could not see the expected line of bayonets moving slowly towards them. Perhaps it was another false alarm. They waited and strove to pierce the fog, and our men waited as well.
But the tanks went forward. The garrisons of the three redoubts were ready to sweep a wave of infantry with their machine-guns, and they were horrified when they saw the ungainly forms crawling with deadly deliberation across the fields. Some of them fired, but they might as well have tried to stay an avalanche with their fists.
Under 30 British Casualties.
Each redoubt had its own group of visiting tanks. They circled round their prey, in no wise flurried by a fresh rain of shells, and their sinister movements invited ready surrender. The iron doors of the redoubts were flung back, and the occupants trooped out, saluting their captors with upraised hands.
The tanks gave no sign of assent beyond signalling for the infantry. Our men came across and took over the prisoners. Many other Germans were scampering across the distant fields from strong points and shell holes. They, too, had seen the tanks and were taking no chances of being caught. We had less than thirty casualties all told in capturing these three important positions, and we did not lose a single tank. The line above St. Julien was straightened and strengthened ╤ and the tanks came back in triumph.
Otherwise there has been no change of importance along the Flanders battle front in the past forty-eight hours. The ground is still drying, and the roads are improving steadily with each day of sunshine. The French on our left have discovered a total of twenty-five field guns and pieces of greater calibre in the marshes, where they were abandoned by the retreating enemy, as well as a large number of machine-guns.
