WORK OF "THE TANKS."

Taihape Daily Times, 28 December 1918, Page 5

WORK OF "THE TANKS."

o SOME STIRRING EEPISODES.

Many tanks have done from 500 to 1000 miles during the battle, wrote a correspondent from the western front recently. One incident near Moyenneville showed a tank in the office of rescuer. A tank section commander, and a brigade officer were reconnoitring when suddenly the Germans opened a fire of machine-guns, forcing both officers to precipitate themselves into a shell hole. They could not move uutil a tank, under a hail of fire, backed up to where they were, waited until the tank commander climbed inside and then drove into the gun nest promptly stamping it out. Then the tank returned for the infantry officer and rescued him, the tank commander greeting him with! the remark: "It is all right now, the obstruction has been removed."

A large batch of Germans had surrendered and had started to maTCH in. When the tank went forward several of them returned to their former places and directed a torrent of ma-chine-gun fire at the tank, which turned, charged upon them, and stamped out the whole crowd and

their guns. No fight was more spectacular than that before Gomieeourt by moonlight In that encounter 12 tanks suddenly appeared before the 40th Saxons, who had been brought up for a counterattack. The tanks so demoralised them that 700 surrendered to the English infantry, after a short fight* It was the first moonlight tank attack.