British invention makes its battlefield debut

There were reports of a‘Great Advance’on the Somme - credited in large part to the appearance of a new British military invention - the‘tank’.

“On Friday last week the British troops won a highly important success north of the Somme.

“They delivered an attack on a six-mile front, and after a day of severe fighting, they had captured practically all the high ground between Combles and the Pozieres-Bapaume road.

“Paris newspapers are enthusiastic over our brilliant advance, which is described as the most important we have made since the Marne.

“The unexpected appearance of the new British armoured cars seems not only to have been effective from the military point of view, but also to have created a panic among the enemy. A French officer told Reuters’ correspondent with huge glee of the consternation which spread among the Germans when these sinister, flat-footed monsters advanced spouting death and flames from every side. Their front which was shaped like a ram smashed down every obstacle. The heavy automobiles bounded over uneven ground, breaking through barbed wire and jumping the trenches.”

“American newspapers publish long reports of the great advance made, and special reference is made to the new‘ironclad monsters’.

“The greatest interest is taken in reports of what this land ship can accomplish, and there is considerable speculation as to its permanent utility.”