Tank commander Horace Leslie Birks recalls his nerves when commanding a tank at chendaele, and the battle of Cambrai, the first battle to use tanks en masse.
Horace Leslie Birks sailed for in 1915 as a Private with the 5th Batallion of the London Rifle Brigade. Having been wounded at Gommecourt in July 1916, he was transferred to the Machine Gun Crops heavy branch and became a Second Lieutenant in February 1917.
He recalls his nervousness when first ordered to command a tank in action at chendaele, and what it was like to operate inside those hot, steamy and altogether claustrophobic cockpits while machine gun fire and shells rained down. Next came Cambrai, the first battle to use tanks en masse.
