Hi all, I was wondering if anyone knew if Whippet tanks were used in support of the 21st Division at all during WWI? Here's some of the battles that the 21st were involved in if it's any help
The Battle of St Quentin (first phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918)
The First Battle of Bapaume (second phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918)
The Second Battle of Kemmel (seventh phase of the Battles of the Lys)
The Battle of the Aisne 1918
The Battle of Albert (first phase of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918)
The Battle of Bapaume (second phase of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918)
The Battle of Epehy (second phase of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line)
The Battle of the St Quentin Canal (fourth phase of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line)
The Battle of Cambrai 1918 (sixth phase of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line)
Rob, the info I have is that Whippets first saw action in 2nd Somme on March 26th at Colincamps/Serre, then a few days later at Bouzencourt.
Next was Amiens, Aug 8th, at Guillaucourt/Harbonnières.
Bapaume, Aug 21st.
2nd Arras, Aug 25th.
Epehy, Sept 17th.
2nd Cambrai, Sept 27th.
Selle, Oct 17th.
Maubeuge, Nov 4th.
Maybe you can tie these together. At first sight, there seem to be 4 in common. I should be able to put some flesh on the bones later. Too knackered at pres.
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Thanks, that would be great - the Epehy attack on 17th September would seem to be of most interest at the minute. The 110th (Leicestershire Regiment) Brigade who i'm researching, part of the 21st, held Epehy during the German spring offensive, then went back over their old battlefield during the later Epehy attack, but going the other way.
Rob: first of all, the bad news. Forget Epehy. No Whippets, only Mk V and V*.
My mistake. A lot of cross-referencing, and I turned over 2 pages. Sorry. I told you I was half asleep.
I can only find Whippet actions by Army group, not Division, so I hope you know which Army the 21st was in.
Bapaume: 2nd Army had no Whippets. 3rd Army - 2 Tank Brigades, each containing 1 Bn. Whippets, total 96 appx.
2nd Arras: in effect a continuation of Bapaume. 3rd Army used small number of its Whippets on 26th at Beugnatre.
2nd Cambrai: 4th Army allocated 1 Bn Whippets 48 (appx), attached to 9Corps.
Selle: 4th Army allocated 1 Bn Whippets.
That's the best I can do at the mo. Does this make sense, or do I need more sleep?
__________________
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
