HISTORY OF ROYAL TANK CORPS / REGIMENT

Formation
1. The story of The Royal Tank Regiment is one of struggle, triumph and
achievement. Its origins are a mere three-quarters of a century old, but those years
have seen the stalemate of trench warfare overcome, the restoration of mobility and
the establishment of the tank and mechanised forces, as a dominant factor in battle.
The tank reaffirmed its position as the decisive weapon on the battlefield during the
Gulf War.
2. The present Royal Tank Regiment, composed of two regular regiments, is the
direct heir to the original armoured car pioneers of 1914, the Naval Brigade and the
RNAS squadron which augmented the British Expeditionary Forces for the defence
of Antwerp in August of that year.
3. The Royal Tank Regiment's formation followed the invention of the tank.
Tanks were first used at Flers in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme in
World War I. At that time the six tank companies were grouped as the Heavy Branch
of the Machine Gun Corps (MGC).
4. In November 1916 the eight companies then in existence were each
expanded to form battalions still lettered A through H; another seven battalions, I
through O, were formed by January 1918, when they all were converted to
numbered units. On 28 July 1917 the Heavy Branch was by Royal Warrant
separated from the rest of the MGC and given official status as the Tank Corps,
meaning that by the beginning of 1918 the fifteen units were changed from letters to
numbers as 1st Battalion to 15th Battalion, Tank Corps. More battalions continued to
be formed, and by December 1918, 26 had been created. (At this time there were
only 25 tank battalions, however; the 17th had converted to using armoured cars in
April 1918). The first commander of the Tank Corps was Hugh Elles.
5. The Corps saw heavy action through 1917 and 1918, with special note being
given to the Battle of Cambrai (1917), which the regiment continues to
commemorate annually. During the war, four members of the Corps were awarded
the Victoria Cross. However, heavy losses and recurrent mechanical difficulties
reduced the effectiveness of the Corps, leading the Bovington Tank School to adopt
a doctrine that emphasised caution and high standards of maintenance in equal
measure.



WWI Period
6. When the first tanks were produced in 1916, they were manned by members
of the Machine Gun Corps, formed into six companies which were collectively known
as the Heavy Branch. The very first battle involving tanks took place on the Somme.
About thirty British Mark 1 tanks attacked German positions between the villages of
Flers and Courcelette, on Friday 15 September 1916. The arrival of the tanks on the
battlefield signalled the end of trench warfare, which had suffocated both sides in the
1914-18 conflict.
7. During this action the Press seized on a report from an aircraft crew, which
said that "a tank is walking down the main street of Flers with the British Army
cheering behind it." This was "D" Company, later the 4th Royal Tank Regiment.
These companies were expanded to form battalions and were renamed the Tank
Corps in 1917.
8. The first battle between two opposing tanks took place near the village of
Cachy on 24 April 1918. The German A7V tank Nixe (Lt Biltz), engaged three British
Mark IV tanks, and damaged two, but was knocked out by the third, commanded by
2/Lt Frank Mitchell. By December 1918 there were 26 battalions, and as well as
serving in France, a detachment from the Corps had served under Allenby at Gaza,
Palestine in 1917. The Corps saw almost continuous action, winning four VC's.
WW II Period
9. The Corps changed to its present title in 1939, with the formation of the Royal
Tank Regiment. The RTC had, up until 1928, been entirely responsible for all
"armour" in the British Army. Its schools began the mechanisation and training of the
cavalry, and the RTR itself expanded between 1935 and 1938 into eight regular
battalions.

10. From the outset of World War II, both Sir Winston Churchill and Field Marshal
the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, made it clear that they wished to be
associated with the Royal Tank Regiment - the value of the tank as a decisive
battlefield weapon was being recognised. By the end of the Second World War, the
tank had once again proved itself a major battle winner, and having fought in most of
the major engagements in Europe, North Africa, the Middle and Far East, the
Regiment had battalions spread all over the globe. Two more VC's had been
awarded, together with countless other decorations, to men who, "...cheerfully went
to war in tin cans, closely surrounded by a lethal mixture of petrol and ammunition.
11. At the outbreak of war, the Regiment consisted of eight regular battalions. In
addition, there were a large number of territorial battalions, as well as hostilities-only
battalions such as 9 RTR. The regiment was again expanded such that there were
numerous units of the RTR that took part in countless battles in Dunkirk & Alamein.
Dunkirk

12. Both 4th and 7th RTR fought in France as part of the British Expeditionary
Force. At Arras, on 21 May 1940 they smashed into the rear of Rommel's 7th Panzer
Division with good effect. However, both regiments suffered heavily in the end and
the survivors escaped via Dunkirk. Three other RTR regiments fought in Western
France as part of the British First Armoured Division.
Alamein
13. Throughout the desert war, elements of the RTR saw almost continuous
action. In particular the great victory over the Italian at Beda Fomm. The RTR was
heavily committed at El Alamein in October 1942, not only in conventional tanks but
also in mine-sweeping flail tanks called Scorpions. While Montgomery's Eighth Army
pursued retreating Axis forces across Libya, a new Army under General Eisenhower
landed in Tunisia. Here RTR crews in Churchill tanks met and defeated the mighty
German Tigers.
Between The Wars
14. At the end of World War 1 with the status of the Tank Corps in the greatest
doubt, three small tank detachments were despatched to Russia, to support the
White Russians against the Bolsheviks. One British manned tank achieved the
capture of Tsaritsin, later called Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd.
After the war, the Tank Corps was trimmed down to a central depot and four
battalions; In 1923 it was officially named Royal (making it the Royal Tank Corps).
The word Corps was replaced in 1939 with Regiment to give the unit its current
name, the Royal Tank Regiment.

Post War
15. By the end of World War II there were 24 regiments of the RTR and they had
seen service in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sicily, Malta,
Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Greece, Crete, Algeria, Abyssinia, Sudan, Palestine, Iraq,
Persia, Jordan, India and Burma. Reduced once more to eight regular regiments
after the war, the tank has still continued to demonstrate its importance on the
modern battlefield, with The Royal Tank Regiment seeing action in Aden, Borneo,
Malaya, Egypt, Cyprus, Korea and the Gulf. The Regiment has also had units
stationed in Germany, Libya, Hong Kong, England and Northern Ireland.

16. After World War II, the RTR was reduced through various amalgamations, first
in 1959-60:-
(a) 3RTR and 6RTR amalgamated as 3RTR.
(b) 4RTR and 7RTR amalgamated as 4RTR.
(c) 5RTR and 8RTR amalgamated as 5RTR.
17. In 1969, 5RTR was disbanded, while 4RTR amalgamated with 1RTR, and
3RTR with 2RTR. Today, there are two regiments, the 1st and 2nd Royal Tank
Regiments.