A Company of Tanks: Authentic WWI Memoirs of 1917-18
Written by William Henry Lowe Watson
Narrated by Stephen Lowe Watson
5/5
()
About this audiobook
A Company of Tanks - first published in 1920 - is the final part of W H L Watson's memoirs of World War One. Watson, a young History graduate from Oxford University, enlisted as a Corporal in the Royal Engineers on the outbreak of the war and was sent over to France as a motorcycle despatch rider.
In 1915 he published Adventures of a Despatch Rider based on his letters home, but by then he had been promoted to Lieutenant and transferred to the Divisional Cyclists (known as the Gaspipe Cavalry because the cycle frame tubes resembled gas pipes).
A Company of Tanks picks up his story in October 1916, when Major Watson (as he had become) volunteered to join the Heavy Machine Gun Corps (as the Tank Corps was then called) and was placed in command of No. 11 Company, D Battalion. Watson tells how the tank crews trained by carrying dummy tanks of wood and canvas (to the great amusement of local children) before engaging in initially disastrous battles.
At Bullecourt, tanks were delayed by a blizzard and then, conspicuous against snow, devastated by enemy fire that penetrated inadequate armour. In the Third Battle of Ypres they were bogged down in mud and gassed. Lessons were learned, and at Cambrai tanks began be used more sucessfully.
At the end of 1917, after a bout of trench fever, Watson returned to England to form a company of 'Carrier Tanks' (used to provide logistical support on the battlefield) which he commanded in France until the end of the war.
After the war, Watson joined the Civil Service and rose to high rank in the Ministry of Labour before his untimely death in 1932, at the age of 41.
A Company of Tanks>I is a personal memoir filled with details of the messy process of industrial war, with its tragedy and horror but also humour, people, landscape, food and drink. It will be of interest to professional historians or anyone interested in World War I. In this audiobook, it is read by Stephen Lowe Watson, a grandson of the author.
An Author's Republic audio production.
Related to A Company of Tanks
Related audiobooks
The Naval War in the Baltic, 1939-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5U-BOATS: Hitler's Sharks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of the Somme: The History and Legacy of World War I’s Biggest Battle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5We March Against England: Operation Sea Lion, 1940–41 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Marne: The History and Legacy of the Two Major Battles Fought along the Marne River during World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Measureless Peril: America in the Fight for the Atlantic, the Longest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death in the Trenches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Forgotten Soldier: He wasn’t a soldier, he was just a boy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tank Killers: A History of America's World War II Tank Destroyer Force Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Panzer Ace: The Memoirs of an Iron Cross Panzer Commander from Barbarossa to Normandy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The U-boat Hunters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Escaping with His Life: From Dunkirk to D-Day & Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Germans in Normandy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Longest Campaign: Britain's Maritime Struggle in the Atlantic and Northwest Europe, 1939–1945 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Journal of Submarine Commander Von Forstner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The First Battle of the Marne: The History and Legacy of the First Major Allied Victory in World War I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spitfire Stories: True Tales from Those Who Designed, Maintained and Flew the Iconic Plane Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wolf: How One German Raider Terrorized the Allies in the Most Epic Voyage of WWI Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forty-Seven Days: How Pershing's Warriors Came of Age to Defeat the German Army in World War I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51915 Gallipoli Campaign: Short History of the World War I Dardanelles Campaign Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHigh Adventure A Narrative of Air Fighting in France Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No End Save Victory Volume 2: Perspectives on World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No Greater Ally: The Untold Story of Poland's Forces in World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red Line: The Gripping Story of the RAF’s Bloodiest Raid on Hitler’s Germany Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5By Tank into Normandy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5War on the Eastern Front: The German Soldier in Russia 1941-1945 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5WW1: Tales from the Trenches Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Military Biographies For You
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: Can't Hurt Me - Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51776 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lives of the Twelve Caesars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Punisher: A SEAL Team THREE Sniper's True Account of the Battle of Ramadi Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Seven Pillars of Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SEAL of God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saving Aziz: How the Mission to Help One Became a Calling to Rescue Thousands from the Taliban Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for A Company of Tanks
5 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nice dry humor throughout. An interesting introduction to the beginning of tank warfare.
1 person found this helpful