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
Escaping with His Life: From Dunkirk to D-Day & Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Germans in Normandy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5By Tank into Normandy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Duel Under the Stars: The Memoir of a Luftwaffe Night Pilot in World War II 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 stars5/5The Naval War in the Baltic, 1939-1945 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death in the Trenches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings12th Hitlerjugend SS Panzer Division in Normandy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Can't Get Much Closer Than This: Combat with the 80th "Blue Ridge" Division in World War II Europe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SHOT DOWN: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From the Realm of a Dying Sun: Volume 1: IV. SS-Panzerkorps and the Battles for Warsaw, July–November 1944 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The German Aces Speak: World War II Through the Eyes of Four of the Luftwaffe's Most Important Commanders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood and Soil: The Memoir of a Third Reich Brandenburger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5World War I: An Enthralling Guide from Beginning to End Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWW1: Tales from the Trenches Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Desert Fox: The Storied Military Career of Erwin Rommel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5D-Day Through French Eyes: Normandy 1944 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Steel Boat Iron Hearts: A U-boat Crewman's Life Aboard U-505 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Girl With A Sniper Rifle: An Eastern Front Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5So Close to Freedom: A World War II Story of Peril and Betrayal in the Pyrenees Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStuka Attack: The Dive Bombing Assault on England During the Battle of Britain 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 stars4/5Red Army Sniper: A Memoir of the Eastern Front in World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5U-BOATS: Hitler's Sharks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Suicide Battalion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The End of World War II in Europe: The History of the Final Campaigns that Led to Nazi Germany’s Surrender Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld War I on the Ground: The History and Legacy of Life in the Trenches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNormandiefront: D-Day to Saint-Lô Through German Eyes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Military Biographies For You
American 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 stars5/5A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier 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 stars5/5The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Shield: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Seven Pillars of Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scars and Stripes: An Unapologetically American Story of Fighting the Taliban, UFC Warriors, and Myself 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 Lives of the Twelve Caesars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Napoleon Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Killing School: Inside the World's Deadliest Sniper Program Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wives: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Be Free or Die: The Amazing Story of Robert Smalls' Escape from Slavery to Union Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary: Can't Hurt Me - Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins 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 stars5/5On Wings of Eagles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander the Great 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 stars5/5
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