"Fury" starring Brad Pitt is a mixed reputation, on the one hand, it truly reflects the combat style of the US tank soldiers on the Western Front of World War II, on the other hand, it is criticized because some of the plot settings in the film are too dramatic, and the most controversial scene is the climax stage of the film, and the "fury" paralyzed at the intersection is forced to withstand the repeated attacks of an SS barracks, making many military fans shout that it is impossible. However, if they knew the experience of the British tank "Frye Bentos" during the First World War, they might be relieved, after all, there were too many incredible things in the war.
▲"Rage", starring Brad Pitt, has been criticized by military fans in some plot settings.
Named after "canned meat"
In 1917, the bloody tug-of-war between the Anglo-French and German armies on the Western Front continued, with countless shells ploughing the ground and millions of people soaking the flesh and blood of millions of people, forming a no-man's land full of craters and corpses and the smell of death in the place where the two armies were opposed. In August 1917, the British launched the Third Battle of Ypres in Belgium, also known as the Battle of Paschanel, aimed at capturing the important town of Paschânle. The tanks that had come to the fore a year earlier at the Battle of the Somme were once again seen as a weapon for breaking through the German trench lines, and although the continuous rains had turned the front line into a swamp and most of the areas were not suitable for tanks to pass, the British command insisted on throwing tanks to support the infantry attack.
■ On the Ypres Front in 1917, a military road passes through a waterlogged depression with bare trunks left in the woods in the background.
Among the British tanks that took part in the Paschannel Offensive was an Mk IV "male" tank named "Frei Bentos". The Mk IV has been improved over the Mk I tank unveiled a year ago, removing the guide wheels at the rear, the diamond hull is well suited to cross the trench, the 12 mm thick armor plate is enough to withstand most of the shells and shell fragments, the "male" tank is equipped with a short-barreled 6-pounder gun on the protruding turret on each side of the hull for use against the German fire point, in addition to 3 7.7 mm Lewis machine guns distributed on the side and front, but the disadvantages are still the same, the speed is only 6.4 km / h, not fast enough, not fast. The journey is only 56 kilometers, the interior is noisy and sweltering, and it is a chore to drive a vehicle or operate a weapon.
■ The MkIV "male" tank equipped by the British Army in World War I, equipped with a 6-pounder gun and machine gun inside the side turret.
The captain of the Frai Bentos was Captain Donald Richardson, from Nottinghamshire, who ran a grocery store in his hometown at the outbreak of war, signed up for the army, and was sent to the Western Front in 1915. When the tank was introduced to the British Army, Richardson was selected into the tank unit and promoted to captain, commanding a "male" tank numbered F41. Richardson named the tank the "Frye Bentos," a brand of canned beef sold in his shop, and in a sense the early tanks were indeed "tin cans of human flesh," especially when they were destroyed. Other members of the crew included the driver, Lieutenant George Hill, Sergeant Robert Misson, and six soldiers who served as gunners, each carrying a rifle, pistol and other self-defense weapons during the battle.
■ "Frye Bentos" brand canned corned beef, which was one of the military rations of the British Army in World War I and World War II.
Trapped in no man's land
At 4:40 a.m. on 22 August 1917, the Frée Bentos, in the darkness before dawn, launched its engines and headed forward, tasked with supporting the British 61st Infantry Division in its attack on the German 5th Bavarian Division's defensive positions near St. Jullien. The terrain of the attack was in terrible condition, and the long shelling and days of rain turned the no-man's land between the positions of the two armies into a swamp of death, and the road was covered with muddy pits of water, and the slippery mud soon hung on the tracks. Because of poor visibility and poor terrain, Captain Richardson decided to walk outside the car to guide the driver Hill so as not to get caught in a puddle.
■ The battlefield of Paschanel, which is full of craters and water, is neither conducive to tank operations.
During the crossing of no man's land, German machine gun fire from the frontal Somme Farm opened fire on the British troops, and Sergeant Misson commanded the left 6-pounder gun to mute the machine gun to cover the infantry occupation of the position. At 5:45, as the Frei Bentos approached a German position code-named Gallipoli, German machine gun fire struck again, and Captain Richardson was wounded in the leg and forced to enter the car to avoid danger.
■ During the Battle of Paschanel, British artillery was struggling to drag out the mud-trapped artillery.
The unguided tanks were soon in big trouble, and as they passed near a trench, fragments of German machine gun bullets splattered through the driver's observation hole, wounding Lieutenant Hill in the neck and knocking him off the driver's seat, Captain Richardson hurried to take over, but before he could react, the 30-ton steel body of "Frye Bentos" slid into the ditch along the soft and wet edge of the trench, and finally stuck in the ditch, unable to move. It was anchored in the middle of no man's land on the side of the German position, under the cover of German machine gun fire.
■ The only photograph of the tank "Frye Bentos", taken from the air, when it was trapped in no man's land.
Some sleepers and steel beams were carried on the roof of the tank to help the tank get out of its current predicament, but the risk of completing this operation under German fire was conceivable, and finally Sergeant Misson and First Class Soldier Ernest Brady volunteered to go outside the car to unblock the materials, but they were attacked as soon as they left the tank, and Misson later recalled that some German soldiers opened fire on him 30 yards away, and he clearly heard the sharp sound of bullets hitting the steel plate and was forced to retreat into the car. Brady was unlucky, shot and killed on the spot, the body fell to the bottom of the ditch, and was soon buried by sewage and mud, never to be found again.
■ A MkIV "male" tank with a drooping barrier sleeper in front.
Three days of purgatory
Without tank support, the advance of infantry came to a standstill, and was soon repulsed by a German counterattack. When the sky was bright at 7 a.m., there was no movement on the battlefield, and the British infantry left the bodies of their fallen comrades and returned to the starting position, and the paralyzed "Frei Bentos" was abandoned, but Richardson and his men did not give up the battle, nor did they intend to lose their tanks. It was clear that it would be unwise to leave the protective retreat of the armor during the day, and although the engine had been turned into waste, the weapons on the vehicle were still usable, and now it had become a fixed point of fire nailed in front of the German positions.
■ An MkIV tank that broke down in no man's land, one side of the track has fallen off.
The Germans quickly noticed the isolated British tank and tried to capture it, but were "warmly welcomed" by machine gun fire every time they approached, and the only right-hand 6-pounder gun on the Frée Bentos that could fire forward responded fiercely to the German machine gun attack. After several attempts, the Germans found the dead end of the tank guns and used the old trenches to touch the tanks, but they did not expect that the British tankers were already holding rifles and revolvers, waiting for them through the specially opened perforations on the hull.
■ British tanks abandoned on the battlefield of Passshane.
However, after all, the British tanks were surrounded by strong enemies, the German soldiers still surrounded them, and even climbed to the roof of the tank, they put the barrel into any opening to shoot into the car, hoping that the bullets that were ejected everywhere could kill the British troops in the car, they also tried to stuff the grenades into the car, and once almost succeeded, but the astute tank soldiers threw them out of the car before the grenade exploded, but instead blew up the German soldiers gathered next to the car. In short, the Germans struggled to get rid of this iron turtle after all, but after several battles, the people in the car except for one person hung up the color.
■ Painting depicting German soldiers besieging the Fleigh Bentos.
In addition to being besieged by the Germans, the "Frei Bentos" was also under the care of its own artillery, because the British did not know the condition of the tanks, thought that they had been abandoned by the group, in order to prevent the tanks from falling into the hands of the Germans, they also shot at the tanks from time to time, and even arranged snipers to monitor them to prevent anyone from approaching, which also meant that if the crew members left in a hurry, they might also be headshot by their own people. In order to avoid accidental injury, the crew members extended a white rag from the porthole and shook it outside the car, so that the British army stopped shooting.
■ British MkIV tanks destroyed on the battlefield of Passshane.
While being attacked by artillery fire from both sides, the crew of the "Frye Bentos" had to endure hunger, thirst and heat. The August sun scorched the steel skin of the tank, making the already poorly ventilated car like an oven, sweating and thirsty, but the drinking water carried with the car was quickly drunk, and the tank soldiers could only pump out the cooling water of the engine radiator to drink, and even take the muddy water that seeped into the car under their feet to moisten the smoking throat.
Escape in the night
Richardson had hoped that the British would launch a follow-up offensive and occupy the German positions in front of him so that his tanks could be relieved. However, from 22 to 24 August, nothing had changed on the front line, and the situation inside the tanks had deteriorated, water and food had been exhausted, everyone was exhausted, everyone was exhausted, and the only uninjured crew member was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Richardson had to make the decision to abandon the car and escape at 9 p.m. on the 24th, before Sergeant Misson once again took the risk and climbed back to the British position in the mud, making contact with friendly forces to avoid a mistaken attack when the others retreated.
■ The two crew members of the Frey Bentos gunners William Morrie (left) and Sergeant Robert Misson (right).
Before leaving, Richardson ordered the bolts of the 6-pounder gun to be removed, and 3 Lewis machine guns were removed and taken away, carrying all the documents and maps, leaving no valuable information to the Germans. After getting ready, the 7 men took advantage of the interval between the flares on both sides to leave the tank one after another, crawled forward in the muddy water, and finally successfully returned to their own positions. At this time, 60 hours had passed since they drove out on the 22nd, and the "Frei Bentos" set a record for the longest tank cycling mission in World War I.
■ The Frey Bentos group received several awards, including the Military Cross (left) and the Distinguished Conduct Medal (right).
Captain Richardson and Lieutenant Hill were awarded the Military Cross, Sergeant Misson and Gunner William Morrie were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, and others received the Military Medal, making them the most awarded medals of merit in British tank units during world war I. Captain Richardson later acquired a new tank, named it the Frey Bentos II, and continued to fight on the Western Front, with the exception of gunner Percy Bud, who was killed on August 25, 1918, and everyone else was fortunate enough to survive the war.
Captain Richardson's second tank, named Fleigh Bentos II, is still numbered F41.
Finally, mentioning the fate of the Frei Bentos, the Germans have never been able to capture it. The Battle of Paschanel lasted more than three months, costing 800,000 casualties on both sides, and ended in a crushing Victory for the British. The Frei Bentos was also recovered by the British, but no longer engaged in front-line combat, used as a rescue vehicle to exert residual heat, and was demolished after the end of the war, unfortunately, except for a blurry photo taken from the air, the most famous British tank of the First World War did not leave any official photographs.
■ British soldiers wounded in the Battle of Passshane, the casualties on both sides of the battle were as high as 800,000!