Something was brought near the reserve trench, camouflaged with a big sheet. We didn't know what it was and were very curious and the Captain got us all out on parade. He said, 'You're wondering what this is. Well, it's a tank', and he took the covers off and that was the very first tank. He told us what we had to do when we made the attack at Zero Hour was just to wait for the tank to go by us and all we had to do was mop up, consolidate our trench. Well, we were at the parapets, waiting to go over and waiting for the tank. We heard the chunk, chunk, chunk, chunk, then silence! The tank never came.

Private Charles Cole, Coldstream Guards, 1916

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