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History Tank Corps A bronze model of a British Mark 1 tank stands at the side of La Cour de Remi. The story behind the bronze statuette is fascinating and highlights the close historical relationship between the Chateau de Bermicourt and the British Army's Tank Corps headquartered there during World War 1. 
On 15th September 1916, General Douglas Haig, Commander
of the British Forces in France directed a powerful attack at Flers
in the Somme valley to the left of the French army. The attack was
supported by tanks, the British Army's new secret weapon. It was
the first time this revolutionary machine was used. The Germans
were completely surprised and panicked… Within a few hours, the
British had made inroads of up to 2km into a 10km deep enemy front.
Despite the capture of over 2000 prisoners, this victory sadly had
no long-term impact on the course of the war. The machine had been built in utmost secrecy and to avoid any word leaking out this new weapon was given the code name "tank", the word used for a water storage device. The name stuck. Designed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, the British Army produced 150 of the first version of the tank, the Mark 1. Weighing 25 tons and with a 105 CV engine, it could move at 4 km per hour. It was manned by a team of 4 and equipped with 4 machine guns and a canon. Shortly before the offensive, the British Tank Corps commanded by General HJ Ellis had set up its Headquarters at the Chateau de Bermicourt, which at the time belonged to Count Jean de Hautecloque. The Headquarters remained stationed there until the end of the war. After the end of hostilities, General Ellis commissioned a scaled-down bronze model of the Mark 1 to commemorate the event. The model tank was placed on a small stone column just in front of the Chateau at an official ceremony and a plaque was mounted to explain the history of the monument. Then came the Second World War. This time, the Chateau was occupied by numerous German units who not unnaturally considered the presence of a British monument provocative. A German commander ordered it to be taken down and melted. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, veterans from the British Tank Corps (now the Royal Tank Regiment) decided to make a pilgrimage to France. Arriving at Bermicourt and hearing the story of the Mark 1, they immediately decided in typically determined British fashion, to order a new copy of the Mark 1. The new version was dedicated in the place of the first monument at a second official Franco-British ceremony and now stands at the side of the Cour de Remi.
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