Band of brigands
Subtitle: the first men in tanks
By: Christy Campbell ; maps by John Gilkes
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 2008
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 479
ISBN-13: 9780007214600
Subjects: History; World War, 1914-1918; Tank warfare; Regimental histories; Tanks (Military science); Great Britain. Army. Tank Corps; Great Britain
Description: "Tanks were one of the great but unknown, and unreliable, innovations of World War I. Manned by a motley 'band of brigands', amongst them mechanics, plumbers, motorcyclists, circus performers and polar explorers, they were developed in great secrecy, prepared as a surprise advantage for the frontline of trench warfare. The men of the British Tank Corps went on to see battle at its most brutal. Tasked with crushing and burning the enemy to carve a path for the infantry, they fought in stifling armoured boxes packed with petrol and explosives, aware that at any moment a shell-hit might incinerate them all. Christy Campbell, former defence correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph tells properly for the first time the remarkable and harrowing story of how the first men in tanks went to war."--Cover.
Notes: Originally published: London: HarperPress, 2007.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 423-426) and index.