A different caliber of men from a different time. The true story of Fray Bentos!






A different caliber of men from a different time. The true story of Fray Bentos! A real life Fury moment where one tank held of the German Army during the First World War in an epic Last Stand.

Tank F41, named Fray Bentos, was a male Mark IV, number 2329. In August 1917 the nine man crew experienced the longest tank action of the First World War.

One British tank would get stuck in the mud and after 60 hours in action, one man would die, seven wounded and countless German soldiers would lay dead around the metal beast. Their bravery saw them become the most highly decorated tank crew of the war.

This is their story!

Their saga began at 4:40am on the 22nd August, when they moved off in support of an attack by 61st Division near St Julien. This was part of the Third Battle of Ypres. As the tank advanced it came under machine gun fire from Somme Farm, which the crew soon silenced with their left hand 6 pounder gun.

At around 5:45am Fray Bentos was fired on by a German machine gun at objective Gallipoli that sent the tank sliding sideways into a muddy diet. The crew tried to free the tank but knew that they would have to ditch if it couldn't be free.

Several members of the crew were wounded and two members attempted to climb on top to grab some gear to try and free the tank. Sergeant Robert Missen got out on the left side and Lance Corporal Ernest Braedy got out on the left. Both men would work quickly to retrieve the gear under heavy machine gun fire. Braedy would be killed and Missen would climb back into the tank.

At 7am , the British attack began to fail and were forced to retreat. The tank crew were unable to withdraw and covered their comrades with their one remaining main gun, Lewis machine guns and their personal rifles and revolvers. To their dismay, their fellow Commonwealth soldiers began firing at the tank to prevent it from being captured by enemy forces.

Now about every crew member was wounded and in an act of desperation, Sergeant Missen climbed out and ran to British forces to get them to stop firing on his friends. Incredibly, he returned to the tank to help defend their muddy position from repeated German attempts to capture the tank throughout 22nd, 23rd and 24 th. The crew would survive by eating their rations and drinking dirty water from the engine radiator.

The crew would cut down dozens of German troops with their machine guns and use grenades to keep them at bay. It wasn't uncommon for the crew to open up side ports and shoot any German that climbed on top or tried to forcibly open the hatches.

At 9pm on the 24th Captain Donald Richardson ordered the Fray Bentos to be abandoned. Even though everyone was wounded, they took the 6 pounder locks, Lewis machine guns, maps and intelligence before reaching friendly lines.

From there the 9th Battalion of the Black Watch would keep their Lewis guns and keep the Germans from capturing the now abandoned tank.

Every member of the Frey Bentos would receive the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry and going above the call of duty in protecting their tank and preventing it's technology from being captured by enemy forces.

Both the Fray Bentos and Lance Corporal Ernest Braedy"s body were never recovered.

There we go. The true story of Fray Bentos. I hope you enjoyed the article. If you don't mind, please leave a like, share the post and consider joining Fractured World History. We'd love to have you

This is TheProdigalFish signing off....bye!

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