_Dr. Gilles, Raoul Jules Gustave, Cte. in the 506th Regt., Chars Légers._ “Although blinded by wounds, brought his Tank back into French lines guided (by signals tapped on his shoulders) by the Tank Commander Maréchal de logis Joseph, who was himself wounded in the stomach. Médaille militaire and Croix de Guerre with Palm.”--Official Gazette, No. 2127 “D,” July 26, 1918. Colonel Estienne was promoted to the rank of General of Division and received the Cravat de la Légion d’Honneur, and the Commander-in-Chief of the French Armies issued the following special Order of the Day to the French Tank Corps: “Vous avez bien mérite (de) la Patrie.” AMERICAN TANKS By the time the United States of America declared War (April 1917) the value of Tanks had already been demonstrated in battle by the British in the Somme Offensive, and by the end of October 1916 the French were already training with their first machines. It is not, therefore, surprising that the Americans, with their great experience of Tractors (it was, the reader will remember, an American Tractor that was the chief ingredient in the make-up of the Mark I.) had a strong desire to include this new arm in their Expeditionary Force. Colonel Rockenbach, who was later to command the American Tank Corps in the field, was detailed to initiate preliminaries. He arrived in France in June 1917, and followed General Pershing to Chaumont, the United States General Headquarters, where he immediately occupied himself with the future organisation of the Corps. By September 23, 1917, the provisional American Tank Corps establishment had been approved. It was to be of a size to match the original Expeditionary Force, which was to be limited to twenty Divisions and ten replacement Divisions--that is to say, to one Army. The American Tank Corps in France was to consist of five Heavy and twenty Light Battalions, with the usual complement of Headquarters Units, Depot Companies, instructors and Workshops; and, in the United States, a Training Centre, accommodating two Heavy and two Light Battalions, was to be maintained. When the American Expeditionary Force was increased to three Armies, a new Tank Establishment was authorised to match it. There were to be five Brigades per Army. These Brigades were to consist of one Heavy and two Light Battalions. The Light Tanks were to be of the French Rénault type, and the Heavy were to be of the British pattern. The first Tanks with which the Americans were equipped were, in fact, actually of French or British manufacture, but as soon as an establishment was sanctioned, Tank manufacture was pushed forward in America, and by the time the Armistice was signed, there were several thousand American-made machines ready for shipment.