So keen on the Tanks were Americans, that private enterprise was not idle, and early in October 1918 a three-and-a-half-ton Ford Tank arrived in France. This tank, indeed, had the honour to be the first American-made Tank to appear in France. But though it was extremely agile and handy, its designers had not quite succeeded in producing a genuine fighting machine. It could, however, be turned out quickly and in great quantities, and in spite of its defects, it was thought in America that it would be worth while to continue its construction, and tradition has it that no less than 10,000 of these little Ford Tanks were ordered. In the autumn of 1917, a number of American officers who were later on to have charge of the organising and training of the new Tank Corps were sent on visits to the British and French Brigades, to learn as much as they could, both from the mistakes and successes of the two older Corps. By February 1918, there were a large number of volunteers for the American Tank Corps, some in England at Wool, who were to form the American Heavy Section, and others (about 500) at Burg in France, where a Training Centre was being formed for instruction in the Light French Rénault machines. At Burg were ten French Tanks which were used for training purposes, and in the course of the summer, as the personnel to be trained increased, this number was added to, and at the end of August 124 Rénault Tanks were delivered to the Training Centre for impending operations. Two Light Battalions were formed into a Brigade under Colonel G. S. Patton, Junr., and they proceeded to the St. Mihiel Salient. Here they went into action with the First American Army on September 12, the first occasion on which United States Forces fought independently. But, alas, it was our First Battle of the Somme over again! Nobody quite understood the habits of the new beasts, and unfortunately both Battalions were called upon to trek over twenty kilometres to their lying-up places from the railhead, and, the ground in the back area being very difficult, they did not succeed in catching up the infantry at all on the first day. The enemy resistance was, however, very feeble, as they had already decided to give up the Salient, but misfortune still dogged the unhappy Tanks. They had run out of petrol, and no supplies being immediately available, they were not able to get into action on the second day. On the third day, however, they did get into the fight, but by this time the enemy had been thoroughly demoralised by the American infantry, and there was little more for them to do than to receive the surrender of a number of prisoners. The two Battalions suffered hardly at all in casualties and were withdrawn practically intact.