The only available crossing place was the bridge at Brie, a few miles to the south. They set off immediately, but the enemy advance was too rapid for them. They were unable to cross the bridge, and, lest they should fall into the hands of the enemy, all the machines were destroyed by their crews. The story of one of these Tanks is told in the 5th Battalion History: “Second Lieutenant T. E. Van Zeller’s Tank was covering the withdrawal of the infantry across the Somme, moving from Cartigny to Brie on the east side of the river. He inflicted severe casualties on the enemy, and was under heavy and continuous shell-fire. On arriving at Brie late in the afternoon of the 23rd, he found that the bridge was about to be blown up, and that his Tank could not cross. He accordingly destroyed his Tank, and then directed his crew in assisting to carry wounded across the bridge. Finding two men seriously wounded who had been left behind, he decided, with three of his crew, to make an effort to rescue them at the last moment. “When half-way across, the bridge was blown up in front and behind them. Second Lieutenant Van Zeller, however, succeeded in getting the whole party across the débris under heavy shell-fire, and finally brought them back behind our lines on the west side of the river. “For this he was awarded the M.C., and the three members of his crew who assisted in the last plucky effort were each awarded the Military Medal.” There were other places where the now “dismounted” Tank crews could cross the river. But they had no means of transport, and were, therefore, obliged to burn or otherwise destroy most of their stores and kit. Indeed, as a rule, the Lewis guns from the Tanks were their only salvage. One Staff Sergeant, however, hid away or buried a number of his tools, and six months later, when the British advance swept back again, they were recovered. By March 24 the Battalion had lost all its Tanks. But in almost every case the Lewis guns had been salved. As the crews fell back they were immediately organised as Lewis gun detachments, and distributed along the line wherever their help was most needed. Colonel O’Kelly, Commanding the 5th Tank Battalion, had to use his own initiative in the matter, as communications were by this time hopelessly disorganised and the need was instant. Once, too, a detachment had been sent off, as it were disappeared, and each party had to rely upon its individual Commander. Tank crews had had no training in this kind of warfare, but the strange dilemmas in which a Tank frequently finds itself had accustomed them to the unexpected, and thus left alone they displayed plenty of initiative. The chief work which fell to them was that of forming rearguards and of protecting the retreat of the infantry. Food and ammunition were both short, and they, like the other troops, suffered many hardships.