WW1 Tank Crew Abandoned in No Man's Land (Cross Section)

At the apex of the First World War, technology and innovation often decided the outcome of the many brutal skirmishes witnessed along the Western Front. Tank warfare, in particular, emerged as a field of great interest to the warring powers as they sought for a way to break the deadlock of static, entrenched combat. As the first tank produced and fielded en-masse during the conflict, the British Mark IV Tank would change the state of war forever. This is the true story of one such tank, affectionately nicknamed the 'Fray Bentos.' Beached before the enemy during the Battle of Passchendaele, the brave crew of the Fray Bentos were forced to endure a 3-day siege - completely cut off from Allied lines. Trapped inside the cramped, smoggy landship, the men desperately fended off multiple ground assaults from their determined German foes. Today, the 'Fray Bentos Boys' are officially recognised as the most decorated tank crew of WW1 - having participated in the war's longest tank engagement.
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Credit:
Show Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Script: Natasha Martell
Narrator:
Chris Kane
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[@inductivegrunt94]

Impressive how well these guys fought for 3 days under enemy attacks in such a sauna on tracks. And then they made their way back to friendly lines. Those guys were legends.

[@vorelordjr9019]

Tank's will probably never go down quietly

[@jayo3074]

Not really I mean they were protected by the tank and travelling at night is quite safer because of lower visibility

[@jamesofficial6829]

Not really? I would love to see you do the same thing and you tell me it was nothing. I doubt you would of lasted the three days in the tank.@@jayo3074

[@MrMrmcook2008]

🤡🤡🤡🤡​@@jayo3074

[@user-kr7yh8vw9m]

Well done Simple History, well done. The fact all but one managed to survive for 3 days was unpleasant but i'm glad they were awarded for their heroism.

[@rooseveltingudam6354]

Ngl the thumbnail literally reminded me of "Edwards release the pigeon! "

[@boat02]

𝙀𝘿𝙒𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝙍𝘿𝙎!!! 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐍! THAT IS AN ORDER, SON, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?

[@ghostcreeper243]

@@boat02sir…SIR!!!

[@NemechekFan87]

Epic Battlefield 1 mission

[@rooseveltingudam6354]

@@ghostcreeper243 Thicc Bri'ish accent

[@TheRealArtimusKnight]

She likes it when you swear boy!!!

[@cmcb7230]

Why hasn’t this been made into a movie yet? A real life “fury”!

[@jdlr3777]

Fury was actually based on a real life ww2 tank commander who was referred to as War daddy just as he was during the movie. One of the main differences is that his tank was named "In the Mood", not fury. He also survived the war, unlike in the movie.

[@anonymousinfinido2540]

battlefield 1 tank mission check it out.

[@ronniebriggs3486]

​@jdlr3777 also the tank wasn't a Sherman it was a tank destroyer

[@jdlr3777]

@@ronniebriggs3486 Are you referring to the movie or what he was actually commanding during the war? Only reason I ask is that, the actual SSgt. Pool was issued 3 separate tanks throughout his time in theater. 1) M4A1 and 2) M4A1 76W tanks. As far as the movie prop, I haven't got a clue as to what they were using.

[@Kamina.D.Fierce]

As I recall some said "Fury" was inspired by this story. Though honestly this story would have been far more interesting than what we got in Fury... No German Tiger commander was as stupid as the one in that movie.

[@Ididitlikethis2079]

I never realized this, but certain early tanks were essentially death traps.

[@elennapointer701]

You should see the German one, called the A7V. It was a tall, slab-sided box with a crew of 18 minimum, sometimes as many as 25. It didn't have the rhombus shape of British tanks and so it had difficulty with the terrain. What's worse is that it was top-heavy and tended to fall on its side on fairly shallow gradients. It was pretty useless and they made less than thirty of them.

[@dieseltechie7830]

Even some modern ones are. Look at the autoloader Russian battle tanks. Granted the new "tanks" named as a counterintelligence misdirection were a grand experiment which needed a few revisions to become the armored turret with a cannon and machine gun on tracks we now know. There's debate on the efficacy of tanks in modern war considering they're a large noisy slow hot target vulnerable to more guided smaller ordinance delivered by as little as hobby drones and man portable rockets launchers.

[@WhoThisMonkey]

We have the technology now to not even need men on the ground, drones can be controlled from afar and do all of the needed work. But they still keep sending humans. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@jonathanliu7999]

Still is nowa days😊

[@Juanmunoz-1851]

Just to throw a fun fact: Fray Bentos (Fraile Bentos) was a reclusive monk in Uruguay, and Fray Bentos (capital of Río ngro - I dont want to be censored by youtube but a E before the G, you get it- Uruguay) was where the corned beef was made... named after the City, who was named after the monk, the owners and the company where british but the product was 100% uruguayan, they left Uruguay in the 60's and got international but keep the name, cheers and keep the good work! Saludos desde Uruguay y un beso grande bo!

[@eikki039]

Fray Bentos (Uruguay) was not a monk, its the name of a city, the english soldiers know the name Fray Bentos beacuse it was the name of the canned food, fabricated in ANGLO, a factory located in the city of Fray Bentos, Uruguay. Food that was send to the Allies during WW1 and 2 by Uruguay

[@Juanmunoz-1851]

Its current name, meaning "Friar Benedict", is derived from a reclusive priest. Historically, Fray Bentos' main industry has been meat processing. An industrial plant owned by the Societe de Fray Bentos Giebert & Cie., the Liebig Extract of Meat Company (LEMCO), was founded there in 1863. @@eikki039

[@Juanmunoz-1851]

like i said the food company is named after the city, the city is named after the priest. @@eikki039

[@Juanmunoz-1851]

@@eikki039 the brand was named after the city, the city was named after the priest Welcome Uruguay Littoral Corridor Fray Bentos History History of Fray The name “Fray Bentos” entails a certain kind of uncertainty; nevertheless, it is generally agreed that it might derive from the surname of a Friar Bentos. It seems that this hermit religious monk settled down in the area today called Rincón de Haedo, where there is now a village bearing the same name. According to historians, he founded a settlement in this place which had to be abandoned in two opportunities due to the violent Indian raids led by a native called Iramundi. Historical versions lead us to justify the subsequent self-reclusion of the religious man in a grotto found in the area of Caracoles Creek, to the South of the site where the City of Fray Bentos stands today.

[@neilwilson5785]

I remember seeing the city in an atlas when I was a child, and wondering why they named their town after a British pie in a tin.

[@davidrobertson5700]

Thank you for your service lads, every day is poppy day. We will never forget Love from Great Britain 🇬🇧

[@Dante_-cg3fq]

You can see the tank in the city that bears its name Fray Bentos (Uruguay) since Uruguay was the largest supplier of this (during the 2 wars Uruguay was called the kitchen of the world for the amount of agricultural products it sold with its small population The tank and the factory are part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites for this same reason. It is said in our country among history enthusiasts and academics (as a joke) that given its name of Uruguayan origin and a product of the same origin, both the tank and the crew were full of GARRA CHARRUA (a way of calling an unbreakable will to fight and give everything no matter what)

[@kaisykaisy]

Thank you very much for this video. It's great as usual with the others.

[@godlike634]

i just heard you on my tv for a 4knines’s commercial! its crazy how far you’ve come man:)

[@definitelynotpc9814]

If anyone is curious on why the officers were giving Crosses while the others got medals was because there was kind of a class system with awards. Officers got Crosses while everyone else got a regular medal (with the exception with the Victoria Cross which was open to all ranks, originally laughed at when proposed)

[@raymondhenderson8230]

I bloody love a fray bentos pie!

[@brianwarner308]

4:25 i love the little details in these videos

[@Anti-ml9rw]

Wow simple history your animation has greatly improved!

[@muizensaus7886]

Keep up the great videos

[@manolo2121]

Im from uruguay and i love seeing fray bentos being mentioned. Fray bentos is a small city in the state of rio negro, we had a slaughterhouse where we would make the famous corned beef that soldiers ate during ww1 and ww2. We made really good profit out of it (take in mind that this meat was basically a blend of all the spare parts of the animal, totally useless for market) That slaugtherhouse today is a museum, we no longer make "fray bentos" corned beef. You can buy other brands, most people hate it, i kind of like it, tastes like a pate, but it's disgustingly fatty (if you leave it in the fridge, the fat will solidify and the beef will turn white). As always, love your videos

[@brianriggs2335]

Another great story of will determination and survival

[@Wykletypl]

An inspiration for the final battle in 'Fury'.

[@Scottfromscotlandx]

With the sorry state the UK is in at the moment, these men epitomise what made this country so great, at one point depending who you ask of course, its a shame that no longer do we have such heroic individuals from what I can see.

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

So what are you doing for your country?

[@one_djenty_boii_respectful6090]

@@ianmacfarlane1241what are you doing, practicing Islam now?

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

@@one_djenty_boii_respectful6090 I can only assume that you were inebriated when you left your baffling, irrelevant comment - that's as charitable as I can be. Maybe you'll look at it when you've sobered up and wonder what point you were attempting to make.

[@marqgz]

@@one_djenty_boii_respectful6090took bro 3 seconds to get racist 💀🤦🏾‍♂️ ur the problem with modern UK

[@he_has_return_86]

Fun fact: Battlefield 1 Black Bess is based on Fray Bentos

[@yodaslovetoy]

Was wondering when this became a cooking channel, then I noticed "tank" in the title

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

The occasional FB pie might be a bit of a guilty pleasure, but it's a stretch to call it cooking.

[@Garlicbread717]

Why are British people always the smartest in inventions during wars? Nice invention!

[@alanroberson9749]

Very good job dudes!! Congratulations 997.677% yo during leap year week. Impressive how well these guys fought for 3 days under enemy attacks in such a sauna on tracks. And then they made their way back to friendly lines. Those guys were legends.

[@FewerYT]

Good video

[@shinypradeepika8298]

Good video man#🎉

[@codyadams3870]

Awesome

[@belikovilo]

The impressive thing is the affection with which the commander of Fray Bentos named the 2nd tank Frey Bentos 2!

[@alfredmarcos1761]

Edwards! Release the pigeon!

[@TheChungassSupreme]

Sir, your voice is like butter. I'd love to hear you talk about "Operation: Just Cause" at some point. It's... A lot different from the games (what with the lack of ridiculous amounts of explosions and no Gun-Crazed Columbian Liberator using a rocket-powered wingsuit & reusable wrist-amounted grappling hook), though the Just Cause games were very loosely inspired by said Operation.

[@snitchpogi1277]

This one looks inspired to the Battlefield One in one of the British mission.

[@LogicLegionnaire]

Make more of these vehicle videos!!!

[@brianwarner308]

3:12 his reaction to seeing his friend gunned down is quite good...

[@lonewolf7761]

Early WW1 tanks may not have been so effective but they damn sure looked cool in my opinion. Imagine being on the opposite side and seeing such a giant machine coming toward you.

[@slapaho1234]

The captain really went on to command a second tank after that...that crew is lucky to have him. He must have made a big impact on the morale of the Bentos Boys

[@abctato5355]

URUGUAY Fray Bentos city

[@oliversherman2414]

Fun fact: The Fray Bentos is actually what inspired the last stand scene in Fury

[@wirelessone2986]

Is that the red hand of ulster on the front of the tank?

[@haydendavis9215]

yup

[@user-jh2yo1dz5p]

Мужик ты много знаешь ! Молодец!

[@NeoPsychosis-zg2ki]

'START THIS BLOODY MACHINE !'

[@tcianchetta3740]

fun fact this tank story inspired the film fury

[@woahhbro2906]

Fury was inspired by Layfette 'War Daddy' Pool's tank in WW2 (actually named In The Mood). I'm sure the movie took some inspiration from this particular tank, but the 95% of the story is based on In The Mood. I'm not sure why he said this tank is the real Fury tank. It's not true.

[@tcianchetta3740]

ho ok

[@ronniebriggs3486]

​@@woahhbro2906tank destroyer

[@Casmaniac]

So the Mark IV got very smokey and hot inside because of the engine, well known fact. But why would the engine be on when they are already stuck for days? Unless they had a different reason for it to be on but I don't know

[@Hardwire2345]

Probably didn't think about it during the situation cuz again getting shot at is more important to worry about than an engine plus they probably kept attempting to get it out

[@bigdragonshing1890]

i guess they had to use the engine as heater at night maybe?

[@elennapointer701]

As far as i know they hoped to use the unditching beam to get them out once German attention shifted away from them, so they needed to keep the tank ready to move at short notice, but since the Germans never stopped shooting at them, it became a moot point in the end.

[@biggerestbrain]

As one of Missen's descendants, I'm glad this tale is being told

[@davidk6269]

So, the British Mk IV tank was in essence an armored Bento box. ; )

[@l3carroarmado516]

Man, the thumbnail reminded me of battlefield 1.

[@glendanison3064]

It was August. How did temps drop below freezing at night?

[@davidcraig3716]

Bump Fury they need to make this into a movie

[@TT-zi5st]

"Walking along side the tank to deflect enemy fire". I can only guess he was deflecting bullets with his giant metal balls.

[@handsomeblackman255]

This should be a movie ASAP!!

[@Indianamal574]

Agreed

[@thegamingfan2548]

1:17 Quiet daring of them to ride into battle with such a gaping hole in their tank. /j

[@ExploringNS]

Fury was a good movie..it was this story

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

Different war, different army and different tank.

[@ExploringNS]

@@ianmacfarlane1241 Nope...in the Movie its the same tank!

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

@@ExploringNS 🤣 you're having a laugh. The tank in this video was a WW1 British MkII. The tank in Fury was a WW2 American Sherman. Aside from the word "tank" they couldn't be more different.

[@ronniebriggs3486]

​@@ExploringNSdifferent war different army different tank

[@ExploringNS]

@@ronniebriggs3486 nope yall doodoo

[@lukadjuricanin8840]

Make something about Byzantine or Varagian guard

[@ryleeculla5570]

How did it take you this long yarnhub did a video on this several years ago

[@micahistory]

sounds like a horrible experience to live through. Very tragic

[@eurosonly]

This is like that mission in battlefield one before you fly the pigeon.

[@jokodihaynes419]

The tank that inspired the movie fury with Brad Pitt

[@asdfjoe123]

What's up with only the commissioned officers having their rank mentioned?

[@modernspacegamer3273]

I cant help but think of pies when I see the words fray bentos

[@Autobotmatt428]

A story like Fury before Fury

[@MrHarps]

The balls on Hank "walking along side the tank to deflect enemy fire" is that not what the 12mm armour is for xD?

[@noratek4286]

i bet they never thought they would miss the hardship of the trenches

[@luisemoralesfalcon4716]

Man, these people were real sardines.

[@johnrandolph1989]

Nine men inside a tank for three days?!?!😶 Holy guacamole, even the blitzkrieg of Iraqi Freedom had their tank crew catching a break.🪖🇺🇸

[@itsnotash69]

So that's why fray bentos pie is a hard to get into

[@Mr_x_19922]

These animations are so funny

[@ArmyJames]

Funny how? Like a clown?

[@mindaugaspipyne8151]

So all three days while stuck in the mud they kept engine running? Why?

[@TonyBongo869]

No they walked outside the tank to test the ground to make sure it wouldn’t get stuck. Photos of tanks usually showed a chap walking with it, with a handy cane used to probe the ground for strength, and shrapnel coming in the tank wasn’t called “sprays”, it was called “splash”

[@julianrdps500]

it remind me of the movie named "Fury"

[@emptywindexbottle97]

I just realised all the "tank" bosses in videogames must have gotten their inspiration from stories from WW1. After the invention of the panzerfaust tanks became 'soft' but seeing a tank during WW1 must have felt like a final boss.

[@JoeBoo6344-]

tank

[@jeff_theepic1011]

tanque

[@carlosferreira6420]

Tonk

[@philipp08422]

Schweres Gepanzertes Kampf Fahrzeug 🗣️🗣️🇩🇪🇩🇪

[@Egg.335]

stronk

[@T29Heavy]

Tankenstein

[@blackbeauty5508]

They should make a movie of this history ww1

[@strikeforce1500]

'Nah,I'd win' - The crew

[@corey8420]

Thanks to the antifreeze in their drinking water, the cold weather was unremarkable to the crew.

[@GreatSageSunWukong]

I just clicked on this video because of tinned pies

[@nee_ree7346]

Stretchy lewis gun

[@lakepu5385]

Fun fact:Fray Bentos inspired the film Fury.

[@maximilianmiller5374]

Blackwatch mentioned 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@eikki039]

The Fray Bentos canned food was not from England, it was 100% made in Uruguay

[@TheCanuckCanadain]

This was in battlefield 1

[@itscorn7202]

❤

[@charlesvan13]

I learned from Indiana Jones that you only need to throw is rock in the gun barrel to make it explode.

[@danielnavarro537]

"Best job I ever had."

[@babalonkie]

The real "Fury" story.

[@ZakkyLuqmana]

Fray Bentos is a name of corned meat brand But instead of corned beef, they were cornered meat

[@VO7194]

real

[@OutdoorMinnesota]

Now this is what it means to be low man on the totem pole ..

[@kalvinbudge6872]

If they were stuck why didn’t they shut off the engine?

[@roland969]

the original fury but in WW1.

[@cannonball666]

They named the tank after a brand of pies?

[@physetermacrocephalus2209]

Its ironic

[@sting7167]

4:14 30 degrees Celsius is not 100 degrees Fahrenheit lol, it's 86 degrees Fahrenheit

[@CMillz884]

Frey Bentos is the Leader of Cuba

[@imperialhonorguard1483]

the good guys lost WW1

[@michelguevara151]

fray bentos (ben-toss, not toes) is not an affectionate nickname, it's a canned meat pie company, these great war tanks were known as 'tommy cookers', the nomme de guerre is an allusion to this. 'tommy' is period british slang for soldier, this crew was demonstrating british military gallows humour.

[@KCKingdomCreateGreatTrekAgain]

Did they even recover Brady’s body???

[@Jokertk0]

i doubt they left it idling the whole time

[@DirkVaughan]

Imagine going through the exact same things as the other guys in that tank. Enduring equal hardships, and equal pain and suffering, only to survive and be given a lesser medal than your comrade. 😂 Guess that’s what you get for fighting some rich guys battles!

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

Second Lieutenant = Second Left-tenant in the British Army.

[@nPcDrone]

Our mission is to kill pill boxes! Our result was to become a pill box.

[@fletchdub]

5 mil subs and you can't hire some quality animators? sheeeesh

[@alexandercross9209]

How many subs you got

[@diddlethepoodle4812]

Drinking water that cooled an engine. 😬 Atleast it's boiled! 😂

[@Henrywinswars]

Hi