0:00:02 > 0:00:04The British Army. To an outsider,
0:00:04 > 0:00:07it looks like one single fighting force.
0:00:07 > 0:00:12In reality, it's divided into more than 40 independent regiments,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16each with its own culture and traditions.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20And if you want to understand the British Army,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24these regiments are the best place to start.
0:00:24 > 0:00:25In this programme,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29we go back nearly 100 years to meet a special unit of mechanics,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31plumbers and electricians,
0:00:31 > 0:00:36brought together to break the stalemate of World War I.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43This was a new kind of fighting force
0:00:43 > 0:00:45that would revolutionise warfare
0:00:45 > 0:00:47for the modern age.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50- To the regiment!- The regiment!
0:00:50 > 0:00:53This regiment isn't one for pomp and ceremony.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54It's not about bright colours.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Its roots are in battle, in the mud and the blood
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and the grease inside a tank. That is what this regiment's all about.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08Black beret, black belt. Black Mafia, as we call ourselves, all sat together.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10You do get that certain pride.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13It's a special bond that you don't find in other regiments.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20The first tank crews were a new type of soldier for a new secret weapon.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22To be in an environment like this,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26I genuinely do not see how you can...survive,
0:01:26 > 0:01:28let alone complete an objective.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30This would just be dreadful.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36These courageous pioneers would lay the foundations of a regiment
0:01:36 > 0:01:40that has adapted to the changing threats of the modern world
0:01:40 > 0:01:44and remains at the forefront of armoured warfare to this day.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46No-one wants to mess around with a fully loaded 80-ton,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49fully armoured, ready to rock and roll tank.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53This is the armoured fist of the British Army -
0:01:53 > 0:01:55The Royal Tank Regiment.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Right, left, right, left.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12BAGPIPES PLAY
0:02:15 > 0:02:2120th November 2010. 6.20am.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22The Royal Tank Regiment
0:02:22 > 0:02:26is celebrating the most important anniversary in its calendar,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29the First World War battle of Cambrai.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37At this time on this day in 1917, fighting began.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Here, at the regiment's barracks in Suffolk,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45the day begins with the officers
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and senior NCOs waking their soldiers
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and serving them tea laced with rum.
0:02:52 > 0:02:53Known as gunfire tea,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56it's a tradition dating back to World War I,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00when officers gave their men some Dutch courage before battle.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07The men of the Royal Tank Regiment
0:03:07 > 0:03:11celebrate Cambrai Day wherever they are and whatever they're doing.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15These Tankies are training on Salisbury Plain.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19It's quite fitting that my squadron's out on exercise.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23For the regiment hierarchy to bring us all our bacon butties
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and cups of tea is a fairly rare occurrence.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29- Happy Cambrai, Staffie. - Thank you, sir.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Every year, we celebrate it.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33I've celebrated it now for 21 years.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Gunfire in the morning, the rum in the tea.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40It wouldn't feel the same when it comes round to November 20th
0:03:40 > 0:03:42if we didn't celebrate it.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52This year, Cambrai Day is also being celebrated in Afghanistan.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57He's still in bed, this one.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Wherever we are, you know, we do it.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05The Royal Tank Regiment is a combination of two regiments
0:04:05 > 0:04:09known as 1RTR and 2RTR, with nearly 1,000 soldiers
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and 40 officers between them.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Happy Cambrai!
0:04:15 > 0:04:18The celebration of Cambrai Day
0:04:18 > 0:04:20is a powerful way to bind them together
0:04:20 > 0:04:21as a regimental family,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25united by bonds formed nearly 100 years ago.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36In the first months of the Great War,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39cavalry charges and mass infantry assaults had failed
0:04:39 > 0:04:43in the face of trenches, machine guns and barbed wire.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Europe was deadlocked in a war of attrition.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59was looking for a way to break through the German trenches.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02"We must crush them in," he said.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06"It is the only way. I'm certain it can be done."
0:05:13 > 0:05:16In response to his demands, work began
0:05:16 > 0:05:19on a new kind of secret weapon - the landship.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29In early 1916,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32adverts appeared in The Motor Cycle magazine,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34inviting men to volunteer
0:05:34 > 0:05:38for something called the "hush, hush" army section.
0:05:39 > 0:05:45The army also identified potential candidates among serving officers.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Victor Huffam, a second lieutenant with the Norfolk Regiment,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52had previously worked for a car manufacturer.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58"I had been called to the adjutant's office and shown the following."
0:05:58 > 0:06:00"War Office - strictly secret and confidential.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03"Volunteers are required for an exceedingly dangerous
0:06:03 > 0:06:05"and hazardous duty of a secret nature.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07"Officers with an engineering background
0:06:07 > 0:06:09"should have their names submitted."
0:06:11 > 0:06:17Basil Henriques of the East Kent Regiment was another recruit.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20"We learnt that a secret unit of the Machine-Gun Corps was being formed,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23"but were given no hint as to its purpose."
0:06:23 > 0:06:26The new recruits to the "hush-hush" army section
0:06:26 > 0:06:32were soon building the foundations of the Royal Tank Regiment.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Lieutenant Rory McCulloch has been in the regiment for one year.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48He commands a Challenger 2,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52one of the most sophisticated weapons in the British Army.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55I'm in the commander's seat.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00I've got my primary sights and various commander's tools around me.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03These aids, I'm sorry to say, are mainly classified,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05so I can't show you those.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Sat in front of me, right by my knees, is my gunner.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12In front of him, he has his gunner control handles,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14effectively like a PlayStation.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16In the front is the driver.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19It's pretty cramped in there as well for him.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23The other side is the operator side, with our ammunition stacked up.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Here's the number two in the tank,
0:07:25 > 0:07:30and his job is to load rounds manually, ready to be fired.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32He's also in charge of the most important bit of the tank.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35That is the kettle.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41It takes six months
0:07:41 > 0:07:44for new crews to learn how to operate a Challenger 2.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Stop loading. Load HESH.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Firing.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01Lieutenant Pete Eadon has been in the regiment for two years.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06The gunners here, they train and train and train
0:08:06 > 0:08:08to the point where they can hit a target
0:08:08 > 0:08:11at 2,000 metres first time, every time.
0:08:11 > 0:08:12Firing.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Target's stopped.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Corporal Gaz Harley joined the regiment six years ago.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27We like our recruits to be slightly smarter, more intelligent.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30The technical knowledge required on a tank is substantial.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33So we look for a certain calibre of soldier
0:08:33 > 0:08:35to be able to operate the vehicle.
0:08:37 > 0:08:38In June 1916,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42the first 225 volunteers for the "hush-hush" army section
0:08:42 > 0:08:45began training in Norfolk.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48They were called "The Heavy Section of the Machine-Gun Corps."
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Among the mechanics and engineers,
0:08:53 > 0:08:55there was also a former mayor of Hythe,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59an explorer who'd just come back from the South Pole
0:08:59 > 0:09:01and a circus trapeze artist.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05They were a ragtag bunch, drawn in on the idea
0:09:05 > 0:09:08that technology could break stalemate
0:09:08 > 0:09:10and bring manoeuvre back to the battlefield.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18The Tankies' regimental march
0:09:18 > 0:09:21is a World War One song called My Boy Willie.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24It was chosen in honour for the early tanks.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29The first tank was known as Little Willy.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Based on the design of a tractor,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34it had a top speed of four miles per hour.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Little Willy was soon replaced by a much larger tank,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41equipped with naval guns.
0:09:41 > 0:09:42It was called Big Willy.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51King George V was an enthusiastic fan of the tank.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54He attended three early trials of the invincible new British weapon.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01But this trial also revealed some worrying design flaws.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06Despite the King's concern,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10nobody told him that every member of the crew inside the tank
0:10:10 > 0:10:11was knocked unconscious.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17At the regiment's museum in Dorset,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21the curator is introducing some modern Tankies
0:10:21 > 0:10:23to one of the first British tanks.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26This is the tank the British Army made most of in the First World War.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29It's there to crush down the barbed wire
0:10:29 > 0:10:32and let our soldiers follow on behind,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35get into the German trenches without being held up.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37And as it's sitting on the trench,
0:10:37 > 0:10:39it's got guns on the sponsons on the side.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41They can fire up and down the trench line
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and keep those German soldiers' heads down or take them out
0:10:44 > 0:10:46so that the vehicles and infantry
0:10:46 > 0:10:50coming behind can get to the German trench
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- without getting held up. - My first impression of this tank
0:10:53 > 0:10:55is that the armour is so thin,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58to the extent that there would be so many bullets flying around
0:10:58 > 0:11:04that the chance of being wounded by a splash inside the vehicle is huge.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08You're right. The guys inside are still very vulnerable.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11On a shell-strewn battlefield, there's a lot of shrapnel
0:11:11 > 0:11:14flying around that can penetrate this vehicle.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19But it's only inside that modern Tankies can fully appreciate
0:11:19 > 0:11:21the conditions faced by their predecessors.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Being the driver, if you want to move through, down to the front
0:11:24 > 0:11:27along the left-hand side.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Looking at the different crew positions, you can work out
0:11:30 > 0:11:31where everybody should be.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35You're sitting in the commander's position. The driver would sit here.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39At the moment, the hatch is open so you can see where you're going.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43When you come under fire, those hatches are closed down
0:11:43 > 0:11:45and you'd look through glass periscopes
0:11:45 > 0:11:47that would be just above them.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48You can see it's fairly cosy,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52but these exhausts going through the roof would glow red hot.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55So inside here, you would be starting to cook.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59As you can see, the other six crew members have to perch themselves
0:11:59 > 0:12:01around in the vehicle, either hanging on
0:12:01 > 0:12:04or bashing yourself against the metalwork inside.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07But if you fall against this engine, you'll burn yourself.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11It's a million miles away from where we are now.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Like, now we've got radios. The whole crew can communicate with each other,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16and that's half the battle.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I've got a lot of respect
0:12:19 > 0:12:22for the guys that fought and died in these things.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25To hit a target must have been quite an achievement,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28considering the modern science systems we've got in the vehicle,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31being able to magnify targets, look at thermal imaging.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34The commander has a separate sight to the gunner.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Here, you're on your own with a small slit.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39It's comparatively mediaeval, this machine.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44It's thrilling to be inside and to think that our forebears
0:12:44 > 0:12:48broke siege warfare in these vehicles in the First World War.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51But it is just aeons ago in technology.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01In July 1916, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme,
0:13:01 > 0:13:06the British Army suffered nearly 60,000 casualties,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09the bloodiest day in British military history.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12After 24 days of fighting,
0:13:12 > 0:13:17the casualties had more than doubled to 136,000.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23The generals were desperate for a breakthrough.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27They decided to unleash their secret weapon ahead of schedule.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30The tank crews of the heavy section
0:13:30 > 0:13:33had been in training for just three months.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36But on 15th September 1916,
0:13:36 > 0:13:4149 tanks crawled towards the frontline near Flers
0:13:41 > 0:13:42in north-west France.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45The Battle of Flers began at dawn.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51"I suppose it was the first tank in history to have fired on the enemy.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54"I must own that my heart was rather in my mouth.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58"God help us, boys," I shouted as we moved on.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05"As we approached, the Germans let fire at us.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09"At first, no damage was done and we retaliated, killing about 20."
0:14:09 > 0:14:14The surprise appearance of the tanks on the battlefield
0:14:14 > 0:14:18led a German newspaper to declare "the devil is coming."
0:14:20 > 0:14:24And the "hush-hush" brigade were front-page news at home
0:14:24 > 0:14:27when the Battle of Flers was reported a couple of days later.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35The Heavy Section was a huge propaganda victory.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44But the reality was different.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50In their early battles, the tank looked like a catastrophic failure.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Perennial breakdowns left the Heavy Section stranded.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58The tanks could barely manoeuvre in the mud,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and they struggled to roll across the German trenches.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Even the tank's steel armour failed to give the crews
0:15:09 > 0:15:12enough protection against German artillery fire.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Many had to abandon their tanks.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19"We were now getting too much attention from Jerry.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21"There was an explosion, then fire,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24"and I came round to find myself lying on top of my corporal.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29"Now we were in no-man's land. I knew I had to get him back.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33"I fastened my belt to his and as I crawled from hole to hole, he came with me."
0:15:35 > 0:15:42By November 1917, 270 tank crew had lost their lives.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Churchill was bitterly disappointed by the failure
0:15:47 > 0:15:50to break through at Flers.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51"My poor land battleships,"
0:15:51 > 0:15:55he said, "have been let off prematurely on a petty scale."
0:15:57 > 0:16:00But he didn't lose faith in the Heavy Section.
0:16:07 > 0:16:1020th November 1917, northern France.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17The Heavy Section had been supplied with powerful new tanks
0:16:17 > 0:16:19and given a new name - the Tank Corps.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23A year on from the Battle of Flers,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27it was about to take part in a surprise attack near Cambrai,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30commanded by a charismatic new general.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35His arrival was noted in Major Gerald Huntbach's diary.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39"A lithe figure strode past the infantry and the rear rank tanks,
0:16:39 > 0:16:44"pipe aglow and with an ash stick with a mysterious cloth wrapping
0:16:44 > 0:16:46"tucked under his arm.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49"Unheralded, unexpected and unattended,
0:16:49 > 0:16:53"Brigadier General Elles had arrived."
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Brigadier General Hugh Elles was about to deploy a new tactic,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01the mass tank attack.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03He mobilised every tank available,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06nearly ten times the number used at Flers.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Before fighting began,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22General Elles issued his battle orders to the tank commanders.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25One of them, special order number six,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28has become enshrined in the regiment's folklore.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31It's read out every year on Cambrai Day
0:17:31 > 0:17:34wherever the regiment are, including Afghanistan.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37"Special order number six. Tomorrow the Tank Corps will have the chance
0:17:37 > 0:17:40"for which they have been waiting for many months."
0:17:40 > 0:17:44"To operate on good going in the van of the battle."
0:17:44 > 0:17:49Special order number six signalled Elles's intention to lead his men from the front
0:17:49 > 0:17:52into what he called the vanguard of battle -
0:17:52 > 0:17:55almost unheard of for a World War I general.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58"I propose leading the attack of the centre division."
0:17:58 > 0:18:01General Hugh Elles, 1917.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08'Some of the words that we remember at Cambrai
0:18:08 > 0:18:11'are particularly poignant, as we're out here on operations'
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and very much "in the van of the battle,"
0:18:14 > 0:18:16as General Elles said so many years ago.
0:18:19 > 0:18:25At 6.20am, 378 tanks lined up along a six-mile front
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and rolled forward into battle.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38"At last I could distinguish their hulking forms labouring up the ridges,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42"all in line, indomitable and invincible monsters."
0:18:48 > 0:18:51The sense of foreboding for those men
0:18:51 > 0:18:5493 years ago must have been hugely intense.
0:18:54 > 0:19:00They didn't know for sure whether or not they were backing a winner.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Every Cambrai Day, the officers perform a play
0:19:09 > 0:19:12to explain the significance of the battle.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17Absolute secrecy and complete surprise are key to the plan.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Massed use gives us the best chance of smashing the German line.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24The brown, red and green flag
0:19:24 > 0:19:27hoisted above General Elles's tank, Hilda,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30had been hastily stitched together before the battle.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37'The three colours that are represented throughout our regiment,'
0:19:37 > 0:19:40the brown, red and green, come from the First World War,
0:19:40 > 0:19:44come from the only colours the commanding officer at the time could find,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47and he made them into our regimental colours.
0:19:47 > 0:19:52The mud, the blood and the green fields beyond is what it was supposed to represent.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55Deployed en masse for the first time,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58the tanks broke through the barbed wire,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00crushed German resistance
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and rolled across the trenches.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07The Tank Corps was now a British Army legend.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32In one day of battle, The Tank Corps advanced seven miles.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36To gain this ground without tanks
0:20:36 > 0:20:39would have taken months of hard fighting and slaughter.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40They took battles
0:20:40 > 0:20:44where feet and inches were won at the cost of thousands of men
0:20:44 > 0:20:47to miles and kilometres for hundreds.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51That technology was what the Tank Regiment brought to World War I.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54It alleviated slaughter and brought manoeuvre back to the battlefield.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- To the regiment.- The regiment!
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Cambrai Day is also an opportunity
0:21:01 > 0:21:04for the regiment to celebrate the success
0:21:04 > 0:21:06of the first mass tank attack.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13I think it's important to celebrate, especially for people who don't read a lot of history
0:21:13 > 0:21:16who turn up at the regiment and won't know much about the regimental history.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21That was the first real time
0:21:21 > 0:21:23that the deadlock on World War I was broken.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26It was a turning point in armoured warfare, the start of tank warfare,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30the birth of our regiment showing what we could do, what tanks were able to do.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33After the First World War,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36the regiment adopted the motto "Fear Naught."
0:21:39 > 0:21:45On Cambrai Day, the same attitude is adopted in the fiercely competitive inter-squadron football tournament.
0:21:45 > 0:21:46HE SCREAMS
0:21:50 > 0:21:53And in the fun and games that follow in the evening.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Celebrating the Battle of Cambrai, yeah,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02you can get away with stuff you wouldn't usually get away with.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Although there is a rank structure
0:22:06 > 0:22:10and a way things are done, we can let our hair down
0:22:10 > 0:22:14and everyone can have a laugh, irrespective of who they are.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26In 1918, King George V became The Tank Corps's Colonel in Chief.
0:22:26 > 0:22:32They were renamed The Royal Tank Corps in 1923.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36A year later, he crowned them with the black beret.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Here we've got
0:22:38 > 0:22:41some of the uniforms they would have been wearing in the First World War tanks.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Early on, the idea of the black uniforms comes in
0:22:44 > 0:22:46because with many of these brown uniforms,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50what you're really doing inside a tank is soaking up grease and oil so much.
0:22:50 > 0:22:56So the black was suggested as a way of hiding grease stains all the time.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00So in the 1920s, they start putting together this black uniform that you're wearing now.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04And it becomes a really iconic and distinctive part of the regiment.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07It speaks volumes about this regiment.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09This regiment isn't one for pomp and ceremony,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11it's not about bright colours and parades.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15It's about practicality. It knows exactly what its roots are.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Its roots are in battle, in the mud, in the blood and in the grease
0:23:18 > 0:23:21inside a tank. That is what this regiment's all about.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28On the eve of the Second World War, after an army restructure,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32the Royal Tank Corps finally became the Royal Tank Regiment.
0:23:37 > 0:23:38From Dunkirk to D-Day,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42the regiment fought in all major battles of the conflict.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47They spearheaded the invasion of Iraq.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52And in Afghanistan, it has deployed new armoured vehicles.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00We're still bringing manoeuvre to quite a static battlefield.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03The platform looks a little bit different today,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05but we're still on tracks, still armoured
0:24:05 > 0:24:09and we're providing mounted close-combat to Taskforce Helmand.
0:24:10 > 0:24:16As the nature of warfare evolves, so too does the Royal Tank Regiment.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22They've spent the last decade
0:24:22 > 0:24:27dealing with the greatest security threat the world faces in the 21st century.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Copehill Down in Wiltshire
0:24:34 > 0:24:38is a purpose-built British Army training ground for urban warfare.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Today, soldiers from the Tank Regiment are taking part
0:24:45 > 0:24:49in Operation Fingal Finder, an exercise designed to train them
0:24:49 > 0:24:52for one of the regiment's latest roles -
0:24:52 > 0:24:55nuclear, biological and chemical warfare.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Adaptability and innovation is central to our ethos.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03The Royal Tank Regiment was founded from the First World War
0:25:03 > 0:25:06from an innovative new technology, the tank.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09And we've adapted to the role, because that is within our DNA.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Hello, is anybody in?
0:25:13 > 0:25:16This exercise simulates a chemical weapons search.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20And it's not just house to house.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25They also have to check out nearly two miles of sewage pipes.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45OK, I've got a couple of detonators
0:25:45 > 0:25:48strapped to a couple of glass vials with powder in them.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03After six hours of dirty work,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06there's also a breakthrough below ground.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20The pioneering band of mechanics, plumbers and electricians
0:26:20 > 0:26:25who took a new secret weapon to war nearly 100 years ago
0:26:25 > 0:26:30has become one of the British Army's most adaptable modern regiments.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Every year on the Sunday closest to Cambrai Day,
0:26:46 > 0:26:51the Royal Tank Regiment marches to the Cenotaph on Whitehall.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57They are one of only two British regiments
0:26:57 > 0:27:00to observe their own Remembrance Sunday.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07The remembrance parades are so important to us. Getting together, being a shared unit,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11remembering both our past battles and our past glories.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16Royal Tank Regiment will remove headdress.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19You get all the old soldiers, the old veterans back in, all wearing
0:27:19 > 0:27:22- that same cap badge. - Remove headdress.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28It's nice to see that pride between us all, the shared experiences.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31It's one of the most important things, I think.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33BIG BEN TOLLS
0:27:33 > 0:27:37We lay this wreath in memory of our fallen comrades
0:27:37 > 0:27:42in the Heavy Branch Machine-Gun Corps, Tank Corps,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Royal Tank Corps
0:27:45 > 0:27:48and Royal Tank Regiment.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55We are but a few guys on the end of a huge line of illustrious characters
0:27:55 > 0:27:58who've been in the regiment. We're just a small part of that,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01but hopefully we can build on that and carry the regiment forward.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10It's incredibly important to remember.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14The main reason for that is so that when you're at that moment
0:28:14 > 0:28:16the night before your action,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20your battle, when you're leaned against your armoured vehicle
0:28:20 > 0:28:24in northern France, in north Africa, in Burma or now in Afghanistan,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29you can remember that you're not the first in the regiment to have done that,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32and you're not alone in adversity. You have your tight-knit group
0:28:32 > 0:28:36which we've always striven to have at the forefront of our way of working.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40And you'll overcome, as has been proven by the regiment
0:28:40 > 0:28:43throughout history, you'll overcome your adversity and you'll win.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:57 > 0:29:01E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk