corpse

The date given by LOC states between 1910 and 1915, however, assuming this photo was taken at one of the two Battles of the Somme, this photo would need to be dated either 1916 or 1918.

The photo probably dates back to when the Germans first took the area in 1914.

Here's a news article describing battles there in September, 1914 ("CAPTURED AT HEAVY COST; Peronne Taken in Face of Deadly Fire From the German Guns. 900 DEAD IN ONE TRENCH Battle Fought in Wheat Field ;- Repeated German Assaults Were Repulsed") query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=980CE2DA1430E7...

This is a cropped version of Agence Meurisse photo on Gallica site, with caption: "Cadavre allemand sur le champ de bataille de Fère Champenoise " [German corpse on the battefield of Fère Champenoise] Pub date 1914 gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9041757x

"THE decisive action in the battle of the Marne was won by General Foch on the afternoon of September 9, at La Fere Champenoise, or on the center of the fighting line, which was near where the Petit Morin, a tributary of the Seine, takes its rise in the marshes of St. Gond. This became the fixt opinion of students of the progress of the war, but not until long after the battle occurred. For six days, over a front of nearly two hundred miles, were assembled on either side approximately a million men." Literary Digest History of the World War books.google.com/books?id=Q58MAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA65&o...

The serial number may read 9177, in March 1919 it was transferred from Central Workshops to Stores, no other information exists on this tank. Source: sites.google.com/site/landships/home/lists/mk-v-tanks/910... The reference to cavalry may be accurate, the British kept their cavalry in being until World War Two, the Household Cavalry only gave up their horses in 1941. Mounted cavalry saw great deal of action in the last 100 days of WW1 when the allies were pursuing the retreating Germans. The British heavy tanks were designed to crush wire and silence MGs and thus are probably best compared to siege weapons, though they occasionally fulfilled the shock role of heavy cavalry on the open battlefields in the later half of the 100 days. Some consideration was given to using tanks in the traditional exploitation role of light cavalry, thus the British built the Whippet and the French the Renault FT17. The light cavalry's scouting role had been filled by the RFC / RAF. Tank crews did not apparently regard themselves as cavalrymen, first world war tank units were designated Companies not Squadrons (I don't know if this is still the case in the RTR). Cavalry terms were presumably only adopted by British tank crews when the British cavalry was (reluctantly) mechanized in the 1930's. Tank crews came from a variety of units, some may have been cavalrymen but they were apparently not overrepresented.

Information on the Battle of Charleroi (Belgium), fought in August, 1914: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Charleroi

artolog: Thank you for the additional information on the Battle of Charleroi. We will add some details to the description when we update.