British soldier having a leak in front of a Mark I tank sunk in the Scarpe marshes, August 29, 1918.

This photograph, colourised by @colourbyrjm, was taken today 105 years ago near Fampoux during the Second Battle of the Scarpe river, a phase in the Second Battle of the Somme (1918), as part of the Allied Hundred Days Offensive.

This particular tank, a male Mark I tank with the serial number 716, was in action on April 23, 1917 during the First Battle of the Scarpe, as part of the Battle of Arras.

Seeing heavy combat in the Fampoux-Reaux area, the tank got stuck in the marshes and was afterwards struck by German armour-piercing machine-gun rounds, forcing the tank crew to abandon the machine.

Over a year later, when this photograph was taken, and even with the area having been shortly conquered by the Germans during their Spring Offensive, the tank was still stuck in the same swampy position.

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