Sgt Ivan Lane
Ivan Quintus Lane was born on August 14th, 1893 in McDonald, Missouri to Annie and Lycurgus Lane. He would be the oldest of three siblings, and after completing school, attended a military academy for two years until enlisting in the Aviation Corps in late 1917 after America joined WW1. He would train in this occupation until hearing about the newly formed Tank Corps who were accepting volunteers to pioneer this new method of warfare. Lane, now a Sergeant, applied, and was transferred in June 1918 to Camp Colt in Pennsylvania where he would undergo crude training led by Captain Dwight Eisenhower. While there, Sgt Lane and the recruits had to share a single Renault tank for training, as the entirety of the new Tank Corps lacked enough vehicles for each of them to train with. Sgt Lane would be assigned to the Headquarters Company of the newly formed 327th Light Tank Battalion, which was soon sent overseas to see combat during the St. Mihiel offensive on September 12th. Lane however, would not witness this offensive, as his Headquarters Company left the United States on September 25th, 1918 aboard the Orontes. As they were enroute to France, the 327th Battalion began their assault on the Argonne Forest. By the time he arrived, 53% of officers and 25% of enlisted men of the 327th’s 1st Tank Corps had already become casualties. Soon after, the situation became worse. By October 8th, only 8 tanks from the 1st Tank Brigade were operational, and as a result, the 327th Battalion ceased to exist temporarily. Those left of the 1st Tank Brigade, including Sgt Lane, organized themselves into the 1st Provisional Tank Company and scrounged together 24 tanks. On the 13th of October, the tank company was ordered to move out for the final assault on the German held Siegfried Line. Due to the extreme distance involved, only 10 tanks made it. These tanks were able to break through the German line and cause significant losses to the enemy, but were forced to withdraw due to lack of infantry support. After this action, the 1st Tank Company was withdrawn but continued to be present during the rest of the Meuse-Argonne offensive until the Armistice was signed on November 11th, 1918. Sgt Lane would stay with the 327th Battalion and go to the Tank Center at Langres, France where their Headquarters was located. He would remain at this training center until April 1919, when his Headquarters Company was sent to Port Bordeaux to return to the United States, and they left aboard the Susquehanna on the 20th. Arriving in Newport News, Virginia in early May 1919, he would be discharged on May 17th and return home to Neosho, Missouri after unknowingly becoming one of the pioneers of American tank warfare. He would soon move to California where he would work for the General Shares Corporation, and then move back to Missouri where he would pass away on June 9th, 1970.
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