Buried Wwi Tank Found

FLESQUIERES, France - After years of digging across northern France, a French war buff has found his prize: a rusty but still intact British tank from World War I - with a few surprises inside.

A dozen archaeological workers used an earth mover today to remove tons of red earth covering the Mark IV tank in this farm town near the Belgian border.

Trying to find the tank, buried under 7 1/2 feet of soil in a vegetable patch, was like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack, said war-history buff Philippe Gorczynski.

After years of talking to residents, poring over battle maps and digging in about 20 places, Gorczynski, a hotel owner in nearby Cambrai, finally sank his spade in the right spot on Nov. 5.

"I was almost in shock. It was the culmination of all my research," Gorczynski said. "I think of all the names of the soldiers I knew."

What he found inside was even more surprising: both British and German silverware, lamps and helmets.

They were left by the British troops who abandoned the tank on Nov. 20, 1917, and the German troops who then buried it and used it as a bunker in this town of brick houses and cow pastures.

The team of archaeologists was expected to officially raise the tank tomorrow, to mark the day it changed hands.

"We're going to repair it, remove the rust and clean it, then turn it into a monument," said Alain Jacques, a leader of the team.