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==The Battle==

The Battle of Cambrai began on the 20th of November 1917. The British sent some 480 tanks into no man's land and they were closely followed by six divisions of infantry. The tanks advance was preceded by a poison gas attack, which was followed by a short but intense bombardment. The Germans were taken completely by surprise and the tanks made rapid progress and reached the German lines with little difficulty and the Mark IV tanks easily crossed the network of trenches. As they did they caused many trenches to collapse on the defenders, killing very many soldiers. The Germans were soon in disarray and many fled and several thousand surrendered to the British <ref> Keegan, p. 267</ref>. The British tanks and the soldiers advanced almost nine kilometres and they soon were in range of the town of Cambrai. At this stage the British Cavalry divisions were expected to pour through the breach in the Hindenburg Line<ref> Sheldon, p. 77</ref>. The tanks unnerved the horses and this greatly slowed the advance of the Cavalry Divisions. Then there was the sheer number of vehicles and men in the area, the roads become congested and there was a huge traffic jam. It was estimated that it took some troops an entire day to cover four miles. This greatly slowed down the British advance. It was to prove fateful to the ambitions of the British. However, this was not apparent in the days after the beginning of the battle and many in London believed that they were on the verge of a great victory. In many British towns and cities, the Church Bells rang out in celebration of their victory at Cambrai. The British continued to advance and , several tanks and a Welsh infantry brigade succeeded in establishing themselves in the vicinity of Cambrai<Hammond, p. 144</ref>. The German High Command initially wanted to order a general retreat but Ludendorff decided to launch a counter-attack. He gathered several German divisions in the area of Cambrai. They attacked the British at several points and they are immediately successfully. The German artillery had begun to inflict heavy losses on the British Tank Corp. The enemy had identified the facilities of the British Mark IV tank and they no longer were able to make a significant difference in the battle <ref> Hammond, p. 134</ref>.

Cambrai 2.jpg

== Results of the Battle==

The British had gained a significant amount of territory at first but the German counter-attack meant that this was almost all lost, while the Germans are able to actually capture new territory south of Cambrai. The British suffered rather fewer casualties than the Germans. The British lost some 44,000 killed, wounded and missing in action, the Germans suffered in the region of 45,000 casualties. The battle came to be seen as a British defeat and when news arrived that the battle was not the great victory that it seemed it would be in the early stages of the battle. British morale was badly affected by the defeat<ref> Sheldon, p. 234</ref>. The British High Command was still committed to the use of the tank and in many ways, the Tank Corps had performed very well. The Germans regarded Cambrai as a great victory and they were emboldened to plan for a great offensive in the Spring of 1918, the Kaiser’s or Ludendorff Offensive <ref> Gray, Randal, Kaiserschlacht, 1918: The Final German Offensive, Osprey Campaign Series 11 (London: Osprey, 1991), p. 176</ref>. The British learned a lot from the failure at Cambrai. They realised that they needed to reinforce any gains quickly. They also learned that the Cavalry could not really work with tanks. The British learned much from the defeat, especially about the coordination of artillery, tanks and infantry for a successful attack. They developed new tactics that were to be successfully used in the great allied offensive of the Fall, 1918, which resulted in the collapse of the Imperial German Army<ref> Pitt, Barrie, 1918 The Last Act. Pen & Sword Military Classics. Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 1962, p. 45</ref>.