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Battle of Cambrai November 1917

On the 20th November 1917, the rumble of 374 fighting tanks signalled the beginning of a new era in military history as they broke through the German trench lines on the western front. They advanced towards the town of Cambrai leading an assault by five British infantry divisions which took the unsuspecting German defenders by surprise. There was no prolonged artillery barrage and as a consequence much of the ground was flat and un-cratered providing ‘good going’ for tanks. The 28 ton MK IV tanks simply ploughed through and crushed the barbed wire enabling the infantry to follow through the gaps which had been created. The wide trenches proved to be the biggest obstacle to the tanks which carried fascines – tight bundles of brushwood – which were dropped into the trench enabling the tanks to cross. This was not an easy task and many tanks became ditched in the trenches. German machine gun crews emerged from their deep dug-outs to be confronted by a bullet proof steel monster belching out death and destruction – it must have been a truly terrifying sight! In just ten hours the German front line had been penetrated to a depth of 10 kilometres, taken more than 10 000 prisoners and 200 guns with relatively few casualties inflicted on the attackers. On the 21st November the attack continued, however, so many tanks had been put out of action through mechanical breakdown, ditching, and accurate fire from German field guns, it was now the turn of the infantry with limited support from a much reduced number of tanks. By this point the tank crews must have been exhausted and there were few British reserves with which to exploit the breakthrough. For the first time since the war began the church bells in Britain were rung in celebration, but in reality this only heralded the start of a ferocious German counter-attack. Just ten days after the first mass tank attack in history, the British had almost suffered the same casualties and prisoners as the Germans, and lost a very large portion of the ground which had been captured a few days earlier. The breakthrough which the tanks had achieved on 20th November had been squandered because of the lack of reserves necessary to exploit this incredible achievement. The British high command didn’t have sufficient belief in this new weapon, and as a result had not made sufficient preparations to exploit its perhaps unexpected success. Many clubs and groups have re-fought the battle of Cambrai in miniature using very large as well as more modest layouts. Its historical significance is recognised by military historians and gamers across the world and it does create a fascinating and absorbing table top wargame. www.kallistra.co.uk