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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.<ref>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>
The Germans also employed Stormtroopers during the counterattack and they succeeded in infiltrating the lines of the British and disrupting their rear areas and supply lines. After a few hours, some British Divisions had been cut off and had to make a hasty retreat. As these divisions retreated they came under attack from German Stormtroopers. The British retreated from all their early gains and at one stage it seemed that the German 2nd army would break through the allied lines, until a counterattack, led by some tanks pushed them back. This successful, British counterattack is seen as the end of the battle.<ref> Sheldon, p. 119</ref>
== Results of the Battle==
