BATTLE OF CAMBRAI
Best-known today for the role played by tanks, Cambrai saw infantry, aircraft, artillery and even cavalry working together in new ways.
At 6.20am on 20 November 1917, British Empire forces launched an attack against the formidable German defences at Cambrai. They achieved a stunning success and church bells rang in celebration, but it was to prove short-lived. German reinforcements were rushed in, and on 30 November they launched fierce counter-attacks, driving the British Army back towards its starting lines. By the end of the battle in early December 1917, more than 80,000 servicemen on both sides were dead, wounded or missing.
Best-known today for the role played by tanks, Cambrai saw infantry, aircraft, artillery and even cavalry working together in new ways. These technological and tactical innovations would eventually prove decisive on the Western Front.
Today, the cemeteries of the CWGC are lasting monuments to those who fought and died here.
BACKGROUND
In September 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, the British Army used a new weapon. The ‘land ship’ was designed to crush barbed wire and traverse the killing ground between the front lines. It soon became known by its code name: ‘tank”.
It was hoped that tanks would break the deadlock of trench warfare on the Western Front, but their impact in 1916 and 1917 had been limited. They were slow, mechanically unreliable, often became bogged down in mud, and crews had to endure terrible heat and fumes.
In August 1917, the commander of the newly formed Tank Corps, Brigadier General Hugh Elles, proposed an operation to prove the ability of his tanks. He suggested an assault across the gently rolling chalk plains of Picardy, near the French town of Cambrai, an important railway hub. There had been little fighting here and the ground was not broken up by thousands of muddy shell holes. The Germans had heavily fortified the area and did not expect an attack. Their troops here included understrength units recovering from fighting elsewhere on the Western Front.
To support the British tank attack, artillery guns would fire a brief but highly accurate and ferocious bombardment moments before the assault. This would preserve the good ground conditions and, crucially, the element of surprise. In great secrecy, and under the cover of darkness, nearly 500 tanks, 1,000 guns, eight infantry and five cavalry divisions were massed at Cambrai. They included units from across Great Britain and the Empire: from Yorkshire and Scotland, to Newfoundland and India. Zero hour was set for 6.20am on 20 November
THE BATTLE
Thick fog had settled over the lines and German lookouts had no warning of the impending attack. At zero hour, the British guns opened fire and the tanks advanced. Brigadier General Elles led the attack himself from his tank, named Hilda, flying the new green, red and brown flag of the Tank Corps, designed by Elles himself. The German front line was quickly overrun and the tanks continued on, punching deep into the German defences.
As they reached the Flesquières ridge, at the heart of the battlefield, the fog began to clear. German gunners had been trained to engage tanks, and they began to methodically target and destroy the slow machines. Nevertheless, the attack was successful and, east of Flesquières, British troops broke through all the German defences. It was an advance of some five miles, an achievement not seen since the early stages of the war. Church bells were rung in Britain in celebration.
The cost of success had been high. Almost half of the attacking tanks had been lost, and the cavalry had failed to push on through the break in the German lines. Further advances were made over the following days, with the important positions at Bourlon Wood briefly captured on 27 November.
Fresh German reinforcements were now flooding into the area, including aircraft of the ‘Flying Circus’, the fearsome fighter squadron led by Manfred Von Richthofen, the ‘Red Baron’. On 28 November, with German resistance stiffening, and the British Army occupying a ‘salient’ of exposed positions deep into enemy territory, the attack was closed down.
On 30 November, the Germans counter-attacked. Using their own innovative infantry tactics, German ‘stormtroopers’ infiltrated into British lines, bypassing strong points. Many of the hard won British gains were lost and British units suffered heavy losses fighting desperately to hold back the tide. Finally, on 6 December, the battle was brought to a close, both sides exhausted by the ferocity of the Battle.
AFTERMATH
The Battle of Cambrai was a brief and bloody engagement, with more than 80,000 servicemen from both sides wounded, missing or killed. The attack had ultimately achieved little for the British Army, but it had demonstrated the shape of the fighting to come. Aircraft, infantry, artillery and tanks, all working together in a ‘combined arms’ operation had proved that even the strongest defences could be broken. The tactics seen at Cambrai in November 1917 would play an important part in eventual victory for the Allies in November 1918.
STORRINGTON AND DISTRICT VILLAGES
CASUALTIES IN BATTLE OF CAMBRAI
BAKER, GEORGE FREDERICK of Ashington
Lance Corporal 21461, 255 Company, The Machine Gun Corps (infantry) (formerly 5825 Royal Sussex and 21160 Hants Regt). Killed in action Bourlon Wood, near Cambrai, Nord-Pas-de-Calais 1st December 1917, aged 19. Born Ashington 1898, son of Alfred and Alice Emma Baker of ‘Wellers’, Ashington.
CARTER, Raymond of Washington
Private Driver 102567 ‘J’ Battery 3rd Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery. Died of wounds 3rd December 1917 from the Battle of Cambrai, aged 21. Buried in Rocquigney-Equancourt British Cemetery, Equancourt, Departement de la Somme, France. Born 1896 Washington, son of Arthur and Emily Carter of Polecats Cottage, Wiston.
GOLDS, Ingram Thomas of Storrington
Acting Captain 7th Battalion East Surreys (ex Lance Corporal 1492 28th London Regiment). Killed in action 30 November 1917, Battle of Cambrai, Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Commemorated on Cambrai Memorial, Louverval, Nord, France. Born 1894 Highgate, London son of Owen Arthur and Ada Kate Golds who lived at Cobb Court, Cootham c1917-1918. Husband of Mary Louise Clarke.
MEDHURST, Wallace or Walter of Storrington
Private 5524 7th Battalion, Prince of Wales’ Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) (prev. 12105 Royal Sussex Regt). Killed in action 23 November 1917 in the attack on Tunnel Trench, Bullecourt, west of Cambrai, France, aged 30. Buried at Croisilles Railway Cemetery, near Arras. Born Hurstpierpoint 30 April 1887, son of Albert and Sarah Medhurst. Husband of Winifred M Medhurst (née Sadler).
SILVESTER, Percy Eli of Storrington
Sergeant 22870 1st Battn London Regt (Royal Fusiliers) (ex Sergt 200631 4th Royal Sussex Regt, Sergt 2nd Battn Royal Fusiliers). Killed in action 22 November 1917, Battle of Cambrai, Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Commemorated on Cambrai Memorial. Born Eastbourne 1877 son of Eli Thomas (d 1882) and Jane Silvester (d 1882). Husband of Edith Elizabeth (née Mills).