Battle Of Cambrai Essay

The Battle of Cambrai was a British offensive and German counter-offensive battle in World War I. The battle began on November 20, 1917 and ended on December 7, 1917. Cambrai was a major supply point for the Germans. If the British were to capture the town near Bourlon Ridge it would threaten the rear of the German line to the north. The battle was described as the first battle with the use of large numbers of tanks in combat. The battle began at dawn, approximately 06:00 on 20 November, with a predicted bombardment by 1,003 guns on German defences, followed by smoke and a creeping barrage at 270 metres ahead to cover the first advances.
The plan was for the tanks to go through the town on the chalky ground so they would not get stuck in the

The commander for the German forces was General Ludendorff. General Ludendorff ordered an immediate counter attack on the British forces. The failure of the counter attack nearly forced German forces to sound a general retreat in the area. German forces used shock troops ‘Sturmtruppen’ to counterattack the British. Sturmtruppen was a new tactic used by the German forces to quickly attack enemy positions. Germany forces use the 3 trench system. The men manning that section were not very well trained. Georg von der Marwitz was a Prussian cavalry general on the eastern and western fronts in the first World War. Marwitz was assigned to the Western Front in 1914 as commander of II Cavalry Corps, and participated in the Battle of Haelen. After this first battle Marwitz was transferred to the Eastern Front to take command of the newly formed XXXVIII Reserve Corps, which he led in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in the early winter of 1915. He was then transferred south and fought with Austria-Hungary against the Russians, and was awarded the Pour le Mérite on 7 March 1915. If you look back at the Revolutionary War at the battle of Bunker Hill and compare it to this battle the tactics used were much different than what they are now.
The German forces were able to push the British forces back to where they started and there were no advances for the British. By the end of the battle, gains and losses by the opposing forces