THE BATTLE OF BOURLON WOOD, NOVEMBER 1917 THROUGH THE MUD, BLOOD, AND TREES

In late November 1917, the British Expeditionary Force launched the Battle of Cambrai in an effort to dislodge the German defences known as the Hindenburg Line. German forces had withdrew there at the beginning of 1917 to shorten their line, necessitated by the heavy casualties sustained in 1916.

By Alex Sotheran

An attack with tanks would be mounted against the town of Cambrai in an effort to capture the Bourlon Ridge, which in turn would give excellent vantage across the German rear. The plan had grown out of an idea put forward by JFC Fuller of the Tank Corps, who was looking for somewhere to use the new Mark IV tanks that was not a shattered battlefield. This tank had been in service since mid-1917, and tanks themselves had only been used in battle since September 1916, so they were still a new weapon. The crews and infantry were still getting used to working together. Tanks easily bogged down on the shattered battlefields of Third Ypres. Cambrai, on the other hand, had been relatively unscathed and presented a potential for demonstrating…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 129

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