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Cambrai (St. Quientin Canal)

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Title
Cambrai (St. Quientin Canal)
Description
Capturing the bridges at Mesnieres and Marcoing was critical to the British plan. The British captured the bridge at Marcoing intact, but at Mesnieres, the advancing British troops were less fortunate, as the bridge had already been blown. An attempt …
Publisher
Date
1917-11-21
Scenario#
130
Scenario Description
Capturing the bridges at Mesnieres and Marcoing was critical to the British plan. The British captured the bridge at Marcoing intact, but at Mesnieres, the advancing British troops were less fortunate, as the bridge had already been blown. An attempt by a tank to still cross it led to both bridge and tank crashing down into the canal. The British infantry at Mesnieres, however, found a safe crossing via a footbridge and continued their advance.
Location
Canal de Saint-Quentin, France
Battle Narrative
The Battle of Cambrai was a British attack followed by the biggest German counter-attack against the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) since 1914, in the First World War. The town of Cambrai, in the département of Nord, was an important supply point for the German Siegfriedstellung and capture of the town and the nearby Bourlon Ridge would threaten the rear of the German line to the north. Major General Henry Tudor, Commander, Royal Artillery (CRA) of the 9th (Scottish) Division, advocated the use of new artillery-infantry techniques on his sector of the front. During preparations, J. F. C. Fuller, a staff officer with the Tank Corps, looked for places to use tanks for raids. General Julian Byng, commander of the British Third Army, decided to combine both plans. The French and British armies had used tanks in mass earlier in 1917, although to considerably less effect.
Narrative Source
Combatants
German
British

Geolocation