Detail showing the plaque for 1918 from the monument to the Tank Corps, Pozières, France. The base bears plaques commemorating the Tank Corps and the years 1916, when tanks were first used in battle, 1917, when they were proven to be a weapon that could change the war, and 1918, when tanks were decisive in the Allied victory. The plaques for each year list the engagements in which the Corps fought. © 2013 by John M. Shea
19182nd SommeRiver LysHamel — Marne — MoreuilAmiens — BapaumeArras — EpehyCambrai — St. QuentinSelle — Mormal Forest
"At ten minutes past six, 'Hilda' and all the front tanks along the line began to move forwards. Engines which had been purring at idling speed broke into a loud roar. Slowly, the tanks approached the British front line trenches. And then, just as they began to head into No Man's Land at zero hour, 6.20 a.m., there was a devastating blast as the 1,000-gun artillery barrage opened up from behind. At the same time, from out of the sky swept squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps, flying low and spraying the German trenches with machine-gun fire. The battle of Cambrai had begun."
After suspending the Third Battle of Ypres on November, 6, 1917, the British launched the largest tank offensive yet seen on November 20 with three tank brigades, 380 tanks in all, most of them Mark IVs, near Cambrai, France. The plan called for the tanks to advance to the enemy trenches before running parallel to them, gunning down the defenders, then releasing fascines, great wire-bound bundles of logs, into the trench allowing the tanks to cross. Where they executed this plan, and were well coordinated with the infantry, they succeeded. The tanks were named. Brigadier General Hugh Elles, commander of the Tank Corps, rode 'Hilda' into the battle.
The Battle of Cambrai by Brian Cooper, page 97, copyright © Bryan Cooper 1967, publisher: Stein and Day, publication date: 1968
1917-11-20, November, 1917, Battle of Cambrai, Cambrai, tank, Mark IV, Mark IV tank crushing wire, tank crushing wire
