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
"'A penetration of over six miles has been made towards Le Cateau, and in the area gained, twenty-six villages have been occupied.Tanks again cooperated. . . .The whole of Cambrai was occupied this morning. . . .Air reports state that there is great confusion on road N.E. and S.E. of Le Cateau, and that our low-flying scouts have been shooting at record targets. . . .The number of prisoners taken in yesterday's attack by the British Armies amounted to 6300, and by the French in the St. Quentin area 1200. No detail yet received of captures today.'"
Excerpt from the Tank Corps Intelligence Summary for October 9, 1918 quoted in The Tank Corps by Clough Williams-Ellis and A. Williams-Ellis. The authors continue: 'The Battle of Cambrai-St. Quentin was at an end, and the Hindenburg Line had now to all intents and purposes ceased to exist, broken as it was on a front of nearly thirty miles.Before the whole British forces in France, from north of Menin to Bohain, seven miles north-west of Guise, open country stretched, uncut by trench, unhung by wire. The time for exploitation had arrived.'
The Tank Corps by Clough Williams-Ellis & A. Williams-Ellis, pp. 260–261, publisher: The Offices of "Country Life," Ltd. and George Newnes, Ltd., publication date: 1919
1918-10-09, 1918, October, Battle of Cambrai-St. Quentin, Cambrai, St. Quentin, Mark IV Tank, Tank Corps 1918
