Erich von Ludendorf20 November 1917
A surprise British tank attack.
Germany · Warfare / World War, 1st. Chronological records rendered directly from the World History Database.
A surprise British tank attack.
During the battle casualties were high, the Germans suffered losses of approximately 50,000 and the British 45,000.
Orders an immediate counter-attack only to discover that reserves could not be brought forward for a further two days, at one stage he even contemplates a general withdrawal from the Cambrai front.
Within hours the lightly defended Germans are forced back 6 km to Cambrai, the three trench systems of the Hindenburg Line pierced for the first time in the war.
20 divisions are deployed during the German counter-attack, the so-called Hutier infiltration tactics (named after the German commander who had first deployed them, Oskar von Hutier), within a week virtually all lost ground had been reclaimed
During the battle casualties were high, the Germans suffered losses of approximately 50,000 and the British 45,000.
In pressing home wave after wave of German counterattacks, starting 20 November, he worked to recover all ground lost to the British. Facing the British attack is the German Second Army led by Georg von der Marwitz.
Within hours the lightly defended Germans are forced back 6 km to Cambrai, the three trench systems of the Hindenburg Line pierced for the first time in the war.
A German counter-offensive wipes out British gains
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