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Battle of Cambrai

The 1917 battle associated with massed tank operations. This page combines historical context with 12 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database World War I battle archive.

12 matching archive records1916–1917 record spanOpen full 572-record archive

Historical context

Battle of Cambrai: overview and significance

What happened?

British forces attacked near Cambrai on 20 November 1917 using tanks on an unprecedented scale alongside artillery and infantry. The initial advance penetrated parts of the Hindenburg Line before German counter-attacks recovered much of the ground.

Why was it important?

Cambrai demonstrated both the potential and limitations of early armored warfare. Its tactical lessons contributed to the increasingly integrated use of tanks, infantry, artillery and aircraft in 1918.

World History Database records

Battle of Cambrai timeline

The records below are selected from the 572-record World War I battles archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.

1916
1916 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

Brigadier General Hugh Elles · Great Britain · Cambrai · World War, 1st

Leads 380 tanks in the 1st large scale mobilization of the tank

1917
1917 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Erich von Ludendorf · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

A surprise British tank attack.

1917 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Erich von Ludendorf · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

During the battle casualties were high, the Germans suffered losses of approximately 50,000 and the British 45,000.

1917 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Erich von Ludendorf · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

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.

1917 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Erich von Ludendorf · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

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.

1917 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Georg von der Marwitz · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

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

1917 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Georg von der Marwitz · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

During the battle casualties were high, the Germans suffered losses of approximately 50,000 and the British 45,000.

1917 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Georg von der Marwitz · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

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.

1917 20th November

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Georg von der Marwitz · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

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.

1917 3rd December

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

General Erich von Ludendorf · Germany · Cambrai · World War, 1st

A German counter-offensive wipes out British gains

1917

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

Trafford Leigh-Mallory · Great Britain · Cambrai · World War, 1st

After the Battle of Cambrai, No. 8 Squadron was involved in Army cooperation, directing tanks and artillery

1917

Battle of Cambrai, 1st

George Smith Patton · United States of America · Cambrai · World War, 1st

Participates in the worlds 1st major tank battle

Editorial provenance

Sources and editorial review

Compiled and edited by World History Database.

Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database First World War records.

Last reviewed: September 2026.

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