Tanks First Used Effectively at Cambrai

Summary

By late 1917, World War I on the Western Front had settled into a stalemate of trench warfare, where artillery barrages and machine guns made infantry advances extremely costly. British commanders sought new tactics to break German defensive lines near the town of Cambrai in France, an important rail and supply hub. Major General Henry Tudor and others advocated combining predicted artillery fire, infantry, and the emerging Tank Corps for a surprise assault. On November 20, 1917, the British Third Army launched the attack at dawn with hundreds of tanks leading the way, supported by a creeping barrage and air cover. Initial gains were dramatic, with tanks crushing barbed wire and overrunning trenches, capturing thousands of prisoners at relatively low cost. Although German counterattacks later recaptured much of the ground, the battle demonstrated the potential of combined-arms mechanized warfare.