CAMBRAI

A central bastion of the German defences on the Western Front, Cambrai came into the firing line towards the end of 1917 and again in 1918 following the strategic withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. The name is usually associated with the first mass use of tanks by British forces in November 1917 during the First Battle of Cambrai. At the time the 5-mile Allied advance was seen as a great success but gains were soon lost. 

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Less well known is the Second Battle of Cambrai (1918) when Allied forces spearheaded by the Canadian Corps captured the city as a prelude to the final Allied victory on the Western Front. A prominent position in both battles was Bourlon Hill, now a scene of tranquility topped by a Canadian Monument reminiscent of those elsewhere on the Front. Other significant landmarks include Flesquieres Ridge, a key objective captured by the 51st Highland Division in 1917 and the Riqueval Bridge, a key crossing over the Cambrai-St Quentin Canal in 1918 .