The 1917 Battle of Cambrai featured the first massed tank attack in military history and provoked the biggest German counter-attack against the British since 1914. The British aimed to break through the German Hindenburg Line, then threaten the rear of the German positions to the north. The battle is one of the most famous and controversial episodes of the First World War, and the battlefield is one of the most commonly visited on the Western Front. Jerry Murland’s clearly written, highly illustrated guide is the ideal introduction to it. Visitors can trace for themselves the course of the battle across the modern landscape and gain a fascinating insight into the nature of the fighting
and the wider conflict across the Western Front
throughout the war. Included are a series of routes that can be walked, cycled or driven. Among the key sites covered are Haverincourt, Flesquieres, M uveres, Graincourt, Cantaign, Marcoing and Masnieres, Bourlon, La Vacquerie and Villers-Plouich, Gouzeaucourt and Gonnelieu. In each place Jerry Murland describes the fighting that occurred there, recording what happened, exactly where it happened and why, and he points out the sights that remain for the visitor to see. His guidebook is essential reading for visitors who wish to enhance their understanding of the Battle of Cambrai and the war on the Western Front. AUTHOR: Jerry Murland followed a successful career as a teacher and since retirement he has devoted his time to researching and writing about the two world wars. His books include Retreat and Rearguard 1914, The Battle on the Aisne 1914, Aristocrats Go to War, Retreat and Rearguard: Somme 1918 and Retreat and Rearguard Dunkirk 1940. Working in close collaboration with the late Jon Cooksey, he has compiled a number of volumes in the Visitor’s Guides series which gives readers and battlefield tourists a dramatic insight into the most important battles of the First World War.
100 b/w illustrations
