n attack with tanks would be mounted against the town of Cambrai in an effort to capture the Bourlon Ridge, which in turn would give excellent vantage across the German rear. The plan had grown out of an idea put forward by JFC Fuller of the Tank Corps, who was looking for somewhere to use the new Mark IV tanks that was not a shattered battlefield. This tank had been in service since mid-1917, and tanks themselves had only been used in battle since September 1916, so they were still a new weapon. The crews and infantry were still getting used to working together. Tanks easily bogged down on the shattered battlefields of Third Ypres. Cambrai, on the other hand, had been relatively unscathed and presented a potential for demonstrating the ‘good’ going of the ‘Mud, Blood and Good’ of the Tank Corps motto. Fuller's idea of a tank raid had grown into a 350 Mark IV tankassault on 20 November when the attack was launched. Working in close cooperation with infantry, they crushed barbed wire, filled in enemy trenches with fascines, and attacked strongpoints on the German line. The first day of the operation was a great success, and Cambrai became
