Painting depicting a German trench being overrun by a British tank, 1917. Artist: William Francis Phillips. .
Painting depicting a German trench being overrun by a British tank, 1917. Artist: William Francis Phillips. The following is excerpts of an anonymous Danish-German soldier's account of the first day of the First Battle of Cambrai, November 20, 1917 - today 106 years ago. Translated by myself: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "At 7 AM on November 20, the British opened an artillery bombardment on our positions with the effect as if the world was going under. The dug-outs shook, and it was impossible to escape them during the bombardment. . Under protection of the destructive artillery fire, the British tanks advanced. A massive assembly of around 300 tanks crawled slowly towards the German lines, spewing death and decay around them. These tanks were unstoppable and advanced over corpses, shell holes, and trenches, deeply infiltrating the German lines and cutting off multiple regiments in the space of two hours. . The Germans put up a desperate resistance, which resulted in bitter and blood...