CHAPTER XXXIII
THE BATTLE OF BAPAUME AND THE SECOND BATTLE OF ARRAS
The operations which took place between the conclusion of the great battle of Amiens and the signing of the armistice may conveniently be divided into three periods:
(i) The battle of Bapaume and the Second Battle of Arras—August 21 to September 3.
(ii) The battles of Epehy and Cambrai St. Quentin—September 18 to October 10.
(iii) The battles of the Selle and Maubeuge—October 17 to November 11.
The first comprises the fighting in the devastated area, the second the breaking through of the Hindenburg system of trenches, and the third open warfare east of this system. Each of these periods will be dealt with in a separate chapter, in which most of the detail of battle preparation will be omitted so as to avoid a repetition of descriptions of work which had by now been reduced to a routine in the Tank Corps.
Towards the end of the battle of Amiens it became apparent that the enemy was commencing to withdraw his troops in the Pusieux-Serre area opposite the Third Army front, and that, in all probability, this retirement was only part of a general withdrawal on the entire front south of the Scarpe. It was, therefore, decided on August 13 that the Third Army should prepare an attack on the German front north of the Somme, whilst the Fourth Army continued to press the enemy south of this river. Consequent on this decision the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 10th, 14th, and 15th Tank Battalions were withdrawn from the Fourth Army area, and concentrated in that of the Third. On August 15 to these battalions were added the 7th, 11th, and 12th of the 1st Tank Brigade. These moves necessitated a complete reshuffling of Tank Brigades, which on August 19 were constituted as follows:
| (i) In the Third Army Area: | ||
| 1st Tank Brigade | 3rd Battalion | Medium A. |
| 7th „ | Mark IV. | |
| 10th „ | Mark V. | |
| 17th „ | Armoured cars. | |
| 2nd Tank Brigade | 6th „ | Medium A. |
| 12th „ | Mark IV. | |
| 15th „ | Mark V Star. | |
| 3rd Tank Brigade | 9th „ | Mark V. |
| 11th „ | Mark V Star. | |
| 14th „ | Mark V. | |
| (ii) In the Fourth Army Area: | ||
| 4th Tank Brigade | 1st Battalion | Mark V Star. |
| 4th „ | Mark V. | |
| 5th „ | Mark V. | |
| 5th Tank Brigade | 2nd „ | Mark V. |
| 8th „ | Mark V. | |
| 13th „ | Mark V. |
On the Third Army front the attack was to be launched on August 21 and, if successful, this attack was to be pushed forward and the front extended by an attack delivered by the Fourth Army south of the Somme. The general plan was as follows: