The plan of attack was a threefold one:
(i) To scour the country between Marcoing, Masnières, Crèvecœur, Le Bosquet, Banteux.
(ii) To form an offensive flank between Le Bosquet and Ribecourt.
(iii) To form an offensive flank against Banteux.
The attack was to be launched at dawn, the first line of tanks making straight for the enemy’s guns, which before, and as the tanks approached them, were to be bombed by our aeroplanes. The second and third lines of tanks were to follow, whilst our heavy guns commenced counter-battery work and the shelling of the villages and bridges along the canal. The essence of the entire operation was to be surprise coupled with rapidity of movement. The spirit of such an enterprise is audacity, which was to take the place of undisguised preparation.
It must be realised that both the St. Quentin and Cambrai projects were the home product of the Tank Corps, and they did not emanate from higher authority, which, when approached, was unable to sanction either. In spite of this, steps were taken to reconnoitre the Cambrai area, and for this purpose both the Brigadier-General commanding the Tank Corps and the 3rd Tank Brigade Commander visited Sir Julian Byng, the Third Army Commander, at his Headquarters in Albert. Though it is not known whether the Third Army Commander had already considered the possibilities of an offensive on the front of his Army, in September it would appear that he approached G.H.Q. on the subject, with the result that still no action outside the Ypres area could be considered, anyhow for the present.
CHAPTER XIX
THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI
On October 20, the project, which had been constantly in the mind of the General Staff of the Tank Corps for nearly three months and in anticipation of which preparations had already been undertaken, was approved of, and its date fixed for November 20.