After the first shock of the assault the British organized a counterattack and fell upon the advancing Germans with such fury that the advance was checked. Fighting still continued, however, throughout the day in this region with varying fortunes to the combatants.

The Germans had been concentrating their heaviest guns in this area to replace those that had been captured by General Byng, and were using gas shells on a lavish scale.

In the morning of November 30, 1917, the Germans started an important offensive movement with the fixed purpose of driving the British from the territory they had won in the previous week. Two great attacks were made early in the day, one extending from Mœuvres to Bourlon Wood, the other along a 1,200 yard front southwest of Cambrai, between Vendhuile and Crevecœur.

The Germans employed strong forces, and were efficiently supported by newly concentrated guns that had been brought forward for the purpose.

Over the ridge between Mœuvres and Bourlon Wood the Germans poured in dense masses, coming under fire of the British artillery as they swept down the slope toward the Bapaume-Cambrai road. The Germans advanced in such close formation that they fell by the score under the intense fire from British rifles and machine guns. But where one fell a dozen seemed to rise up and take his place, and the hordes moved resistlessly forward like a tidal wave. British infantrymen were thrown into the battle line for a counterattack and a murderous struggle developed, but the Germans were too strong, nothing could hold them back as they pushed relentlessly on, and the rush was only checked when they reached a point in the vicinity of the Bapaume-Cambrai highway northwest of Graincourt.

Regardless of their heavy losses the Germans continued to pour over the ridge all day long in waves of massed formation, offering a splendid target for the British guns. Their ranks were torn and shattered in that storm of fiery hail, but there was hardly a pause in the advance and their numbers never seemed to diminish. Late in the day the British in counterattacks gained ground at some points, but the honors rested with the Germans, who by costly sacrifice of men won important defenses and advanced their lines. Around Bourlon Wood the British held firmly and the Germans, wearied at last of the slaughter that had decimated their ranks, gave up attacking for the day.

In the south the Germans began the attack with a force of ten divisions; six of them were on the front line. It was planned to make two turning movements on either side of the line, which were to converge toward a common point. German infantry supported by cavalry at the northern end of the line delivered an assault across the canal from Crevecœur toward Masnières. They succeeded in forcing their way into the suburbs of the last-named place, but were driven out before they could establish positions.

Farther to the south the Germans won important victories, when they broke through the British front, south of Villers-Guislain, and by an adroit turning movement to the north, surrounded Gauche Wood, Gouzeaucourt, Gonnelieu and La Vacquerie. In this operation the Germans advanced their lines at one point about 4,000 yards. This was at Gouzeaucourt, which they entered about 10 o'clock in the morning, and where fighting of the most violent description continued until the middle of the afternoon. The British had received reenforcements, but they were still heavily outnumbered. The fighting was at close quarters, a merciless hand-to-hand struggle that continued for hours without pause. The British troops, fearing the loss of their dearly bought ground, fought with desperation and about 3 in the afternoon succeeded in pushing the Germans out of the village and reoccupied it.

East of Gouzeaucourt the Germans occupied a ridge with strong forces. During the day the British repeatedly attacked, and finally forced them to withdraw from the height to the lower ground, and occupying the position, and also Gauche Wood, pushed on to the western edge of Gonnelieu.

The German line in the morning of December 1, 1917, was just west of Villers-Guislain, marking an advance of about 3,000 yards at the greatest depth. Other less important advances were won in the north and at Gonnelieu, and while the British regretted the loss of valuable territory, there was nothing in the situation to cause them uneasiness. There had been crucial periods in the fighting of the previous day, when it seemed that the Germans would win an overwhelming victory, and all the territory gained during General Byng's advance would be recovered, but British determination and dogged perseverance and unconquerable spirit prevailed, and the most ambitious plans of the enemy were frustrated.