The troops of General Haldane on the right center carried out a successful operation, breaking through the German defenses east of Havrincourt, capturing Flesquières and a long spur running eastward from that village toward Marcoing. In the direction of Fontaine Notre Dame the British in this region had pushed forward to within three miles of Cambrai. In the course of these operations over 6,000 prisoners were captured. The Germans had engaged on this battle front nine divisions, or about 122,000 men.
The British were now in a good position to capture Cambrai. Even at this stage of the struggle the Germans could not use the town, for the roads, railway, and junction were all under the fire of the British guns.
French troops on the battle line east of Rheims continued their advance on September 27, 1918. In the two days' fighting on this front they took over 10,000 prisoners, enormous quantities of war material, and had moved their line ahead at some points a distance of five miles.
On the first day of the battle Gouraud's men recaptured all the positions abandoned July 15, 1918, and then stormed the Hindenburg line on a length of nineteen miles. They were now on the front of the second Hindenburg line along the Py River, marking the successful termination of the first phase of the attack which the French continued to press with irresistible valor despite the frantic efforts of the enemy to check their advance.
CHAPTER IV
THE BRITISH CLOSE IN ON CAMBRAI—FRENCH OCCUPY ST. QUENTIN—THE GERMANS FIRE CAMBRAI AND RETIRE—THE ALLIES' GREAT VICTORY IN FLANDERS
The Allies continued to strike on every front on September 27-28, 1918. Between the sea and St. Quentin, Champagne, and Verdun the whole German military machine was tottering and nearing the breaking point.
Belgian and British troops attacking on a front of about ten miles between Dixmude to a point north of Ypres made an advance of three and a half miles, the Belgians alone capturing over 4,000 prisoners. The occupied territory included the first and the second line of the German defenses.
Field Marshal Haig's troops operating in the Cambrai region continued their advance on the town whose fall was imminent. With the capture of Sailly the British were now within two miles of Cambrai, and still forging forward. To the northwest a number of villages including Epinoy and Oisy-le-Verger were occupied and to the north of the Sensee Canal the village of Arleux.
During the night of September 27, 1918, the Germans made a desperate counterattack southwest of Marcoing, and near Beaucamp, but they were thrown back with heavy losses and the British pressed on two miles beyond Beaucamp Ridge, where they occupied high ground known as the Highland and Welsh Ridges.