Battle of The Canal Du Nord - Background

Background

The British assault on the Drocourt-Quéant Line on 2 September 1918 resulted in the Germans being overrun along a 7,000-yard (6,400 m) front. A number of formations in the German forward line quickly yielded to the British advance, but as the British advanced they met more resolute opposition from regiments of the German 1st Guards Reserve Division, 2nd Guards Reserve Division and the 3rd Reserve Division. In an effort to gain direct observation of all bridges over the Sensée River and the Canal du Nord the British attack was supposed to continue the following day. However, the German preempted the British attack by withdrawing along a wide front.

The German High Command had ordered the German Seventeenth Army to retreat behind the Sensée River and the Canal du Nord on the night of 2 September and the German Second Army to withdraw to the Hindenburg Line the following night. Further to the south, the German Eighteenth and Ninth Armies were to follow in succession, resulting in the abandonment of the entire salient gained during the Spring Offensive by 9 September. In the north the German Fourth and Sixth Armies retreated between Lens and Ypres, abandoning without a fight the Lys salient and the gains made during the Battle of the Lys.

British air patrols on the morning of 3 September reported seeing no Germans between the Dury Ridge and the Canal du Nord. Likewise, the British Third Army was able to occupy the towns of Quéant and Pronville without any fighting and observed the Germans widely falling back. As the British troops advanced to meet the new German front line they reported the east bank of the Canal du Nord strongly held and all bridges crossing the canal destroyed. The only exception was at Palluel where the Germans maintained a bridgehead on the western side of the canal.

The construction of the Canal du Nord began in 1913 and was intended link the Oise River to the Dunkirk-Scheldt Canal. However, with the outbreak of the First World War construction was halted and the work was left in varying stages of completion. During their retreat, the Germans made the area along the canal north of Sains-lès-Marquion virtually impassable by taking advantage of the naturally swampy ground and deliberately damming and flooding the entire area. The only passable ground was to the south where a small 4,000-yard (3,700 m) section of the canal between Sains-lès-Marquion and Mœuvres remained largely dry on account of its incomplete state Even in a partially excavated state the dry section the canal was still a significant obstacle. The canal was approximately 40 yards (37 m) wide, with a western bank that was between 10 and 15 feet (3.0 and 4.6 m) high and an eastern bank that was approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) high As a result, British First Army commander General Henry Horne was forced to cease major offensive operations until an operation could be executed to secure a route across the canal.