The battle at Cambrai was an innovation in military strategy and foreshadowed the type of battle to be fought later in the war. This monumental battle marked both the beginning and end of two eras. It introduced large scale tank warfare, while witness to the decline of cavalry as an important military asset.

Building up to the battle of Cambrai, the British forces secretly transferred 376 tanks to the front. Many of the British soldiers had no idea the tanks were at the front until they rolled right up to the trenches. Cambrai was chosen as a good sight at which to use tanks as it had solid ground on which the tanks could travel. Tanks at this point in the war were incapable of fighting on battlefields of mud such as Passchendaele.

The goal of the battle was to break through the German's Hindenburg Line. This line consisted of three layers of trenches supplied by a light railway and defended by many soldiers with guns fortified in concrete pill boxes. The British forces had been trying for months to force through this seemingly impenetrable defence and many men died fighting trying to do so.

On November 21, 1917, the battle commenced with the tanks rolling into "No Man's Land" and pushing toward the enemy trenches. It was unique to this battle that there was none of the usual preliminary shelling by the artillery to prepare for the attack. This gave the enemy no warning of the coming attack and gave the attackers a great advantage with the element of surprise. The tanks were extremely successful as they steam-rolled through the German fortifications and broke through the Hindenburg Line quickly.

The huge success of the tanks at Cambrai was completely unexpected by the British. Although the break-through they had been looking for for months had occurred, they were unable to take advantage of the situation due to a lack of manpower in the area.

Even though the battle of Cambrai did not gain permanent ground, it proved that the tank could be used effectively and successfully. Tanks were soon to be used frequently as an offensive weapon in battle.