page_title: Battle of St Quentin Canal
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of St Quentin Canal / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: English: The Hundred Days Offensive, August-november 1918 Battle of the St Quentin Canal (Saint-Quentin). Men of the American 30th Infantry Division at rest with German prisoners following the capture of Bellicourt, 29th September 1918. In the background are British Mark V Tanks with 'cribs' of the 8th Battalion, Tank Corps, which were one of four battalions of the V Tank Brigade allotted to the 5th Australian Division and American Corps for the operation.
context_page_description: The Battle of St. Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces operating as part of the British Fourth Army under the overall command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson. Further north, part of the British Third Army also supported the attack. South of the Fourth Army's 19 km front, the French First Army launched a coordinated attack on a 9.5 km front. The objective was to break through one of the most heavily defended stretches of the German Siegfriedstellung, which in this sector utilised the St Quentin Canal as part of its defences. The assault achieved its objectives, resulting in the first full breach of the Hindenburg Line, in the face of heavy German resistance. In concert with other attacks of the Grand Offensive along the length of the line, Allied success convinced the German high command that there was little hope of an ultimate German victory.
context_section_description: After the German Spring Offensive, British Empire, French, and American counterattacks during the Hundred Days Offensive brought the Allies back up against the outposts of the Hindenburg Line by the autumn of 1918, close to the village of Bellicourt, where the Battle of Épehy was fought on 18 September 1918.
caption: Men of the American 30th Division at rest with German prisoners following the capture of Bellicourt, 29 September 1918. In the background are British Mark V tanks (with 'cribs' for crossing trenches) of the 8th Battalion, Tank Corps, which was one of four battalions of the 5th Tank Brigade allotted to the 5th Australian Division and American Corps for the operation.
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