GREAT BATTLE FOR CAMBRAI.

FIERCE RESISTANCE.

BRITISH CLOSING IN.

From PHILIP GIBBS. WAR CORRESPONDENTS’ HEADQUARTERS, FRANCE. Tuesday.

Violent rain again fell last night, making our battlefield very soft and muddy for troops and transport, especially, I hear, in Flanders, where our Second Army is still making good progress in spite of this trouble, which handicapped us so frightfully last year. On the Cambrai battle front the ground is not so bad, but, as I can witness from personal experience to-day, the roads and tracks are deep in mud, so that all our seething traffic of men and guns and material of war is a slow-moving tide. After a stormy night, however, the sky cleared, and to-day there is a cloudless blue sky, with far visibility under the splendid sunshine of this First of October, when autumn begins, and the trees of Havrincourt Wood and grim old Bourlon Wood are hung with russet foliage, all tattered by shellfire.

It is on this front by Cambrai that one of the decisive battles of the war – I think it may be the decisive battle – is being fought. The enemy is putting in all the strength he has to defend this line round Cambrai, fearing that if the English and Canadian spearhead drives deeper above and below that city he may be forced to a full retreat in the open plains, and that all his defensive position may be turned. From a German map captured by the Canadians we know that he takes this view, and.it is proved also by the number or divisions he has now put into this part of the battle line, and by the orders given them to defend their ground to the death. The Canadian Corps were today fighting eight German divisions. And in addition the enemy here have machine-gun detachments from the 7th German Cavalry and the 207th Divisions. After reinforcing their defence by the 12th Division, they have now brought up the 12th Reserve Division, and all of them are fighting hard with most desperate courage.