4. On the morning of Nov. 21 the attack on Flesquières was resumed, and
by 8 A. M. the village had been turned from the northwest and captured.
The obstacle which more than anything else had limited the results of
Nov. 20 was thereby removed, and later in the morning the advance once
more became general.
Masnières had been cleared of the enemy during the previous evening, and
at 11 A. M. our troops attacked the Beaurevoir-Masnières line and
established themselves in the portion to the east and north of
Masnières. Heavy fighting took place, and a counterattack from the
direction of Rumilly was beaten off. At the same hour we attacked and
captured Les Rues des Vignes, but later in the morning the enemy
counterattacked and compelled our troops to fall back from this
position. Progress was also made toward Crèvecoeur; but though the canal
was crossed during the afternoon, it was found impossible to force the
passage of the river in face of the enemy's machine-gun fire.
That evening orders were issued by the 3d Army to secure the ground
already gained in this area of the battle, and to capture Rumilly on the
morrow; but in consequence of the exhaustion of the troops engaged it
was found necessary later in the night to cancel the orders for this
attack.
West of the Canal de l'Escaut infantry of the 29th Division and
dismounted regiments of the 1st and 5th Cavalry Divisions, including the
Ambala Brigade, were heavily engaged throughout the day in Noyelles, and
beat off all attacks in continuous fighting.
Following upon the capture of Flesquières, the 51st and 62d Divisions,
in co-operation with a number of tanks and squadrons of the 1st Cavalry
Division, attacked at 10:30 A. M. in the direction of
Fontaine-notre-Dame and Bourlon.
In this attack the capture of Anneux was completed, and early in the
afternoon Cantaing was seized, with some hundreds of prisoners. Progress
was made on the outskirts of Bourlon Wood, and late in the afternoon
Fontaine-notre-Dame was taken by troops of the 51st Division and tanks.
The attack on Bourlon Wood itself was checked by machine-gun fire,
though tanks advanced some distance into the wood.
Further west, the 36th Division advanced north of the Bapaume-Cambrai
road, and reached the southern outskirts of Moeuvres, where strong
opposition was encountered.