The
Allied attack began at 6:00 a.m., after an hour's delay while the French artillery got ready. The 2e DLC and the attached British armoured brigade on the right flank, attacked from Hocquincourt, Frucourt and St Maxent, east of the Blangy–Abbeville road and the 5e DLC from the Bresle to north of Gamaches. Both of the DLCs had been depleted by earlier engagements and were unable to deploy any armour. There had been little time to reconnoitre and information about German dispositions was sparse. To succeed, armoured attacks would need to be combined with artillery and infantry but there were far too few troops and guns; co-operation between the British and French was far from adequate. On the right flank, the tanks failed to advance far and many were knocked out at close-range by 37 mm Pak 36 anti-tank fire from Caumont and Huppy as they moved over ridges in between.
