Caption: "Canadian advance troops advance toward the Canal du Nord, September 27, 1918. The Hindenburg Line was breached after a ferocious preliminary bombardment." The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of WWI. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of the Canal du Nord and on the outskirts of Cambrai between September 27 and October 1, 1918. To avoid the risk of having extensive German reserves massed against a single Allied attack, the assault along the Canal du Nord was undertaken as part of a number of closely sequenced Allied attacks at separate points along the Western Front. The battle penetrated a majority of the defenses of the Hindenburg Line, and allowed the next attack (the Battle of Cambrai) to fully penetrate and start the advance beyond the Hindenburg Line. Twelve Victoria Crosses, the highest military decoration for valour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, were awarded for actions during the battle.