Canadians Entering Cambrai, from the series Ruins of War

This image stands out from the rest in the Ruins of War series. In this print, the spatial relationship between people and buildings is reversed. Rather than highlighting urban destruction within the picture plane, Frank Brangwyn filled the image with troops rushing in among the ruins. The Battle of Cambrai (1918) in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of northern France was a major success for Allied forces. Canadian troops fought alongside the British and New Zealand armies against Germany between October 8 and 10, 1918. The retreating Germans attempted to set fire to the city, but the Canadian soldiers stopped the flames, saving Cambrai.