Cambrai Commune of Cambrai Location Location Longitude 03°14'08 `` E Latitude 50°10'36 `` N Administration Country France Région Nord-Pas de Calais Département Nord ( sous-préfecture ) Arrondissement Cambrai Canton Cambrai Intercommunality Communauté d'agglomération de Cambrai Mayor François-Xavier Villain ( 2001 - 2008 ) Statistics Altitude 41 m–101 m ( avg. 60m ) Land area¹ 18.12 km² Population ² ( 1999 ) ( Cambrésiens ) 33 , 716  - Density ( 1999 ) 1 , 861/km² Miscellaneous I NSEE /Postal code 59122/ 59400 ¹ French Land Register data , which excludes lakes , ponds , glaciers > 1 km² ( 0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres ) and river estuaries . ² Population sans doubles comptes : single count of residents of multiple communes ( e.g. students and military personnel ) . Cambrai ( Dutch : Kamerijk ) also written Cambray is a French town and commune , in the Nord département , of which it is a sous-préfecture . Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages . The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai , roughly coinciding with the historical Flanders , included large parts of the Low Countries . The bishopric had some limited secular power . History The Battle of Cambrai ( November 20 - December 3 , 1917 ) , a campaign of World War I took place there . It was noted for the first successful use of tanks . Music history Cambrai has a distinguished musical history , particularly in the 15th century . The cathedral there , a musical center until the 17th century , had one of the most active musical establishments in the Low Countries ; many composers of the Burgundian School either grew up and learned their craft there , or returned to teach . In 1428 Philippe de Luxembourg claimed that the cathedral was the finest in all of Christendom , for the fineness of its singing , its light , and the sweetness of its bells . Guillaume Dufay , the most famous European musician of the 15th century , studied at the cathedral from 1409 to 1412 , and returned in 1439 after spending many years in Italy : other composers such as Johannes Tinctoris and Ockeghem went to Cambrai to study with him . Cambrai in 1915 Cambrai cathedral had other famous composers in the later 15th century , including Nicolas Grenon , Alexander Agricola , and Jacob Obrecht . In the 16th century , Philippe de Monte , Johannes Lupi , and Jacobus Kerle all worked there . As the economic center of northern Europe moved away from Bruges , the area became poorer , with an associated period of cultural decline . The cathedral was destroyed in 1796 , but the archives were preserved ( presently they are in the Archives Départmentales du Nord at Lille ) . There was a pub L'homme armé in Cambrai , across the street from Dufay 's residence . Births Cambrai was the birthplace of : Charles François Dumouriez ( 1739-1823 ) , French general Francisco de Carondelet ( 1747-1807 ) , in Noyelles , Spanish governor of Louisiana , president of the Audiencia of Quito Louis Blériot ( 1872-1936 ) , aviator Henri de Lubac ( 1896-1991 ) , Jesuit and theologian Julien Torma ( 1902-1933 ) , writer , playwright and poet René Dumont ( 1904-2001 ) , engineer in agronomy , sociologist , and environmental politician Maurice Godelier ( born 1934 ) , social anthropologist , neo-Marxist , and French intellectual Twin towns Cambrai ( Drawing ) Cambrai is twinned with : Houma - Louisiana , United States Châteauguay - Québec , Canada Kamp-Lintfort - Germany Esztergom - Hungary Gravesend - Kent - UK See also Treaty of Cambrai ( 1529 ) Cambric Sources Wikimedia Commons has media related to : Cambrai David Fallows , Barbara H. Haggh : `` Cambrai '' , Grove Music Online ed . L. Macy ( Accessed December 18 , 2005 ) , ( subscription access ) ( source for the music history section ) External links Cambrai website Webpage about the fortifications Webpage on the 1677 siege Categories : Communes of Nord In other languages : Afrikaans | Deutsch | Español | Esperanto | Français | Italiano | Nederlands | 日本語 | Polski | Русский | Српски / Srpski | Svenska Cambrai Nord-Pas de Calais Nord ( sous-préfecture ) Cambrai Cambrai 59122 59400 Cambrésiens François-Xavier Villain 2001 - 2008 Communauté d'agglomération de Cambrai 03°14'08 '' E 50°10'36 '' N 60m 41 m 101 m 1 , 812 18.12 ( Cambrésiens ) 33 , 716 1999 1 , 861 1999 Cambrai Cambrai 