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Battle of Arras (1917)

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Battle of Arras
Part of Western Front (World War I)

The Town Square, Arras, France. February, 1919.
Date9 April to 16 May, 1917
Location
France
Result British Empire victory
Belligerents
British Empire
First Army
Third Army
Fifth Army
 German Empire
Second Army
Sixth Army
Commanders and leaders
Douglas Haig Ludwig von Falkenhausen
Casualties and losses
158,600 100,000

The Battle of Arras is the name given to a World War I offensive by British Empire armies in France, from 9 April to 16 May, 1917. British, Canadian and Australian soldiers attacked German positions around Arras. The primary objective of the offensive was to draw German troops away from the French sector on the River Aisne in order to facilitate an assault there; in this, it was successful, as the Germans were forced to increase their troop committments in the Arras sector. One of the most notable accomplishments of the offensive was the capture of Vimy Ridge by soldiers of the Canadian Corps.

Background

Although the French and British had intended an assault for the spring of 1917, two developments put the plan in jeopardy. Firstly, in February, Russia declined to commit to a joint offensive, meaning that the planned two-front offensive would be reduced to a French-only assault along the River Aisne. Secondly, the German Army began to retreat and consolidate poistions along the Hindenburg line, thus disrupting the tactical assumptions underlying the plans for the French offensive.[1] Given these factors, there was initially disagreement about whether or not the offensive should go forward. Political turmoil in France meant that the government desperately needed a major victory to avoid civil unrest, but the British were wary of proceding in view of the changing tactical situation.[2] However, in a meeting with David Lloyd George, General Nivelle was able to convince the British Prime Minister that, with a diversionary assault by the British, the French offensive could succeed. It was agreed that the French assault on the Aisne would go forward, and that the British would make a diversionary attack in the Arras sector.[3]

The British plan was well developed, and drew on the lessons of the Somme offensive of the previous summer. Rather than attacking on an extended front, the full weight of artillery would be concentrated on a relatively narrow front of 24 miles, and troops would advance in stages, with units leapfrogging each other in order to allow time to consolidate and regroup.[4]

The forces

The major British Empire formations involved were the First Army under Horne, Third Army under Allenby, Fifth Army under Gough, all under the supreme command of General Haig.

The primary German formations were the Sixth Army under von Falkenhausen and Second Army.

Initial assault

Beginning on 4 April, British artillery began a sustained bombardment of German positions in the region of Arras. Limited to a front of only 24 miles, the British used almost 2.7 million shells, over a million more than had been used on the Somme.[5] For the last ten hours of bombardment, gas shells were used.[6]

Zero hour had originally been planned for the morning of 8 April (Easter Sunday), but it was pushed back 24 hours at the request of the French, despite good weather in the assault sector. By the morning of 9 April, it was snowing heavily; troop movement was hindered by large drifts and visibility on the battlefield was incredibly poor. Nonetheless, the offensive began at 5:30 AM.

First battle of the Scarpe

The major British assault of the first day was directly east of Arras, with the 12th Division attacking Observation Ridge, north of the Arras-Cambrai road.[7]. After reaching this objective, they were to push on towards Feuchy, as well as the second and third lines of German trenches. At roughly the same time, elements of 3rd Division began an assault south of the road, with primary objectives of Devil's Wood, Tilloy lés Mofflains, and the Bois des Boeufs.[8] The ultimate objective of these assaults was the Monchyriegel, a trench running between Wancourt and Feuchy.[9] By the evening of April 11th, some of these objectives had been gained, although the Germans were still in control of large sections of trench in between Wancourt and Feuchy. The British were able to consolidate these gains and push forward towards Monchy le Preux, although they suffered heavy casualties in fighting near the village.[10]

Battle of Vimy Ridge

Further information: Battle of Vimy Ridge

At roughly the same time, in perhaps the most carefully crafted portion of the entire offensive, the Canadian Corps launched an assault on Vimy Ridge. Advancing behind a creeping barrage, and making heavy use of machine guns - eighty to each brigade, including one Lewis gun in each platoon - the corps was able to advance through about 4,000 yards of German defenses, and captured the crest of the ridge at about 1 PM.[11]

First battle of Bullecourt

South of Arras, the plan called for two divisions, the 62nd and 4th Australian to attack either side of the village of Bullecourt and push the Germans out of their fortified positions and into the reserve trenches.[12] the attack was initially scehduled for the morning of May 10, but the tanks intended for the aasault did not arrive due to the weather, and it was delayed by 24 hours. Unfortunately, the order to delay did not reach all units in time, and two batallions of the West Yorksire Regiment attacked, and were driven back with significant losses.[13] Despite protests from the Australian commanders, the attack was resumed on the morning of April 11th; mechanical failures meant that only 11 tanks were able to advance in support, and the limited artilery barrage left much of the barbed wire in front of the German trenches uncut. Misleading reports about the extent of the gains made by the Australians deprived them of neccessary artillery support and, although elements of the 4th Division briefly occupied sections of German trench, they were ultimately forced to retreat with heavy losses.[14]

The battle continues

Although the intial assault had made significant gains, it failed to bring about a major breakthrough at any point, and by the middle of April, the offensive had ground to a halt. A large number of German troops had been transferred to the Arras sector, and the defences had stiffened as a result of the reinforcements.[15] However, Haig and other commanders determined to continue the battle east of Arras, partly to consolidate the gains made in the first days of the offensive, and partly because the still held out hope of achieving a breakthrough.[16]

Second battle of the Scarpe

On 23 April, the British launched an assault east from Wancourt towards Vis en Artois. Elements of the 30th and 50th Divisions made initial gains, and were in fact able to secure the village of Guémappe, but could advance no farther east and suffered heavy losses.[17] Further north, German forces counterattacked and attempted to recapture Monchy le Preux, but troops from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment were able to hold the village until reinforcements from 29th Division arrived.[18] British commanders determined not to push forward in the face of stiff resistance, and the attack was called off the following day, 24 April.

Second battle of Bullecourt

After the initial assault failed to penetrate the German lines around Bullecourt, the area was subjected to heavy bombardment, in preparation for another assault by Australian troops.[19] Although this attack was initially planned for 20 April, it was pushed back a number of times, and finally set for the early morning of 3 May.[20] At 3:45 AM, elements of the 2nd Division attacked east of Bullecourt village, intending to pierce the Hindenburg Line and capture Hendecourt, while British troops from 62nd Division attempted to capture Bullecourt itself.[21] German resistance was fierce, and when the offensive was called off on 17 May, very few of the initial objectives had been met. The Australians were in possession of much of the German trench between Bullecourt and Riencourt, but had been unable to capture Hendecourt. To the west, British troops were ultimately able to push the Germans out of Bullecourt, but, in doing so, incurred considerable losses, and also failed to push north-east to Hendecourt.[22]

Battle of Arleux

Further information: Battle of Arleux

Although the Canadian Corps had been able to capture Vimy Ridge, the difficulty of making advances to the south left the position vulnerable. On 28 April, British and Canadian troops launched an attack towards Arleux in order to secure the south-eastern flank of the Canadian position.[23] Arleux was captured by Canadian troops with relative ease, but the British troops advancing on Gavrelle met stiffer resistance. The village was secured by early evening, when a German counterattack forced a brief retreat. Elements of 63rd Division were brought up as reinforcements and the village was held, although further attacks on 29 April failed to net any more advances.[24] Despite achieving the limited objective of securing the Canadian position on Vimy Ridge, casualties were high, and the ultimate result was disapointing.[25]

Third battle of the Scarpe

After securing the area around Arleux at the end of April, the British determined to launch another attack east from Monchy, to try and break through the Boiry Riegel and reach the Wotanstellung, a major German defensive fortification.[26] Ideally, the Australian troops attempting to push north from Bullecourt would be able to break through, and the two pronged assault would force the Germans to retreat further to the east, so on 3 May, the British launched another attack near the Scarpe. However, neither prong was able to make any significant advances, and the attack was called off the following day after incurring heavy casualties.[27] Although this attack was a failure, the British learned important lessons about the relationship between tanks, infantry, and artillery, which they would later apply in the Battle of Cambrai.[28]

Aftermath

The gains of the first two days were, by the standards of the Western front, nothing short of spectacular. A great deal of ground was gained for relatively few casualties, and a number of strategically significant points were captured, notably Vimy Ridge. Additionally, the offensive succeeded in drawing German troops away from the Aisne sector opposing the planned French offensive.[29] In many respects, the battle might be deemed a victory for the British and their allies, but one or two counterpoints should be noted. Firstly, after the initial gains and light casualties of the initial assault, the offensive ground to a halt and casualty rates soared. By the end of the offensive, the British had suffered more than 150,000 casualties and gained little ground since the first day.[30] Additionally, despite the number of German troops transferred to the Arras sector, the French offensive to the southeast was a complete failure. And finally, despite significant early gains, the British were unable to effect a breakthrough, and the situation reverted to stalemate. Although historians generally consider the battle a British victory, in the wider context of the front, it had very little impact on the strategic or tactical situation.[31]

File:Battle of Arras 1917.jpg
A newspaper article on the Battle of Arras

Notes

  1. ^ Strachan, Hew. The First World War. (New York:Viking, 2003) 243
  2. ^ Strachan, 243.
  3. ^ Strachan, 243-244.
  4. ^ Strachan, 244
  5. ^ Strachan, 244.
  6. ^ Oldham, Peter. The Hindenburg Line. (London:Leo Cooper, 1997) 50.
  7. ^ Oldham, 50-52
  8. ^ Oldham, 53.
  9. ^ Oldham, 53.
  10. ^ Oldham, 56.
  11. ^ Strachan, 245.
  12. ^ Oldham, 66.
  13. ^ Oldham, 66.
  14. ^ Liddell Hart, B.H. The Real War, 1914-1918. (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1930).
  15. ^ Strachan, 245.
  16. ^ Keegan, John.The First World War. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999) 325.
  17. ^ Oldham, 60-61.
  18. ^ Oldham, 62.
  19. ^ Oldham, 69.
  20. ^ Oldham, 69
  21. ^ Oldham, 60-70.
  22. ^ Oldham, 71.
  23. ^ Online history of the Worcester Regiment.
  24. ^ Online history of the Worcester Regiment.
  25. ^ Oldham, 39.
  26. ^ Oldham, 39.
  27. ^ Oldham, 39.
  28. ^ Oldham, 39-40.
  29. ^ Strachan, 245.
  30. ^ Keegan, 326.
  31. ^ See, for example, Keegan, 325-26, or Strachan, 244-246.

References

  • Keegan, John. The First World War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999
  • Liddel Hart, B.H. The Real War, 1914-1918 Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1930
  • Oldham, Peter. The Hindenburg Line. London: Leo Cooper, 1997
  • Stokesbury, James L. A short history of World War I. New York: Perennial, 1981
  • Strachan, Hew. The First World War. New York: Viking, 2003
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