Second Battle of Artois
The Second Battle of Artois (French: Deuxième bataille de l'Artois, German: Lorettoschlacht) from 9 May to 18 June 1915, took place on the Western Front during the First World War.[a] A German-held salient from Reims to Amiens had been formed in 1914 which menaced communications between Paris and the unoccupied parts of northern France. A reciprocal French advance eastwards in Artois could cut the rail lines supplying the German armies between Arras and Reims. French operations in Artois, Champagne and Alsace from November–December 1914, led General Joseph Joffre, Generalissimo (Commander in Chief) and head of Grand Quartier Général (GQG), to continue the offensive in Champagne against the German southern rail supply route and to plan an offensive in Artois against the lines from Germany supplying the German armies in the north.
See also: Battle of Aubers, Battle of Festubert, and Second Battle of Ypres
Field Marshal Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), co-operated with the French strategy to capture Vimy Ridge by planning British attacks against Aubers Ridge. The attacks would confront the German 6th Army with a joint offensive, on a 70 mi (110 km) front, eastwards into the Douai plain, where an advance of 10–15 mi (16–24 km) would cut the railways supplying the German armies as far south as Reims. The French attacked Vimy Ridge and the British attacked further north in the Battle of Aubers Ridge (9 May) and the Battle of Festubert (15–25 May).
The battle was fought during the German offensive of the Second Battle of Ypres (21 April – 25 May), which the Germans ended to reinforce the Artois front. The initial French attack broke through and captured Vimy Ridge, to the surprise of both sides. German counter-attacks forced them back about half-way to their jumping-off points before French reserves could reach the battlefield. The British attack at Aubers Ridge was a costly failure and two German divisions in reserve were diverted south against the Tenth Army. The British offensive was suspended until 15 May, when the Battle of Festubert began and French attacks from 15 May to 15 June were concentrated on the flanks to create jumping-off points for a second general offensive, which began on 16 June.
The British attacks at Festubert forced the Germans back 1.9 mi (3 km) and diverted reserves from the French but the Tenth Army gained little more ground, despite firing double the amount of artillery ammunition and many more casualties on both sides. On 18 June, the main offensive was stopped and local French attacks were ended on 25 June. The French had regained 6.2 sq mi (16 km2) of territory but their failure to capture Vimy Ridge, despite the expenditure of 2,155,862 shells and the suffering of 102,500 casualties, led to recriminations against Joffre. The defence of the ridge cost the German 6th Army 73,072 casualties. A lull in the area followed until the Third Battle of Artois in September.
Background[edit]
Strategic developments[edit]
After the Marne campaign in 1914, French offensives in Artois, Champagne and at St Mihiel had been costly failures, leading to criticism of the leadership of General Joseph Joffre, within the army and the French government. The French President, Raymond Poincaré, arranged several meetings between Joffre and the Council of Ministers (Conseil des ministres) in March and April 1915, where reports of the failed operations were debated, particularly a condemnation of the April offensive against the St Mihiel salient. Joffre retained undivided command and freedom to conduct operations as he saw fit, which had been given at the beginning of the war but was instructed to consult with his subordinates; provisional army groups, which had been established in late 1914, were made permanent soon afterwards. The French government accepted that the task facing Joffre and the army was far more difficult than expected, after the winter fighting in Artois and Champagne. Despite costly mistakes, many lessons had been learned, methods had been changed and more weapons and equipment necessary for siege warfare had been delivered. The offensives had failed in their objectives but had become more powerful and better organised, except for the bungled effort at St Mihiel. The greater amount of heavy artillery gave grounds for confidence that further attacks could break the German front and liberate France.[2]
In late 1914, General Erich Von Falkenhayn, Chief of the General Staff Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL) of the German army since 14 September, had reinforced the 4th Army and attacked westwards, parallel to the North Sea coast, culminating in the Battle of the Yser (16–31 October 1914) and the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November), when open warfare in the west ended. Eight new divisions were formed in February 1915 and another fourteen in April, which were formed into a new 11th Army, intended for an offensive in France. Despite the French battle in Champagne in February, Falkenhayn was forced to cancel his plans to attack in the west and send the 11th Army to the Eastern Front, to support the Austro-Hungarian army, which has suffered more than 2,000,000 casualties by March 1915.[3][b] Nine divisions were transferred to Russia in May, which reduced the Westheer (Western Army) to 97 divisions against 110–112 larger French, British and Belgian divisions. The Westheer had c. 4,000 modern and 350 obsolete field guns, 825 modern and 510 obsolete heavy guns and ten super-heavy howitzers. A reserve of 276 heavy guns and mortars was also being prepared. OHL had 7+1⁄2 divisions in reserve, with the 58th Division and the 115th Division behind the 6th Army. Indications of an attack in Artois had been detected but not signs of a general offensive on the Western Front.[5]
The Westheer was forced to remain on the defensive, except for limited attacks in Flanders, in the Second Battle of Ypres (21 April – 25 May) and in the Argonne, west of Verdun, until August to cut the main rail line from Paris to Verdun.[6] In memoranda issued on 7 and 25 January 1915, Falkenhayn ordered that the positions of the German armies in France were to be fortified to resist attacks with only small forces, to enable reserves to be sent to Russia. Should part of the front line be lost, it was to be retaken by counter-attack. Behind the line, new defences were to be built and connected by communication trenches, to delay a further attack until reserves could be assembled for a counter-attack. Opposing reinforcements were to be obstructed by a shell-barrage (Geschoss-schleier). On 4 May, Falkenhayn reiterated the need to improve reserve positions and also to build a rear position about 1.2–1.9 mi (2–3 km) behind the front line. During 1915, the German armies on the Western Front increased the front line from one to three trenches, built a second trench system 1,500–3,000 yd (0.85–1.70 mi; 1.4–2.7 km) behind the front line and developed the defensive use of machine-guns and artillery, to restrict an attack to a bend (Ausbeulung) in the line. The Franco-British offensives in 1915 found the German defences in a state of continuous development, the building programme taking time to complete, due to a shortage of labour.[7]