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| Battle of Arras Zero Hour 9th April 1917 |
At 05:30
9th April 1917 the British Empire forces launched their offensive in the Arras
Sector. The Canadians attacked Vimy Ridge north of Arras, the British Third
Army attacked from Arras along the River Scapre.
The Canadians had begun their artillery preparation 20th March,
the British bombardment starting 4th
April. By the time the troops went over the top 2,689,000 shells had been fired along the 39km (24 miles) front.
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| Battle of Arras Panorama |
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| Battle of Arras British Artillery |
The
weather on the 9th, Easter Monday, was wintry, snow was falling and sleet was
blowing towards the German lines. The combination of the preliminary
bombardment, the wintry weather and the hurricane bombardment would all
contribute to the British and Canadian efforts.
The Canadian Corps of the 1st Army attacked Vimy Ridge.
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| Battle of Arras Attack of Canadian Corps 9th April 1917 |
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| Battle of Arras Attack of XVII Corps 9th April 1917 |
North of
the River of the River Scrape and right of Vimy Ridge XVII Corps attacked towards their ultimate
objective, the village of Fampoux. On the left were the 51st (Highland), center 34th Division, which included the Tyneside
Scottish and Tyneside Irish Brigades, right the 9th Scottish Division.
Providing Artillery support to the 34th Division were the 160th (Wearside) Brigade RFA.
Supported by a creeping barrage the Division quickly overcame the German first line defenses
(Black Line) and pushed onwards through the Blue Line objective. By the evening
of 9th April the Division were firm on the Brown Line objective, and had gained part of
the Green Line. The 4th Division leapfrogging the assaulting divisions captured
Fampoux. The advance of
5.6 km (3 1/2 miles) was the furthest achieved by any side since the
advent of trench warfare. The Division
would make further gains over the next 3 days, however they were not able to
achieve a breakthrough as the German deployed their Reserves forward.
Providing Artillery support to the 34th Division were the 160th (Wearside) Brigade RFA.
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| Battle of Arras 34th Division Artillery dispositions |
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| Battle of Arras Fanpoux Ruins Source IWM Q6423 |
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| Battle of Arras Attack of VI Corps 9th April - 12th April |
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| Battle of Arras VI Corps area trench map |
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| Battle of Arras Soldiers emerging form Cave System |
At 05:30
the attack was launched, the hurricane bombardment and the creeping barrage
assisting in the capture of the Black Line. The assault on the Blue Line was to
be supported by tanks, however the ground conditions and mechanical failures
meant their full contribution could not be realised. They did however provide
vital assistance where they were in action.
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| Battle of Arras Tanks go into action |
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| Battle of Arras 'Lusitania' passing through Arras |
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| Battle of Arras Railway Triangle |
The Blue Line
objective for VI Corps was the capturing of Observation Ridge, beyond which lay
Battery Valley which contained the bulk of the enemy's field artillery.
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| Battle of Arras Observation Ridge / Battery Valley |
Covered
by a machine gun barrage of 24 guns the ridge was eventually captured, though
German resistance meant the advance was over 3 hours behind schedule. Once
secured, the German guns in Battery Valley were now at the mercy of the
British. Some guns withdrew as horse
teams were brought up, others lay abandoned, whilst several continued to fire
point blank at the infantry on Observation Ridge. Covered by Lewis guns of 35th
Machine Gun Company, the 9th Essex and 5th Royal Berkshires rushed the guns
capturing 31 guns and a number of prisoners.
An artillery liaison
officer with the 12th Division was able to organise the men of the Berkshires
to get a couple of guns into action and shelled Germans on the higher ground of
the Brown Line.
The 12th Highland
Light Infantry, 10th Scottish Rifles, 7th and 8th KOSB from the 15th (Scottish)
Division would also attack into Battery Valley, and they captured 36 German
guns.
British Gunners would use captured German guns to fire on their former owners.
The village of Feuchy had been
subject to bombardment by 6 inch Howitzers which aided the village to be
cleared by the 10th Scottish Rifles and 7th KOSB, allowing the passage of the
Northamptonshire Yeomanry who progressed to Fampoux.
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| Battle of Arras Attack on Observation Ridge |
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| Battle of Arras Battery Valley captured 9th April 1917 Source : Jeremy Banning |
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| Battle of Arras Royal Marine Artillery gunners firing at the Germans with two captured German 105 mm FH 98/09 field howitzers Source IWM Q5188 |
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| Battle of Arras Royal Artillery gunners firing a captured 7.7 cm German gun on the Arras-Cambrai road, April 1917. Source: IWM 2037 |
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| Battle of Arras Ruins of Feuchy April 1917 |
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| Battle of Arras British Artillery moved forward to Feuchy Source: IWM Q 5183 |
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| Battle of Arras Feuchy British Cemetery |
By the night of the
9th April the left flank of VI Corps had achieved their objectives on the Brown
Line on the Wancourt-Feuchy Line, the right flank were still short of the
objective. The attack would be resumed the following day and by the evening of
the 10th the Wancourt-Feuchy Line was in British hands and the Corps
progressed another 1,000 yards. However, the village of Monchy and the Green Line objective were still to be
achieved.
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| Battle of Arras Attack of VII Corps 9th April 1917 |
By the evening 9th April the Corps were still challenging the defences of the Hindenberg Line. The Corps would overcome the defences and move to the Wancourt - Feuchy line by the 10th April. The Green line less the village of Guemappe would be secured by the 12th April.
