Arras - Battle of Arras 9th April 1917



 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.

Battle of Arras
Panorama

 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.

Battle of Arras
British Artillery

Whilst German casualties were not heavy, the disruption caused  to the defenders had left then exhausted and lowered their morale.  Prior to going over the top a 5 minute  hurricane bombardment preceded the attack.
 

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.

 

Battle of Arras
Attack of Canadian Corps 9th April 1917

  Arras - Battle of Vimy Ridge

 

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.

Battle of Arras
34th Division Artillery dispositions

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.

 

Battle of Arras
Fanpoux Ruins
Source IWM Q6423

South of the River Scarpe, VI Corps main objective was the capture of the Wancourt - Feuchy Line (Brown Line) by three divisions. The 15th (Scottish) left, 12th (Northern)  centre and 3rd right. Once the Brown line was secure the 37th Division would leapfrog through and capture the Green Line objective which included the village of Monchy.

Battle of Arras
Attack of VI Corps 9th April - 12th April

Battle of Arras
VI Corps area trench map

The Corps Divisions had the advantage of being sheltered in the caves below Arras and they suffered very few casualties in the preparatory phase of the battle.

Battle of Arras
Soldiers emerging form Cave System

Arras - Wellington Caves

 

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.

Battle of Arras
Tanks go into action

One tank that provided a vital contribution was the Lusitania. It had initially suffered  a mechanical problem which meant it did not join the battle until the battle 4 hours after Zero Hour.

Battle of Arras
'Lusitania' passing through Arras

The tank's initial actions were around Feuchy, its six pounder guns being used to good effect to destroy a machine gun post and assist in the capturing of a German trench. To the west of Feuchy lay the Railway Triangle, it's defences held up the advance of the 44th and 4th Brigades.

Battle of Arras
Railway Triangle

Moving south of the railway  the Lusitania  engaged machine gun posts assisting 9th Black Watch securing the Railway Triangle. Lusitania continued to provide support throughout the day, it's crew abandoning the tank when it ran low on fuel. Their efforts were recognised with the awarding of the Military Cross to Lt Weber and the Military Medal to Sergeant Latham.  Lusitania was destroyed on 10th April by a British artillery bombardment.

 Lusitania - Story of one Tank

 

  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.

 

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. 

Battle of Arras
Attack on Observation Ridge

Battle of Arras
Battery Valley captured 9th April 1917
Source : Jeremy Banning

British Gunners would use captured German guns to fire on their former owners.



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

Battle of Arras
Royal Artillery gunners firing a captured 7.7 cm German gun
 on the Arras-Cambrai road, April 1917.
Source: IWM 2037

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.
 

Battle of  Arras
Ruins of Feuchy April 1917

 

Battle of Arras
British Artillery moved forward to Feuchy
Source: IWM Q 5183

 

Battle of Arras
Feuchy British Cemetery

CWGC - 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.

Battle of Arras
Attack of VII Corps 9th April 1917

On the right flank of the Third Army were VII Corps. Their attack was shaped by the Germans retreat to the Hindenburg Line. The strength of the new defences lead to the divisions assaulting in echelon left to right. Main effort was directed towards Neuville Vitasse and Telegraph Hill.

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.