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The Third Battle of Artois (25 September – 4 November 1915, also the Loos–Artois Offensive), was fought by the French Tenth Army against the German 6th Army on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
of the First World War. The battle included the
Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...
by the British First Army. The offensive, meant to complement the
Second Battle of Champagne The Second Battle of Champagne ( or Autumn Battle) in World War I was a French offensive against the German army at Champagne that coincided with an Anglo-French assault at north-east Artois and ended with French retreat. Battle On 25 Sept ...
, was the last attempt of 1915 by
Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroup ...
, the French commander-in-chief, to exploit an Allied numerical advantage over Germany. Simultaneous attacks were planned in
Champagne-Ardenne Champagne-Ardenne () is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the historic province of Champagne, the region is known for its sparkling white wine of the ...
to capture the railway at Attigny and in
Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...
to take the line through
Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, ...
to force a German withdrawal from the Noyon salient.


Background

Joffre's plan was a series of attacks along the Western Front, supported by
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...
attacks across the Isonzo River and a British Expeditionary Force (BEF) attack near
Loos-en-Gohelle Loos-en-Gohelle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A former coal mining town, three miles northwest of the centre of Lens, at the junction of the D943 and the A21 autoroute. Its ...
. At first, Field Marshal John French and General
Sir Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 unti ...
opposed the attack, because of the lay of the land, a lack of heavy artillery, ammunition and reserves. The generals were over-ruled by the British minister of war, Lord Kitchener, who ordered French and Haig to conduct the offensive.


Prelude

The Tenth Army massed seventeen infantry and two cavalry divisions for the offensive, backed by guns and artillery pieces. The 6th Army had about thirteen divisions and from the French field artillery fired rounds of ammunition and the heavy artillery at the German defences. Obsolete 90 mm guns were used to fire another


Battle

An artillery bombardment began on 21 September, and on 25 September the Tenth Army attacked at to be sure that the morning mist had dispersed. XXI Corps attacked the rest of
Souchez Souchez () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is located northwest of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the missing First World War Canadian soldie ...
village and La Folie farm, XXXIII Corps made some progress but the III and XII corps to the south was repulsed. On the XXI Corps front, the 13th Division, attacking near Souchez with had casualties of in the first few days. During the afternoon it began to rain, impeding artillery observation and attack times were altered to even later in the day, which made co-ordination with the British First Army on the northern flank much more difficult. By 26 September, the XXXIII and XXI corps had taken Souchez but the III and XII corps had made little progress south-east of Neuville-St Vaast. The French failed to breach the German second line of defence and a breakthrough could not be achieved. Joffre sent the French IX Corps to assist the British attacks at Loos but this action also yielded little of strategic value. Foch was also ordered by Joffre to conserve infantry and ammunition to reinforce the simultaneous offensive in Champagne; ammunition expenditure in Artois had been so vast that the offensive was to be reduced but without giving the British the impression that they were being left in the lurch. In very wet weather, the Tenth Army captured Vimy Ridge, except for the highest point, where German counter-attacks retook the ground from XXXIII Corps. Foch took over ground on the British right flank but it became impossible to co-ordinate attacks for the same day. The Battle continued until 13 October but ended amidst the autumn rains, mutual exhaustion and inter-Allied recriminations.


Aftermath


Analysis

The two French 1915 offensives in Artois had advanced the front line by on a front. After advancing in their previous offensive in May, the French advanced an additional by the end of their September offensive. Fayolle reported that the Third Battle of Artois had been a failure, because of uncut wire and the firepower of German machine-guns and artillery. The success of infantry attacks was dependent on the ability of the artillery to cut the wire, destroy German field fortifications and prevent the German artillery bombarding French infantry by using counter-battery fire; the simultaneous
Second Battle of Champagne The Second Battle of Champagne ( or Autumn Battle) in World War I was a French offensive against the German army at Champagne that coincided with an Anglo-French assault at north-east Artois and ended with French retreat. Battle On 25 Sept ...
continued into October.


Casualties

The official historians of the recorded casualties to the end of October. In 2008, Jack Sheldon used figures taken from the French Official History to record fewer than half of the French casualties suffered in the spring offensive from April to June. James Edmonds, the British official historian, recorded and casualties at the Battle of Loos. Elizabeth Greenhalgh wrote that of the casualties, had been killed or listed as missing, against the capture of and many trench mortars and items of equipment.


Notes


Footnotes


References

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External links


Chtimiste.com: Third Battle of Artois (French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artois 3 Battles of the Western Front (World War I) Conflicts in 1915 History of the Pas-de-Calais Battles of World War I involving France Battles of World War I involving Germany Artois 1 Battles of World War I involving British India 1915 in France September 1915 events October 1915 events November 1915 events