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Loos (2nd Division Diversionary Attack)

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Title
Loos (2nd Division Diversionary Attack)
Description
After capturing a large area in Northern France and Belgium, German forces had remained on the defensive. The French army, commanded by Joffre, had fought a number of bloody small offensive actions during early 1915, but all failed to impact …
Source
Publisher
Date
1915-09-25
Scenario#
3
Scenario Description
After capturing a large area in Northern France and Belgium, German forces had remained on the defensive. The French army, commanded by Joffre, had fought a number of bloody small offensive actions during early 1915, but all failed to impact the situation. Joffre’s new plan for a major Franco-British Autumn offensive near Loos, an industrial area in north-east France, was not well received by British commander Sir Douglas Haig, but he had little choice but to comply, being that the British were still a junior partner in the ground war in France. At 6:00am, a major diversionary attack was launched by the 2nd Division, north of the La Bassee canal. The advance moved quickly into the German front trench, but as units approached the second line, they were assailed by heavy machine gun fire. A strong German counter-attack, then drove the British back to their original trench.
Location
Loos, France
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
The Battle of Loos took place from 25 September – 8 October 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. The French and British tried to break through the German defences in Artois and Champagne and restore a war of movement. Despite improved methods, more ammunition and better equipment, the Franco-British attacks were largely contained by the Germans, except for local losses of ground. The British gas attack failed to neutralize the defenders and the artillery bombardment was too short to destroy the barbed wire or machine gun nests. German tactical defensive proficiency was still dramatically superior to the British offensive planning and doctrine, resulting in a British defeat.
Narrative Source
Wikipedia: Battle of Loos
Combatants
German
British
Collection:

Geolocation