En Avant Les Grelus

After the German Anny pulled back from the Marne, they didn't leave Vimy Ridge. Their defenses extended west of the Ridge and dominated the Artois region. To the east lay Douai Plaine and Lens, a nearby coal center, waiting for …

1915-05-09

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After the German Anny pulled back from the Marne, they didn't leave Vimy Ridge. Their defenses extended west of the Ridge and dominated the Artois region. To the east lay Douai Plaine and Lens, a nearby coal center, waiting for deliverance. ln 1914-1915, the French would try three times to tackle the stronghold, an ordeal known as the Three Battles of Artois. During this Second battle in May, the French 33rd Corps attacked. General Philippe Pétain commancling. The 159th Régiment d'lnfanterie Alpine of the 77th Division stormed the Ridge and headed for Givenchy, a town on the far side. Thanks to a 1OOO gun barrage up and down the front for four days, the 159th RIA reached Givenchy, but a lack of ready reserves and heavy guns undercut their hold. Finally the Germans counterattacked. The French did retain the western approaches to the Ridge, however leaving it to the Canadians to come and finish the job two years later.

Vimy Ridge, France

The Second Battle of Artois from 9 May to 18 June 1915, took place on the Western Front during the First World War. 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.

Wikipedia: Second Battle of Artois

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French