On the right (southern) flank was X Corps with the 19th and 20th divisions, the XVII Corps to the left with the 34th and 33rd divisions, XX Corps with the 11th and 39th divisions, XXXIII Corps with the Moroccan, 70th and 77th divisions, XXI Corps with the 13th and 43rd divisions and IX Corps with the 92nd Territorial Division and the 17th and 58th divisions, covering the ground up to the British First Army 15 mi (24 km) to the north. Rupprecht claimed that the 6th Army could hold its ground without reinforcement and the redeployments were cancelled. Despite the change from attempts at continuous battle to methodical attacks, with pauses to reorganise and consolidate, the French took less ground, fewer prisoners and suffered more casualties. [131] Changes made to the plan for the Second Battle of Artois, had been intended to secure the capture Vimy Ridge as a jumping-off point, rather than to achieve a breakthrough and return to mobile warfare. [18], At every 100 yd (91 m), a machine-gun nest had been built into the trench and small, fortified posts supported the defenders, one to the north-east of the Chapel of Notre Dame de Lorette, with dug-outs over 50 ft (15 m) deep. German machine-gunners and artillery began to fire at the same time and in ten minutes inflicted many casualties on the British infantry as they advanced across no man's land. A few days later, the French entered the fray to the south in an effort to secure Vimy Ridge. II Battalion, Infantry Regiment 157 was severely depleted in the fighting and was relieved by units from six regiments. [5], The Westheer was forced to remain on the defensive, except for limited attacks in Flanders, in the Second Battle of Ypres (21 April – 25 May) and in the Argonne west of Verdun until August, to cut the main rail line from Paris to Verdun. French operations in Artois, Champagne … The nearest Tenth Army reserve was the 18th Division, 7 mi (12 km) away. The British attacks at Festubert forced the Germans back 1.9 mi (3 km) and diverted reserves from the French but the Tenth Army gained little more ground, despite firing double the amount of artillery ammunition and many more casualties on both sides. The defeat threatened the rest of the German line, Haenish ordered an immediate bombardment of the village and the 28th Division to dig a new line, from the Lorette Spur to the Ablain church and Souchez. [109] From 21 April to 25 May, the British Second Army was engaged against the German 4th Army, in the Second Battle of Ypres which diverted British resources from the First Army. [98], On 11 March, Major Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen was appointed Chef des Feldflugwesens (Chief of Field Air Forces) and began to increase the size of Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches (Imperial German Flying Corps), with the formation of five new air units in Germany to provide replacements and expedite the introduction of the new Fokker E.I aircraft. West of Lens, the high ground of Vimy Ridge and the Lorette Spur dominated the ground further to the west; to the south around Arras the ground was overlooked from the ridge at Thilloy beyond the Scarpe. The Second Battle of Artois, or the Artois Offensive, was a major French attack in Artois towards Vimy Ridge from 9–15 May 1915, during the First World War. [101] The 6th Army attacked a salient south of Quennevières near Noyon, from 6–16 June and advanced 550 yd (500 m) on a 0.62 mi (1 km) front, with 7,905 casualties; the German 18th Division had 1,763 losses. [35], On 11 May, D'Urbal reinforced the XXXIII Corps and XX Corps with fresh divisions, ready to attack after a two-hour bombardment. The defence of the ridge cost the German 6th Army 73,072 casualties. The 28th Division on the Lorette Spur, was forced out of the front trenches, with many losses and in the evening a battalion of Jäger was sent forward. Conditions on the plateau were appalling, because bursting shells had disinterred the corpses of hundreds of French and German soldiers killed before the offensive. In the last four hours, all of the Tenth Army artillery bombarded the German wire and the first and reserve trench lines, ready for the infantry attack at 10:00 a.m.[20], The German defences had been improved in the ridges, hollows and ravines between Arras and Lens, since the war of movement had ended late in 1914. Français : La seconde bataille de l'Artois. At 10:00 a.m. the infantry attack began in bright dry weather. [49] During the night the Germans in a group of houses to the south of the church were mopped up and outside the village a strong point was taken. The 17th Division managed to advance another 110 yd (100 m) and the 18th Division was stopped in no man's land. [8][c] Joffre accepted the proposals on 23 March, with the objective being the seizure of Vimy Ridge and exploitation of the success by an eastwards advance into the Douai plain. From 9–19 May, the 6th Army had fired 508,000 field artillery and 105,000 heavy shells. [17] The main French front of attack was from the chapel on the plateau of Notre Dame de Lorette Spur (Lorette spur) south to the "Labyrnthe", a network covering 2 sq mi (5.2 km2) of trenches, tunnels and dug-outs across the Arras–Lens road north of Ecurie and Roclincourt. The attack on 18 June was another failure, in which French infantry were again confronted by German positions on reverse slopes, invisible to ground observation and undamaged, with uncut wire and alert defenders, who inflicted many casualties on the attackers. Germany's use of poison further harmed its reputation, especially in the United States. The offensives had failed in their objectives but had become more powerful and better organised, except for the bungled effort at St. Mihiel. German communication trenches between Carency and Souchez were blocked, which cut off Carency except via Ablain. On 18 June, the main offensive was stopped and local French attacks were ended on 25 June. The growth of French war production by September 1915, enabled the French to attack in two places simultaneously. On Thursday 13 May, in heavy rain a German counter-attack on the Spur of the White Way was repulsed by machine-gun fire. Reynard le Chasseur - A renowned knightly hunter who rides into battle accompanied by a pair of hounds. [89], On 7 June, Falkenhayn met the 6th Army commanders and accepted their claim that only with fresh troops could the 6th Army positions be held. The 39th Division commander, General Nourrisson, objected to the continuation of large attacks but d'Urbal insisted that they continue as new defences were dug and fresh troops were brought forward. [57], The Franco-British attack on 9 May had been on a front of 16 mi (25 km) and in June three supporting attacks were planned by the French Second, Sixth and Seventh armies, along with an attack by the British near Zillebeke in Flanders. The Second Battle Ypres was fought April 22 to May 25, 1915, during World War I (1914-1918) and saw the Germans conduct a limited offensive around the strategic town of Ypres in Flanders. Secure Vimy Ridge, break through the German breastwork was destroyed but many of the British First Army the... 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