Battle of Festubert

{{Campaignbox Western Front (World War I)}} '''The Battle of Festubert''' was an attack by the [[British army]] in the Artois region of [[France]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|western front]] during [[World War I]]. It began on May 15, 1915 and continued until May 25. ==Context== It was part of the larger French [[Second Battle of Artois|Artois Offensive]] and was undertaken to assist the French near [[Arras, France|Arras]] by preventing [[Germany|German]] reserve troops from being available to move there. ==The battle== The attack was made by the [[British First Army]] under Sir [[Douglas Haig]] against a [[German army|German]] salient between [[Neuve Chapelle]] to the north and the village of Festubert to the south. The assault was planned along a three mile front, and would initially be made mainly by [[India]]n troops. This would be the first British army night attack of the war. The battle was preceded by a 60 hour bombardment by 433 [[artillery piece]]s that fired about 100,000 shells. This bombardment failed to significantly damage the front line defences of the [[German Sixth Army]], but the initial advance made some progress in good weather conditions. The attack was renewed on the 16th, and by the 19th the British [[British 2nd Division (World War I)|2nd]] and [[British 7th Division (World War I)|7th]] divisions had to be withdrawn due to heavy losses. On the 18th the [[1st Canadian Division|Canadian Division]], assisted by the [[British 51st (Highland) Division (World War I)|51st (Highland) Division]], renewed the advance, but this made little progress in the face of effective German artillery fire. The British forces then entrenched themselves at the new front line in conditions of heavy rain. The Germans now brought up more reserves to reinforce their lines. From May 20 until the 25th the attack was renewed, resulting in the capture of the village of [[Festubert]]. However the total offensive had only netted 1 km of advance, at a cost of 16,000 casualties. The Canadian Division's part in the offensive gained them 900m on a 1.6 km front, and cost 2468 casualties, including 661 dead. ==External links== * [http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/festubert.htm The Battle of Festubert] {{coord missing|France}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Festubert}}