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Battle of Festubert

 

 
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The Battle of Festubert was an attack by the British army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 in the Artois region of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 on the western front
Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Empire army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France....
 during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. It began on May 15, 1915 and continued until May 25.

as part of the larger French Artois Offensive
Second Battle of Artois

The Second Battle of Artois, of which the British contribution was the Battle of Aubers Ridge, was a battle on the Western Front of World War I, it was fought at the same time as the Second Battle of Ypres....
 and was undertaken to assist the French near Arras
Arras

Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard language dialect....
 by preventing German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 reserve troops from being available to move there.

attack was made by the British First Army
British First Army

The First Army was a army of the British Army that existed during the First World War and Second World Wars....
 under Sir Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig

Douglas Haig may refer to:*Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, British Earl and a Field Marshall during the First World War*Club Atl?tico Douglas Haig, a football club from Argentina...
 against a German
German Army

The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Traditionally the German military forces have been composed of the Army, the Deutsche Marine, and an Luftwaffe after World War I....
 salient between Neuve Chapelle to the north and the village of Festubert to the south.






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The Battle of Festubert was an attack by the British army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 in the Artois region of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 on the western front
Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Empire army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France....
 during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
. It began on May 15, 1915 and continued until May 25.

Context

It was part of the larger French Artois Offensive
Second Battle of Artois

The Second Battle of Artois, of which the British contribution was the Battle of Aubers Ridge, was a battle on the Western Front of World War I, it was fought at the same time as the Second Battle of Ypres....
 and was undertaken to assist the French near Arras
Arras

Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard language dialect....
 by preventing German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 reserve troops from being available to move there.

The Battle

The attack was made by the British First Army
British First Army

The First Army was a army of the British Army that existed during the First World War and Second World Wars....
 under Sir Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig

Douglas Haig may refer to:*Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, British Earl and a Field Marshall during the First World War*Club Atl?tico Douglas Haig, a football club from Argentina...
 against a German
German Army

The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Traditionally the German military forces have been composed of the Army, the Deutsche Marine, and an Luftwaffe after World War I....
 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
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
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 pieces that fired about 100,000 shells. This bombardment failed to significantly damage the front line defenses of the German Sixth Army
German Sixth Army

The 6th Army was a designation for German field army which saw action in World War I and World War II. The term "6th Army" is perhaps best known for its involvement in the Battle of Stalingrad....
, but the initial advance made some progress in good weather conditions. The attack was renewed on the 16th, and by the 19th the British 2nd and 7th divisions had to be withdrawn due to heavy losses.

On the 18th the Canadian Division, assisted by the 51st (Highland) Division
British 51st (Highland) Division (World War I)

The 51st Division was a United Kingdom Territorial Force division that fought on the Western Front in France during the World War I. The division's insignia was a stylised 'HD' inside a red circle....
, 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
Festubert

Festubert is a Communes of France in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France....
. 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.

See also

  • List of Canadian battles during World War I


External links