Second Battle of Arras – 1917

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When:

April 9 – May 16, 1917

Where:

Arras, France

Who:

Allied Powers – British Empire
Central Powers – German Empire

Summary:

The French officer, Robert Nivelle, took charge of the French Army as commander in chief in December 1916. Nivelle quickly planned and launched what came to be known as the Nivelle Offensive. While the French troops concentrated on the region around the Aisne, the British troops (including the Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand troops) would launch an offensive in and around Arras and attempt to take Vimy Ridge. Control of this high ridge would place the Allies at an advantage over the Germans.

On the morning of April 9, 1917, over 30,000 soldiers of the Canadian Corps who were fighting for the BEF crossed over the No Man’s Land under the cover of gunfire and stormed the Zwolfer Graben trenches. The troops soon gained more ground and steadily advanced towards Vimy Ridge. Vimy Ridge was eventually captured on April 12, 1917.

The victory of the Schwaben Tunnel came at a heavy price for the Canadian troops. The Third and Fourth Division suffered a number of casualties. The British Third Army, under the command of General Edmund Allenby, launched an attack on both sides of Arras but the Germans held their ground. The British Fifth Army and the Australian troops simultaneously attacked the German base at Bullecourt. The losses here were high. By May 14, 1917, the Allied troops gained over a mile of German territory. The battle ended on May 16, 1917.

With the fall of Vimy Ridge, the Germans retreated. Since the Second Battle of Arras was meant to be a complementary attack to the Second Battle of the Aisne, the failure of the latter ended the offensive.

Outcome

:
In the Second Battle of Arras, the BEF recorded about 84,000 casualties and the Canadian Corps lost over 11,000 soldiers. The German casualty count reached over 75,000. The battle was a clear win for the Allies. The grander scheme, however, failed as the Nivelle Offensive resulted in huge losses for the French and in a mutiny in the French camp.

Second Battle of Arras – 1917

Battle of Passchendaele – 1917	Battle of Passchendaele – 1917
Battle of Tannenberg – 1914	Battles of Gaza – 1917
Battle of Heligoland Bight – 1914	Second Battle of Arras – 1917
First Battle of Marne – 1914	Second Battle of Arras – 1917
First Battle of the Masurian Lakes – 1914	Battle of Messines – 1917
First Battle of Aisne – 1914	Battle of Passchendaele – 1917
First Battle of Albert – 1914	Battle of Caporetto – 1917
First Battle of Arras – 1914	Battle of Cambrai – 1917
First Battle of Ypres – 1914	German Spring Offensive – 1918
Gallipoli Campaign – 1915	Hundred Days Offensive – 1918
Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes – 1915	Battle of Passchendaele – 1917
Battles of Isonzo – 1915	Second Battle of Somme – 1918
Loos-Artois Offensive – 1915	Second Battle of Marne – 1918
Battle of Verdun – 1916	Battle of St Mihiel – 1918
Battle of Passchendaele – 1917	Battle of Cambrai – 1917
First Battle of Somme – 1916	Battle of Vittori Veneto – 1918