CAMPAIGN IN ARTOIS REGION
To understand properly the campaign in the Artois, it is necessary
to have at least a fair knowledge of the geography and the topography
of the territory between La Bassée and Arras.
The valley of the Scarpe is held in on the south by low hills, and
on the north by a low plateau, which descends in long ridges to the
valley of the Lys and the plains about Lens. The greatest altitude
in this section is the ridge known as Notre-Dame de Lorette, running
east and west, and containing numerous ravines. To the south of it,
in a little valley, is the town of Albain St. Nazaire. Carency
is opposite on the next ridge. Next is the Bois de Berthonval in
the middle of a wide depression. Beyond, the land ascends to Mont
St. Eloi. The valley of the Lys is to the north of the Lorette
ridge. To the east the land descends to the long, narrow valley
in which is the highway between Arras and Bethune. La Targette
and Souchez are along the way. Again the land rolls upward to the
hills of Vimy with the Lens-Arras highway beyond them.
The Teutons held a salient in this region at the beginning of May,
1915. The line which bounded this salient ran east of Loos over
the Bethune-Lens road, east of Aix-Noulette, and appeared on the
Lorette plateau considerably to the west of its tallest spur, where
was situated the Chapel of Our Lady; running out to the prow of
the salient, it took in Albain; and then proceeded to Carency;
bending closely, it ran east of the Bois de Berthonval, taking
in La Targette and the Arras-Bethune highway. That part of the
German line was called by the French the "White Works," on account
of the chalk with which the breastworks were constructed. To the
southeast of it was a section known as the Labyrinth. Ecurie was
inside the line which finally ran back east of Arras. The salient
was constructed for the guarding of Lens, which was considered the
entrance to the upper valley of the Scheldt and the lowlands in
the direction of Douai and Valenciennes. Of more importance than
Lens itself was the railroad back of this front, the capture of
which would naturally be a source of great danger to the Germans.
The French had won some ground in the region of the Lorette plateau
early in 1915. The Tenth Army in the Artois received enough additional
men to give it seven corps. More than 1,100 pieces of artillery,
of varying caliber, were taken to this region by the French. The
entire preparation for the campaign was under the personal direction
of General Foch. In the meantime the Germans, becoming aware that
their enemy was becoming more and more active, proceeded to strengthen
the front by the addition of three divisions which were known as
"divisions of assault." The men composing these additions were
from Bavaria, Saxony, and Baden. Even this reenforcement left the
Teutons outnumbered, and with less artillery than their opponents;
but they held a position which was considered more impregnable
than any other on either front. The Germans here had a chain of
forts linked together by an elaborate series of trenches, these
latter so arranged that the taking of one of the series placed
its captors within the zone of fire of several others. Moreover
there was an elaborate series of underground works, including mines
and wolf pits, the latter being covered over with a thin layer
of turf and thickly studded with stakes whose points awaited the
charging French.
General Foch was ready on Sunday morning, May 9, 1915, and his
artillery began one of the heaviest bombardments in history. The
1,100 French cannon hurled 300,000 shells on the German fortifications
that day. The reverberations were deafening and terrifying. They
startled the British engaged at the Aubers Ridge. The deluge of
projectiles crashed their way through the supposedly impregnable
work of engineering that the Germans had erected, and buried their
mangled defenders in chaotic ruins. The preliminary work of the
artillery was continued for three hours, accompanied by the plaudits
of the French infantrymen. Then the infantry were sent to take the
wrecks of what had been the pride of the German engineers. They
took what was still in existence at La Targette, and the important
crossroads there. They waged a fierce fight in and around the village
of Neuville St. Vaast, which was stoutly defended by German machine
guns. Here there was house-to-house fighting. The French center,
farther north, charged over the remnants of the White Works, and
went on beyond the Arras-Bethune road. This section of the advance
took more than two and a half miles of trenches in an hour and a
half. On the left the French were unable to maintain such speed,
because of the many ravines. They took the outlying sections of
Carency, and worked their way eastward, cutting the road to Souchez.
At the end of the first day the French had to their credit three
lines of German trenches on a five-mile front, 3,000 prisoners,
10 field guns, and 50 machine guns.
The bombardment was continued all night by the French gunners,
while the men who had taken the trenches did their best to make
such repairs as were necessary for the protection of the victors.
On the morning of the following day, May 10, 1915, the soldiers of
the republic had forced their way into the center of the German
position. North of the plateau of Notre Dame de Lorette a feint
attack was made to hold the German reserves. When the first French
line was about to dash forward to complete their work of the day
before, they suddenly received an order to remain where they were
and seek all cover possible. One of the French aviators had seen
a German counterattack getting under way near the sugar factory
at Souchez. Preparatory to the Teuton advance the German artillery
hurled hundreds of high-explosive shells on the section where the
French would have been had they not received the order to keep
under cover. To be exposed under such conditions would have meant
annihilation. Believing their plans for the counterattack were
working favorably, the Germans advanced, only to be mowed down
by the French guns. Then the French infantry charged and gained
another trench line. So eager were the younger French soldiers
that some of those who charged from the south were not content with
taking the trench which was their objective point, but dashed on
into a ravine that extended in the direction of Ablain. There they
killed or made prisoners of the Germans they found. This dash was
extremely hazardous in the face of a possible German counterattack,
which luckily for the French did not occur as the Teutons retired to
Souchez in confusion and were unable to rally for any counterattack.
A summary of the day's fighting includes the taking of all of the
German trenches across the Bethune-Loos road; the attack on the
fortified chapel of Notre Dame de Lorette, and the gaining of the
trenches to the south of it, these connecting with Ablain and Souchez;
the capture of the cemetery of Neuville St. Vaast; and the defeat
of the German reserves who were rushed in motor cars from Lens and
Douai. The trenches and approaches being too narrow and deep to
allow freedom of action in using rifle and bayonet, the rifle is
generally slung on the man's back in bandolier, and the fighting
within the trenches is done with short weapons, especially with
hand grenades, hence the new military expressions "bombing" and
"bombing parties," as the squads are called that are especially
detailed for bomb work during the charges.
The fighting continued fiercely throughout May 11, 1915. Late in
the day the French took the lower part of the Arabs' Spur. An
unsuccessful counterattack was made that night from the Spur of
the White Way. But the French were harried by the artillery in
Angres and the machine guns in Ablain, and their discomforts were
added to by the work of the bursting shells which opened the graves
of soldiers who had been slain in previous months.
Carency, surrounded on the east, south and west, and wrecked by
the 20,000 shells which had been fired upon it, surrendered on
the afternoon of May 12, 1915. The Germans captured there made
a total of more than 5,000 prisoners taken by the French. Notre
Dame de Lorette with its chapel and fort was also taken this same
day, as was Ablain which was in flames when it was surrendered.
Thus all of the highland to the west of Souchez was held by the
French except a few fortins on eastern ridges.
A north wind and a heavy rain added to the discomforts of the soldiers
on May 13, 1915. But physical discomforts were not all that made
for more or less unhappiness. The Germans had little reason to
be happy; but the French had the edge taken from their elation,
because of their victory, by the fact that it seemed as if it must
be won again before it would be of use to them. According to the
rules of the war game the German line had been broken and the French
had made for themselves a right of way; but there were many instances
in this war where the rules were not followed; and this was one
of the exceptions. It is true the German line had been smashed,
but it had not fallen back. Instead the remnants of the line had
collected themselves in the series of independent redoubts which
had seemingly been prepared for just such an emergency. They were
so situated that it was well-nigh impossible to destroy them at
long range; but it was impossible to make any forward movement
which would not be enfiladed by them. Hence it became necessary
for the French, if they were to be really victorious, to reduce
each separate redoubt. The most prominent of these were the sugar
factory at Souchez, the cemetery at Ablain, the White Road on a
spur of the Lorette, the eastern portion of Neuville St. Vaast,
and the Labyrinth. The last named was so called because it was
an elaborate system of trenches and redoubts in an angle between
two roads. The White Road surrendered on May 21, 1915. Ablain was
taken on May 29, 1915. The Souchez sugar factory fell on May 31,
1915. Neuville St. Vaast was captured on June 8, 1915. The Labyrinth,
however, remained under German control. Part of it was fifty feet
below the surface of the earth, much of the fighting there being
carried on in underground galleries and by means of mines. It finally
was entirely in the hands of the French on June 19, 1915, after
being taken to a considerable extent foot by foot. The last of
the fighting there was in what was known as the Eulenburg Passage,
where the entire 161st German Regiment, consisting of 4,000 men,
were slain and a Bavarian regiment suffered a heavy loss in killed
and wounded. The French took 1,000 prisoners; and only 2,000 of
their own men were unable to answer roll call after the fight,
of whom many were only slightly wounded.
[Illustration: THE BATTLES IN ARTOIS]
In concluding the account of the battle of the Artois it may be
admitted that the French had won what has been called a brilliant
victory, but it had not been a complete success. They had made
an end of the German salient; and only the last defense of Lens
remained. How much they had reduced the pressure on Russia is
problematical; but there is little doubt they had prevented the
Germans from continuing the offensive on the Ypres front. They
estimated the German loss at 60,000; and, by a peculiar coincidence,
the Crown Prince of Bavaria, whose armies they fought, estimated
the French loss at the same figure--60,000. It is known they lost
many men in the hand-to-hand struggles; but their great forward
movement was so well protected by their artillery that the French
loss there was comparatively slight. Some idea can be gained from
the fact that one French division killed 2,600 of their enemy and
captured 3,000 prisoners with a loss of only 250 slain and 1,250
wounded. But the greatest gain to the French was probably the fact
that the battle of the Artois had proved to the soldiers of the
republic that their artillery was the equal of the German, which
had been the arm in which the Teutons excelled. It also proved
that the Germans could not intrench themselves in any manner that
was impregnable to the French; for they had taken the Labyrinth,
a most complicated series of military engineering feats which were
supposed to be able to withstand any assault. And lastly, and perhaps
of most importance to the French, the belief in the superiority
of the German soldier, as a result of 1870, was shattered in the
mind of the Frenchman.
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