THE BATTLE OF THE ARTOIS.--I.
While the Second Battle of Ypres was raging, the French were making a
big effort in Artois, more especially in the district between Lens and
Arras. On page 223 you will see a map showing the main features of this
district. Fix your attention for a moment on the high ground marked
"N.D. de Lorette"--that is, Notre Dame de Lorette. You notice by the
side of the name a cross; this shows the position of the church of Our
Lady of Lorette. It stands on a bare ridge, broken by many gullies, and
with a few coppices here and there. To the south of the ridge there is a
broad hollow, from which rises Mont St. Eloi. Do not confound this hill
with the St. Eloi which lies to the south of Ypres.
In the early days of May the Germans were holding a sharp salient in
this district. Their lines extended from the east of the village of
Loos,[38] across the broad highway which you see running south to Arras,
then across the Lorette ridge, and to the west of the two villages which
lie to the south of it. From Carency the German lines curved sharply
back, still covering the highroad. Upon this salient the French made a
great onslaught, which began on 13th May, and did not end until the
close of the month.
[Illustration: The French Offensive between Arras and Lens.]
The salient consists mainly of a chalky plateau full of hollows, each
with its village or little town. The fields are hedgeless, and are cut
across by many white roads. The ravines of the plateau and the many
villages had been made almost impregnable by the Germans, who had set up
all along their line numberless little forts, armed with machine guns,
and connected by a maze of trenches. There were at least five lines of
very strong trenches, one behind the other, in that part of their
position which lay between Loos and the village of Ablain. It was a
desperate task which the French now set themselves, but should it prove
successful it would be well worth the sacrifice entailed. Further, an
assault on the German lines in the west was now necessary. The Russians
at this time were being driven back by a storm of artillery to which
they could make no resistance, and General Joffre saw that something
must be done to draw off German forces from the Eastern front if the
Russians were not to be overwhelmed and put out of action altogether.
His plan was as follows: the French were to try to capture Lens, and the
British, further north, were to make a desperate push towards Lille. If
these movements succeeded, the line of railway all along the German
front from Lille to Soissons would be captured, and the enemy would be
forced to retreat into Belgium.
I shall tell you the story of the British assault in a later chapter. I
will now confine myself to the French effort. On Sunday, 9th May,
General Foch, who had brought up no less than 1,100 guns of all kinds,
began to bombard the German trenches between the villages of Carency and
La Targette. You will notice from the map on page 223 that these
trenches were called "The White Works." They were so named because the
parapets, being cut from the chalk, showed up white and clear. The
French bombardment was the most terrible that had ever been known in
Europe up to that time. It went on for hours, and the French 75's, which
can fire twenty-five aimed shots a minute, seemed to be pouring out
shells like gigantic machine guns. When the bombardment ceased the White
Works were simply a ploughed field strewn with fragments of wire and
human bodies. More than 300,000 shells were hurled upon them in the
course of the day.
[Footnote 38: _Loce_, about a mile to the north-west of Lens.]