Battles of French Flanders & Artois, France
By late September 1914, as the German Armies and Allied French and British Armies attempted to outflank one another during the series of battles known as “The Race to the Sea”, the fighting of the First World War arrived in French Flanders and Artois.
In 1914-1915 the Front Line trenches ran from the east and north of Arras, up over the high ground of the ridge at Notre Dame de Lorette, down onto the plain of Douai, through the mining area around Lens and across the flat, fertile plain to Armentières and the Belgian border. By the end of 1915 the French had pushed the Germans off the ridge of Notre Dame de Lorette, and the Front Lines was established a little further east on the ridge at Vimy.
Major, large-scale battles were fought in this region in each year of the war except for 1916, when particular actions were fought, such as at Fromelles. The toll of casualties on all sides in this sector of the Western Front was very high. This area is the location of a number of military cemeteries and national memorials dedicated to thousands of military losses.
French Flanders & Artois Battles 1914
- First Battle of Artois
27-Sep-1914
—10-Oct-1914
- First Battle of Arras
1-Oct-1914
—4-Oct-1914
- Battle of Armentières
13-Oct-1914
—2-Nov-1914
French Flanders & Artois Battles 1915
- Battle of Neuve Chapelle
10-Mar-1915
—13-Mar-1915
- The Battle of Aubers Ridge
9-May-1915
- Second Battle of Artois
9-May-1915
—18-Jun-1915
- Battle of Festubert
15-May-1915
—27-May-1915
- Third Battle of Artois, also called the Loos-Artois Offensive
25-Sep-1915
—15-Oct-1915
- Battle of Loos
25-Sep-1915
—8-Oct-1915
French Flanders & Artois Battles 1916
- The Attack at Fromelles, also known as the Battle of Fromelles, the Action at Fromelles or
the Battle of Fleurbaix
19-Jul-1916
—20-Jul-1916
French Flanders & Artois Battles 1917
- Battles of Arras
9-Apr-1917
—4-May-1917
- First Battle of the Scarpe
9-Apr-1917
—14-Apr-1917
- Battle of Vimy Ridge
9-Apr-1917
—12-Apr-1917
- First Battle of Bullecourt
10-Apr-1917
—11-Apr-1917
- Battle of Lagnicourt
15-Apr-1917
- Second Battle of the Scarpe
23-Apr-1917
—24-Apr-1917
- Battle of Arleux
28-Apr-1917
—29-Apr-1917
- Battle of Bullecourt
3-May-1917
—17-May-1917
- Third Battle of the Scarpe
3-May-1917
—4-May-1917
French Flanders & Artois Battles 1918
- Battles of the Lys, (also known as the Lys Offensive, the Fourth Battle of Ypres,
the Third Battle of Flanders and as the
Btalha de la Lys by Portugal)
9-Apr-1918
—29-Apr-1918
- Second Battle of Arras
26-Aug-1918
—3-Sep-1918
Related Reading
Cheerful Sacrifice: Battle of Arras, 1917 (paperback)
by Jonathan Nicholls
Recommended as a study of the Battle of Arras in the spring of 1917 including many eye-witness accounts. 272 pages. Published by Leo Cooper Ltd (19 Nov 2005). ISBN-10: 1844153266; ISBN-13: 978-1844153268
Vimy Ridge: Arras (Battleground Europe) (paperback)
by Nigel Cave
Recommended guidebook in the Battleground Europe series. 208 pages. Published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd; Reprint edition (20 Nov 1995); ISBN-10: 0850523990; ISBN-13: 978-0850523997
Monchy le Preux - Arras (Battleground Europe) (paperback)
by Colin Fox
Recommended guidebook in the Battleground Europe series. 160 pages. Published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd. (7 Mar 2000). ISBN-10: 0850527384; ISBN-13: 978-0850527384
The Underground War: Vimy Ridge to Arras: 1 (hardcover)
by Philip Robinson and Nigel Cave
Volume 1 of a planned 4 volume set. 360 pages. Published by Pen & Sword Military; First Edition edition (19 May 2011). ISBN-10: 1844159760; ISBN-13: 978-1844159765
Arras: The Spring 1917 Offensive in Panoramas including Vimy Ridge and Bullecourt (hardcover)
by Peter Barton
304 pages. Published by Constable (24 Jun 2010). ISBN-10: 1845294211; ISBN-13: 978-1845294212
Walking Arras (Battleground Europe Series: Arras) (paperback)
by Paul Reed
Excellent guidebook in the Battleground Europe series. 240 pages; Published by Pen & Sword Battleground (30 April 2007); ISBN-10: 1844156192 and ISBN-13: 978-1844156191
The Germans at Arras (Images of War) (paperback)
by David Bilton
160 pages. Published by Pen & Sword Military (18 Sep 2008). ISBN-10: 1844157687; ISBN-13: 978-1844157686
Related Topic
A section of preserved Allied and German trench line can be visited at the Memorial Park managed by the Canadian government.
Preserved trenches, Vimy Ridge
Acknowledgements
(GWPDA) Photographs with grateful thanks to the Great War Primary Document Archive: Photos of the Great War.