5 / 36
battle of arras
3
T
he
B
aTTle
on
The
G
round
T
he
C
onTexT
The Battle of Arras, which took place between 9
th
April and 15
th
May
1917 (17
th
May if we include operations around Bullecourt) was part of
a planned offensive by British and French forces for the start of that year.
The main effort would be carried out further to the south by General
Robert Nivelle and his French Divisions on the River Aisne. Nivelle
requested the British to assist him by attacking the Germans a week earlier
in order to tie down their forces. The area around the town of Arras was
chosen as the location for the British offensive, along a frontage of around
14 miles. Arras was the first of several intense battles to be fought by
the British Army that year in France and Flanders. The Battle of Arras
and the Battle of Messines, the Third Battle of Ypres and the Battle of
Cambrai were all fought in 1917. The Battle of Arras consisted of three
main phases, known respectively as the First Battle of the Scarpe (9
th
– 14
th
April), the Second Battle of the Scarpe (23
rd
and 24
th
April) and the Third
Battle of the Scarpe (3
rd
and 4
th
May). The River Scarpe ran east-west
through the centre of the battlefield.