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THE BATTLE OF ARRAS - The First World War - May 1917

The battle of Arras ran from the 9th of April, 1917 through to the 16th May. This particular battle was located at the northern end of the Germans salient which ran through Rheims. The battle was an attempt to break the deadlock in this sector and involved soldiers from each of the Allied forces.

This engagement was originally an attempt near Arras by a determined Britain in order to break through the dormant German forces and to destroy their defenses. Though victory in this battle had an effective and positive outcome for the British, who fought in support of the French, it had also been very costly.

Eventually, as the battle concluded, the casualties resulted in the British army summed up to almost 15,000 whereas the number of men lost in the German troops summed up to almost 100,000 casualties. Many areas of land were also seized in this battle.

It is of interest to note that this Battle involved Adolf Hitler, the future leader of Nazi Germany.

Click here to watch a BBC news report on the discovery of a massive underground hospital at Arras. (Requires Realplayer)

The battle of Arras was written by Safa Ahmed, a Year 9 student at Laisterdyke High School.

The battle of Arras is famed for the British use of the underground tunnels in the French City. Click here to visit battlefields.org.uk where you can view the schools video footage taken in the Arras Tunnels.

Information about other battles on the Western Front can be found here.