What
was known to British commanders
before The
Battle of Loos?
Enemy
strength and positions
Aircraft
observation had revealed that the German defences had been massively
strengthened in the area to be attacked. Not only had the front
line been deepened, reinforced and equipped with many machine-gun
redoubts and wide barbed wire belts, but an equally strong second
and third line of defence had also been prepared. In particular,
the enemy had taken time to carefully survey the area and had
chosen the position of the second line such that it was on a reverse
slope (out of the line of sight of the British). The 15-yard deep
wire in front of the second line was stronger than that in no
man's land, and was made of a new design of wire that could not
be cut by the equipment carried by the British infantry. This
wire was also beyond the range of the British field artillery,
so unless the first line fell and the artillery could be advanced,
it would remain intact. It was obvious that the Britis would need
time to bring their artillery up, and the Germans would probably
have time to bring reinforcements into the area. The task of breaking
through in accordance with Joffre's grand plan looked formidable
indeed.
Intelligence
on German army strength on the Loos Front, September 1915
The
area to be attacked was occupied by 117th Division ( a 3-Regiment
unit, reformed after serious losses at Vimy in the Spring attacks);
and 14th Division (old opponents from Neuve Chapelle, with
2 of their 4 Regiments South of the canal). The 2nd Guard Division
and 8th Division were reserves within 12 miles of the front.
British intelligence had correctly identified all enemy units.
Tactical
developments and learning
The
key lesson from the Spring offensive was that it was weight of
shell, particularly of high explosive fired by the heaviest artillery,
that destroyed enemy defences and gave the attacking infantry
gaps through which they could break into the lines. The
assaults were to be made across ground that was quite open, but
observed from heights. It would be important for the infantry
to be hidden by smoke from machine-guns that would in some cases
escape even the most violent bombardment. The
preliminary bombardment gave away all elements of surprise regards
location of the battle, but all steps were to be taken to keep
some surprise with regard to the time of the attack.
Secrecy
All
England was buzzing with rumours of this 'Big Push' some weeks
before the attack. There was little by way of strategic deception,
and preparations near the battle front were all too obvious. Only
the date and time of attack were unknown to the enemy.
Aircraft
observation had revealed that the German defences had been massively
strengthened in the area to be attacked. Not only had the front
line been deepened, reinforced and equipped with many machine-gun
redoubts and wide barbed wire belts, but an equally strong second
and third line of defence had also been prepared. In particular,
the enemy had taken time to carefully survey the area and had
chosen the position of the second line such that it was on a reverse
slope (out of the line of sight of the British). The 15-yard deep
wire in front of the second line was stronger than that in no
man's land, and was made of a new design of wire that could not
be cut by the equipment carried by the British infantry. This
wire was also beyond the range of the British field artillery,
so unless the first line fell and the artillery could be advanced,
it would remain intact. It was obvious that the Britis would need
time to bring their artillery up, and the Germans would probably
have time to bring reinforcements into the area. The task of breaking
through in accordance with Joffre's grand plan looked formidable
indeed.
The
key lesson from the Spring offensive was that it was weight of
shell, particularly of high explosive fired by the heaviest artillery,
that destroyed enemy defences and gave the attacking infantry
gaps through which they could break into the lines. The
assaults were to be made across ground that was quite open, but
observed from heights. It would be important for the infantry
to be hidden by smoke from machine-guns that would in some cases
escape even the most violent bombardment. The
preliminary bombardment gave away all elements of surprise regards
location of the battle, but all steps were to be taken to keep
some surprise with regard to the time of the attack.