| Home > Battle Histories > Western Front > The actions of Spring 1916 > The German attack at Vimy Ridge |
| 21st May 1916 |
| British formations engaged: IV Corps : 47th Division; XVII Corps : 25th Division |
| British troops take over the Vimy Ridge sector |
The British front was extended by 20 miles in March 1916, to relieve the French Tenth Army for operations at Verdun. The new line - consisting, as the incoming units quickly found, of poorly dug and maintained, filthy, trenches with few strongpoints or dugouts, containing many unburied bodies - ran from Loos down to Ransart (north east of Hannescamps), including the Vimy Ridge. Even if the trenches had been in good condition, the Vimy Ridge sector was a difficult one for the defenders, as the enemy looked westwards down a long unbroken gentle slope from the summit of the ridge over the front lines and across the approach routes and artillery positions. British observers were unable to see the enemy artillery and supply routes on the far side of the summit, as the slope drops steeply towards Douai. But it had not mattered unduly, for this had been a quiet sector since the fighting of September and October 1915 had died down. Here the French and Germans both operated a 'live, and let live' approach. |
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Looking
up the slope: the British view towards the summit of the Ridge. The
Canadian memorial is on Hill 145, which marks the highest point. The
German trenches of May 1916 ran across the ground seen in this photograph,
left to right. |
On
taking over the French lines, the British immediately began the job
of clearing
away the immense amount of debris and rubbish left behind, and removing
bodies where they could. They also quickly ended the 'live, and let
live' era, commencing a policy of disruptive artillery fire and trench
raiding.
Soon enough, it was discovered that the enemy had been taking advantage
of the French lack of hostility to push on with deep mining of the
area. It would, from a military viewpoint, have made sense to withdraw
some 3-4000 yards, to create a stronger defensive line, and this was
indeed considered by Third Army commander Sir Edmund Allenby, and Commander-in-Chief
Sir Douglas Haig. To do so was however, politically impossible, the
French having lost many thousands of men in crawling up the slope in
1915. |
| British mine warfare gains the upper hand [The Tunnelling Companies RE] |
Third
Army deployed a number of RE Tunnelling Companies, to combat the German
mining
nuisance. This underground clash developed into a desperate struggle,
with both sides blowing mines to destroy enemy infantry positions,
and camouflet charges to destroy the opposition's mining activity.
There
was much above-ground fighting as a result, as each side tried to
gain control of the resultant craters. Gradually, the British miners
gained the upper hand, causing the enemy to consider a large scale
attack with the intention of capturing the mine shafts. |
 |
Some
of the craters formed by mine activity in the months March to May
1916 can still be seen today, in the rather sanitised area of preserved
trenches
in the Canadian Memorial Park. |
| The German attack succeeds, brilliantly |
In early May, German artillery and trench mortar fire -a natural response to British aggression - began to intensify. Front line trenches were very badly damaged, and communication trenches also became targets. All the signs were that an infantry attack could be expected. But aerial observation revealed nothing of significance. Five divisions were ordered to move from First, Second and Third Armies to add to the build up of strength under Fourth Army, for the forthcoming Somme offensive. This meant some shuffling of Divisions, and some adjustment of the areas under command of Armies and Corps. On the night 19-20 May 1916, this added up to a considerable change in the area of Berthonval (south of Souchez, facing Vimy Ridge). It passed from the command of Third Army to First, and from XVII Corps (Julian Byng) to IV Corps (Henry Wilson). IV Corps had two Divisions holding their sector of the front, 47th (London) and 23rd, with 2nd Division in Corps Reserve near Bruay. The London Division held the Carency and Berthonval sectors with 141 and 140 Brigades, with 142 Brigade in Divisional Reserve. Also under temporary orders of the Division was 7th Brigade, of 25th Division. At 5am on 21 May, the enemy bombardment on the Berthonval sector intensified. It continued unbroken to 11am, when there was a pause which lasted until 3pm. At this time, a very heavy shell and mortar fire fell on the small front - already heavily cratered - occupied by 1/7 and 1/8 Londons (140th Brigade), 1/20 Londons (141st) and 10/Cheshire (7th). This bombardment was deep, falling not only on the front trenches but back to the Divisional artillery positions too, as far as some 8 miles from the trenches. The shellfire included some tear gas. It was without doubt the heaviest concentrated shelling of the war so far: the enemy had arrayed 80 batteries on an 1800 yard front, all out of sight on the reverse slope of the Ridge. 70,000 shells fell in 4 hours, flattening trenches and cutting all communications; in the dry conditions dust also obscured all vision. British artillery replied but it had little effect on slowing the shellfire. At 7.45pm, the blowing of a German mine and the lifting of the barrage onto the British support lines signalled the infantry attack. The crossed the smashed 140th Brigade front line almost unhindered and only stopped when they approached their own barrage. Many men of the 1/7 and 1/8 Londons were captured, still in their dugouts. Reinforcements were hurriedly organised in Zouave Valley, including the RE Field Companies of the 47th (London) Division. To each side, success was more limited as the 1/20 Londons and 10/Cheshire organised flank defences. Here, only the outpost line and the important Broadmarsh Crater were lost. 99th Brigade of 2nd Division was ordered up from Corps Reserve, and small local counter attacks were made by nearer units, but to no effect. The enemy advance, having captured their objectives of the British mine craters, halted, and under continued bombardment, the German infantry dug in. A small counter attack by units of 140th and 141st Brigades took place at 2am on 22nd May, but did not manage to change the situation except on the right, where the original support lines of 7th Brigade were recaptured by 8/Loyal North Lancashires. |
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| British counter attack, then decide that recovery of Vimy position not a priority |
Although Henry Wilson was all for mounting small local counter attacks while the enemy was still consolidating, Haig ruled that full preparations were to be made and a defensible line should be gained and re-established. The attack, to follow a short bombardment from hurriedly reinforced artillery, was to be made by 7th Brigade, 99th Brigade and 142nd Brigade. But it seemed the enemy was on the alert, for at 8pm on 23rd May (25 minutes before the British infantry attack was due, and after the bombardment had begun) they opened heavy shellfire. It fell on the assembly positions, particularly of 99th Brigade; the 1/Royal Berkshire lost 100 men before the assault should have begun. To make matters worse, German machine guns opened exactly on time, too. Confusion reigned in 99th Brigade. The Berkshires signalled to the 22/Royal Fusiliers that they could not attack, and the latter sent runners to halt their own Companies. This message did not get to B Company, which advanced on its own and was wiped out, along with the attached section of 226 Field Company RE. Elsewhere, 3/Worcesters of 7th Brigade recaptured their old support positions; on the left, 1/24 and 1/12 Londons got to their objective, only to be fought out of them again. 2nd Division relieved 47th (London) Division on the night of 25-26 May 1916. The enemy remained on the defensive, and after some debate, it was decided by the British high command that the artillery that would be required to support a major effort to regain the former position would be better deployed on the Somme. |
| Casualties |
The
losses to the British forces amounted to almost 2,500 between
21 and 24 May in this sector. 47th
(London) Division lost 1,571; 7th Brigade of 25th
Division 637
and 2nd Division 267. The German losses were reported
to be 1,344. |
| Learning curve |
The lesson that had begun over a year ago at Neuve Chapelle was being reinforced. It was quite possible to break into the enemy's positions, given sufficient artillery and good observation. Enemy counter attacks could be expected, within a few days. The reputation of Sir Henry Wilson suffered a reverse as a result of his handling of IV Corps. He remained in command of the Corps, on the now quiet again Vimy front, while others less senior were in the ascendant on the Somme. |
