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Battle of Arras 1917. The Experience of Scots on the Western Front: The Battles. Denny High History Department. background. British offensive 9 th April – 16 th May 1917. British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland and Australian troops.
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Battle of Arras 1917 The Experience of Scots on the Western Front: The Battles Denny High History Department
background • British offensive 9th April – 16th May 1917. • British, Canadian, New Zealand, Newfoundland and Australian troops. • The battle took place near the French city of Arras.
background • Stalemate on the Western Front. • From 1915, the Allied objective was to break through the German defences. • Once in open ground the allies would engage the numerically inferior German army.
The Attack • Initial attack was successful, but with localised losses impetus was lost. • German reserves were brought up and their resistance stiffened. • Bad weather. • Failure of ‘Nivelle’
The result • British troops had made significant advances. • Unable to make a major breakthrough. • Back to stalemate.
Scottish contribution to the battle • 44 Scottish battalions – 9th, 15th Scottish and 51st Highland divisions. • 7 Scottish named Canadian battalions attacked on the first day. • This made it the largest concentration of Scots to have fought together.
Scottish contribution to the battle • One third of the 159,000 British casualties were Scottish.