Current Information:

Born-Silvertown

London Cemetery, Neuville-Vitasse, France

The Battle of Arras was a series of offensives by the British Army between 9th April 1917 and 16th May 1917. It had been planned in conjunction with the French who would attack in Artois and between them the Allies would force the Germans out of the large salient they had held since the line of trenches was first established. But the Germans had spoiled this plan by falling back to the new and very strong Hindenburg Line in January 1917 and the salient no longer existed.  For the want of an alternative plan the attack went ahead anyway. It all started well for the British who made substantial gains on the first two days but then the offensive ground to a halt and by the end their losses amounted to over 150,000.

The First Battle of the Scarpe (9-14 April)

41 Brigade was in reserve on 9th April when the other two Brigades of 14th Division attacked from in front of Beaurains, just to the south of Arras, with fourteen tanks in support. Their objective was Telegraph Hill and the southern part of the Harp, a formidable redoubt 1000 yards long from north to south with a single trench, the String, running down its length. At 7.34am, 43 Brigade on the right and 42 Brigade on the left launched their attack. There was considerable machine-gun fire for them to contend with but both brigades managed to reach and secure their objectives. On the next day the attack was resumed against the Wancourt-Feuchy line but was seriously hampered because 56th Division had failed to drive the enemy machine-guns from Hill 90, south-east of Wancourt. 41 Brigade was brought into the action and at 2.15pm the 7th King’s Royal Rifle Corps and 7th Rifle Brigade battalions moved up to relieve 43 Brigade. As they moved forward up the valley towards Wancourt, they came under fire from Hill 90 but a heavy snow storm blowing into the enemy’s face allowed them to enter the Wancourt-Feuchy line where they consolidated their new position. The other two battalions of 41 Brigade, the 8th Rifle Brigade and 8th King’s Royal Rifle Corps, then moved up and occupied the vacated jump off trenches in the Cojeul Switch and at 4.30pm, 8th Rifle Brigade advanced to deal with enemy resistance from Wancourt and Hill 90. They moved forward for half a mile before coming under light artillery and machine-gun fire. They spread out and continued the advance in a snowstorm but when this lifted the leading companies were exposed and suffered from machine-gun fire from Wancourt cemetery and Hill 90 and sustained some casualties.

On the next day, 11th April, despite the fact that Hill 90 was still in German hands and that machine-guns there dominated the valley, 41 Brigade were ordered to resume their advance along it with 7th King’s Royal Rifle Corps leading and 8th Rifle Brigade in support. The attack was an abject failure resulting in many casualties and the battalion diary of 7th King’s Royal Rifle Corps is very scathing of the brigade staff who ordered what they considered to be a suicidal mission. The men were driven back to their starting line and were then withdrawn to the Cojeul Switch where they spent a very cold night in continuing snow storms before 14th Division was relieved on 12th April and moved back to Arras. One of the casualties suffered by 8th Rifle Brigade during this operation was William Smith.