On the front

The Nord Department was crossed by the front line at its narrowest point, or almost. It ran along the Pas-de-Calais boundary between La Bassée, at one end, and Armentières and the Lys Valley in the Nord, at the other. Like the entire front from the Somme to Ypres, this sector was manned by British troops. The major strategic challenges were played out further north, around Ypres, or futher south, around Arras and on the Somme. It was only in the summer of 1917 that the front was extended to the boundary of the Somme, the Pas-de-Calais and the Nord, during the Battle of Cambrai. This sector of the front was not without importance, however. First, it was located close to Lille, a town regarded by the Germans as a key gain and which was also a crucial railway hub for German troop movements. It was also ideal terrain for diversions and bypass strategies. 1915 was a year of successive attacks and offensives launched by the British troops. From 10 to 12 March, the objective of the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle was to capture Aubers Ridge. It saw the deployment of the Indian Army Corps and the British IV Corps, part of the First Army commanded by General Haig, in one of the very sectors in which the Christmas truces of late 1914 had taken place. After intensive artillery preparation and some successes, the British troops were forced to pull back. 12,000 men were lost. Launched on 9 May 1915, the Battle of Aubers Ridge was an offensive designed to relieve the front line in the Second Battle of Artois. Losses were enormous: no fewer than 11,000 men lost their lives. Finally, from 25 to 27 September 1915, diversionary attacks were launched in Piètre and Bois-Grenier.