Battle of Hill 70
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Hill 70 was a localized battle of World War I
between the Canadian Corps
and five divisions of the German Sixth Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens
in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France
between 15 August 1917 and 25 August 1917.
The primary objective of the assault was to inflict casualties and draw German troops away from the 3rd Battle of Ypres, rather than to capture territory. To achieve this objective, The Canadian Corps executed a limited operation to quickly occupy the high ground at Hill 70, established defensive positions and utilized combined small arms and artillery fire to repel German counterattacks and inflict as many casualties as possible. A later attempt by the Canadian Corps to extend its position into the city of Lens itself failed. The Canadians and the Germans both suffered high casualty rates, and Lens remained under German control. The German verdict on the operation was that it succeeded in its attritional objective
The fighting at Lens cost us, once again, the expenditure of considerable numbers of troops who had to be replaced. The whole previously worked-out plan for relieving the fought-out troops in Flanders had been wrecked. (Von Kuhl)
because unlike 1916, when the Germans had been able to reinforce the Somme front by taking risks elsewhere, Rupprecht's army group had sent 'all despensible reserves' to Flanders despite the ability of the Entente armies in 1917 to undertake subsidiary operations like Hill 70. Charteris, Haig's Chief of Intelligence called it a 'very successful little attack'
The Germans were not able to attempt to recapture Hill 70 due to the demands of the defensive battle in Flanders.
The battle consisted of extensive use of poison gas
by both sides, including the newly introduced German Yellow Cross
shell containing the blistering agent sulfur mustard
. Ultimately, the goals of the Canadian Corps were only partially accomplished. The Canadians were successful in preventing German formations from transferring local men and equipment to aid in defensive operations in the Ypres Salient but failed to draw in troops from other areas.
, France
had fallen under German control in October 1914 during the Race to the Sea
. Consequently, the Germans also controlled the heights at Hill 70 to the north of the city and Sallaumines Hill to the southeast, both of which had commanding views over the surrounding area as well as the city itself. Hill 70 was a treeless expanse at the end of one of the many spurs. In September 1915, the British had overrun the hill during the Battle of Loos
but had not managed to hold it.
British First Army commander General Henry Horne
ordered the Canadian Corps to relieve I Corps from their position opposite the city of Lens on 10 July 1917 and directed Canadian Corps
commander Arthur Currie
to develop a plan for capturing the town by the end of July 1917. The operation was intended to engage as many German formations as possible and to prevent them from reinforcing the Ypres sector during the Third Battle of Ypres.
Command of the Canadian Corps had only recently changed. A month earlier, Canadian Corps
commander Julian Byng was promoted to the rank of General
and replaced General
Edmund Allenby
as commander of the British Third Army. In turn, 1st Canadian Division
commander Arthur Currie
was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General and assumed command of the Canadian Corps
.
Henry Horne
to make Hill 70, not the city of Lens, the main objective of the limited offensive. Controlling Hill 70 would provide excellent observation over the German lines, in preparation for any future offensives. Currie believed the Germans would attempt to counterattack if Hill 70 were captured, largely because of its observational importance. Nevertheless, Currie believed that the advantageous observational position of Hill 70 would permit well directed artillery to effectively deal with any counterattacks. The plan was therefore to quickly occupy the high ground, establish defensive positions and utilize combined small arms and artillery fire to repel expected counterattacks and inflict as many casualties as possible.
In an attempt to further deceive the Germans, minor operations were conducted in an effort to suggest a forthcoming attack by the British First Army south of La Bassee canal. This included an attack by the 9th Canadian Brigade against units of the German 36th Reserve Division
at Mericourt trench and a British First Army poison gas
attack north of Loos
, both in late July 1917.
Bad weather led to the postponement of the attack on Hill 70 from late July until mid-August. In the interim, special companies of the Royal Engineers
augmented the regular level of harassment by firing a total of 3500 gas drums and 900 gas shells into Lens by 15 August. The artillery neutralized 40 out of an estimated 102 enemy batteries in the area and troops were rotated through the reserve area to conduct training and rehearsals in preparation for the assault. These obvious preliminary actions to an attack did not go unnoticed by the Germans, which made it impossible to conceal the First Army's general intentions or even, as it turned out, the date of the assault. The best that could be done was to attempt to mislead the Germans with respect to exact time and place. To this end I Corps staged exercises with dummy tanks on 14 August, directly west of Lens.
had three attacking divisions, one division of reserves and numerous support units under his command.
German Sixth Army commander General der Infanterie Otto von Below
was responsible for the area between Lille and Cambrai. Hill 70, and the area surrounding it was defended by the ad hoc Gruppe Loos. The defending elements of the German Sixth Army consisted of the 7th Infantry Division
, 4th Guards Infantry Division, 185th Infantry Divisions, 11th Reserve Division
and 220th Infantry Division.
The assault began at 4:25 am on the morning of 15 August, just as dawn was breaking. Special companies of the Royal Engineers fired drums of burning oil into the suburb of Cite St. Elisabeth and at other selected targets in order to supplement the artillery rolling barrage and build up a smoke-screen. Divisional field artillery positions executed a rolling barrage directly in advance of the assaulting troops while field howitzers shelled German positions 400m in advance of the rolling barrage and heavy howitzers shelled all other known German strong-points. The Germans had moved up their reserve units on the previous night in anticipation of an attack. The main assembly of Canadian troops was detected by 3:00am, and within three minutes of the attack commencing the German artillery brought down defensive fire, but at widely scattered points. The affected forward positions of the German 7th Division and 11th Reserve Division were quickly overwhelmed. Within twenty minutes of the attack beginning, both Canadian Divisions had reached their first objective. By 6:00 a.m. the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade had reached the second objective line while units in the other three brigade had in some cases already reached their final objective. However, only the flanking companies of the two battalions attacking Hill 70 itself managed to reach their objectives. The remainder of the both units were forced to retreat up the slope and consolidate their position at intermediate objective line.
On the right flank of the 2nd Canadian Division, the 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division executed a diversionary operation which proved successful in drawing German retaliatory fire away from the main operation. Four hours later, the 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division attempted to exploit the weaken German force by pushing strong patrols towards the centre of Lens. This ultimately proved unsuccessful as the Germans used local counterattacks across the 4th Canadian Division's front to drive the patrols back to the city's outskirts.
Attempts by the 4th and 11th Canadian Infantry Brigades to eliminate an enemy salient between Cite St. Elisabeth and Lens on the 17th failed and as had been foreseen the Germans continued to mount determined counterattacks. On the 17th, the German command began to realize that the Canadian and British artillery would need to be neutralized before any counterattacks would be successful. The Germans began a series of counterattacks against a chalk quarry under Canadian control outside of Cite St. Auguste but also sought to wear down the Canadian artillery resources by sending up false flare signals or provoking the infantry to call for unnecessary artillery fire.
The Germans also began to use poison gas in earnest. Between 15,000 and 20,000 of the newly introduced Yellow Cross
shells containing the blistering agent sulfur mustard
were fired in addition to an undetermined number of shells containing diphosgene
. The Canadian 1st and 2nd Artillery Field Brigades and the Canadian front line were heavily gassed. Many artillery men became casualties after gas fogged the goggles of their respirators and they were forced to remove their masks in order to set the fuses, lay their sights and maintain accurate fire. The Germans used the cover of gas to make a number of attempts against the Canadian controlled chalk quarry and Chicory Trench on the night of the 17th and early morning of the 18th. All attempts against the chalk quarry failed and only one company of the 55th Reserve Infantry Regiment (on loan to the 11th Reserve Division) managed to breach the Canadian defenses at Chicory Trench before being repulsed. German troops employing flamethrowers managed to penetrate the Canadian line north of the quarry on the morning of the 18th before being driven out.
The operation was scheduled for the morning of 21 August, the tasks being divided between the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, on the left, and the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade on the right. The attack was to begin at 4:35am however the German began shelling the Canadian positions at 4:00am and just before the Canadian attack was set to launch the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade's left flank was attack by units of the German 4th Guards Infantry Division. Both forces met between their respective objectives, and desperate hand-to-hand and bayonet fighting ensued. In the chaos the 6th Brigade's advance all but collapsed. Communications between the brigade's forward units and brigade headquarters had broken down at the beginning of the attack and could not be restored due to heavy German shelling, making it all but impossible to coordinate further actions of the assaulting units and the artillery.
Counterattacks by the 4th Guards Division, reinforced by a battalion of the 220th Infantry Division ultimately forced any 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade units who had reached the objective line to retreat to the safety of the starting line. On the right flank, the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade fared no better. One attacking unit suffered a large number of shellfire casualties while still assembling for the attack and were met the intense artillery and machine-gun fire as they neared their objective line. Only three small parties, the largest of not more than twenty men, reached their goal. The remaining two attacking units of the brigade managed to reach and capture their objectives but not until late in the evening. As a result of having only partially captured their intended objectives, a salient was created in the 4th Canadian Division's line. On the evening of 21 August an attempt was made to correct the situation by sending three parties to bomb the German position from the flanks but was only moderately successful. An additional attack planned for the 22nd failed to materialize due to battalion-level misunderstandings. A brigade reserve unit was tasked with correcting the situation by attacking a slag heap called Green Crassier and the mine complex at Fosse St. Louis. The attack proved to be a miserable failure with the majority of the attackers being killed, wounded or taken prisoner. In the end the hotly disputed position was back in German possession and remained so until the German's general retreat towards the end of the war.
The remainder of August, all of September and the beginning of October were relatively quiet, with Canadian efforts devoted mainly to preparations for another offensive. No further offensives took place however, largely because the British First Army lacked sufficient resources for the task. Instead, the Canadian Corps
was transferred to the Ypres sector in early October in preparation for the Second Battle of Passchendaele.
Six Victoria Crosses, the highest military decoration for valour awarded to British and Commonwealth
forces, were awarded to members of the Canadian Corps for their actions during the battle;
Soon after the battle, German Sixth Army commander General der Infanterie Otto von Below was transferred to the Italian front
, where he took command of the newly formed Austro-German 14th Army. In this capacity, he executed an extremely successful offensive at the Battle of Caporetto
in October 1917. General der Infanterie Ferdinand von Quast took over command of the German Sixth Army and commanded the army through the Spring Offensive
right until the end of the war.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
between the Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
and five divisions of the German Sixth Army. The battle took place along the Western Front on the outskirts of Lens
Lens, Pas-de-Calais
Lens is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of France's large Picarde cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai.-Metropolitan area:...
in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
between 15 August 1917 and 25 August 1917.
The primary objective of the assault was to inflict casualties and draw German troops away from the 3rd Battle of Ypres, rather than to capture territory. To achieve this objective, The Canadian Corps executed a limited operation to quickly occupy the high ground at Hill 70, established defensive positions and utilized combined small arms and artillery fire to repel German counterattacks and inflict as many casualties as possible. A later attempt by the Canadian Corps to extend its position into the city of Lens itself failed. The Canadians and the Germans both suffered high casualty rates, and Lens remained under German control. The German verdict on the operation was that it succeeded in its attritional objective
The fighting at Lens cost us, once again, the expenditure of considerable numbers of troops who had to be replaced. The whole previously worked-out plan for relieving the fought-out troops in Flanders had been wrecked. (Von Kuhl)
because unlike 1916, when the Germans had been able to reinforce the Somme front by taking risks elsewhere, Rupprecht's army group had sent 'all despensible reserves' to Flanders despite the ability of the Entente armies in 1917 to undertake subsidiary operations like Hill 70. Charteris, Haig's Chief of Intelligence called it a 'very successful little attack'
- It is only preparatory to another attempt here [Flanders] but it gained ground and captured a couple of thousand prisoners.... Tomorrow we go on up in the north....(Charteris, Diary, 15 August)
The Germans were not able to attempt to recapture Hill 70 due to the demands of the defensive battle in Flanders.
- Crown Prince Rupprecht therefore refrained from attempting immediately to recapture the lost ground at Lens, which would have required strong new forces and promoted the very intentions of the opponent.
The battle consisted of extensive use of poison gas
Poison gas in World War I
The use of chemical weapons in World War I ranged from disabling chemicals, such as tear gas and the severe mustard gas, to lethal agents like phosgene and chlorine. This chemical warfare was a major component of the first global war and first total war of the 20th century. The killing capacity of...
by both sides, including the newly introduced German Yellow Cross
Yellow Cross (chemical warfare)
Yellow Cross is a World War I chemical warfare agent usually based on sulfur mustard .The original Gelbkreuz was a composition of 80-90% of sulfur mustard and 10-20% of tetrachloromethane or chlorobenzene as a solvent which lowered its viscosity and acted as an antifreeze, or, alternatively, 80%...
shell containing the blistering agent sulfur mustard
Sulfur mustard
The sulfur mustards, or sulphur mustards, commonly known as mustard gas, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin. Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous liquids at room temperature...
. Ultimately, the goals of the Canadian Corps were only partially accomplished. The Canadians were successful in preventing German formations from transferring local men and equipment to aid in defensive operations in the Ypres Salient but failed to draw in troops from other areas.
Background
The industrial coal city of LensLens, Pas-de-Calais
Lens is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of France's large Picarde cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai.-Metropolitan area:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
had fallen under German control in October 1914 during the Race to the Sea
Race to the Sea
The Race to the Sea is a name given to the period early in the First World War when the two sides were still engaged in mobile warfare on the Western Front. With the German advance stalled at the First Battle of the Marne, the opponents continually attempted to outflank each other through...
. Consequently, the Germans also controlled the heights at Hill 70 to the north of the city and Sallaumines Hill to the southeast, both of which had commanding views over the surrounding area as well as the city itself. Hill 70 was a treeless expanse at the end of one of the many spurs. In September 1915, the British had overrun the hill during the Battle of Loos
Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. It marked the first time the British used poison gas during the war, and is also famous for the fact that it witnessed the first large-scale use of 'new' or Kitchener's Army...
but had not managed to hold it.
British First Army commander General Henry Horne
Henry Horne, 1st Baron Horne
General Henry Sinclair Horne, 1st Baron Horne GCB, KCMG was a military officer in the British Army, most notable for his generalship during World War I. He was the only British artillery officer to command an army in the war. Until recently Horne was the unknown General of the Great War and did...
ordered the Canadian Corps to relieve I Corps from their position opposite the city of Lens on 10 July 1917 and directed Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
commander Arthur Currie
Arthur Currie
Sir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...
to develop a plan for capturing the town by the end of July 1917. The operation was intended to engage as many German formations as possible and to prevent them from reinforcing the Ypres sector during the Third Battle of Ypres.
Command of the Canadian Corps had only recently changed. A month earlier, Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
commander Julian Byng was promoted to the rank of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and replaced General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Edmund Allenby
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby GCB, GCMG, GCVO was a British soldier and administrator most famous for his role during the First World War, in which he led the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the conquest of Palestine and Syria in 1917 and 1918.Allenby, nicknamed...
as commander of the British Third Army. In turn, 1st Canadian Division
1st Canadian Division
Formed in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division was initially made up from provisional battalions that were named after their province of origin but these titles were dropped before the division arrived in Britain on October 14,...
commander Arthur Currie
Arthur Currie
Sir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...
was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General and assumed command of the Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
.
Tactical plan
Currie regarded control of either Hill 70 or Sallaumines Hill as tactically more important than control of the city of Lens. Merely to occupy the city while the Germans held the high ground would place the attackers in an unfavourably lower and more exposed position than the ones they currently occupied. At a conference of corps commanders, Currie persuaded British First Army commander GeneralGeneral
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Henry Horne
Henry Horne, 1st Baron Horne
General Henry Sinclair Horne, 1st Baron Horne GCB, KCMG was a military officer in the British Army, most notable for his generalship during World War I. He was the only British artillery officer to command an army in the war. Until recently Horne was the unknown General of the Great War and did...
to make Hill 70, not the city of Lens, the main objective of the limited offensive. Controlling Hill 70 would provide excellent observation over the German lines, in preparation for any future offensives. Currie believed the Germans would attempt to counterattack if Hill 70 were captured, largely because of its observational importance. Nevertheless, Currie believed that the advantageous observational position of Hill 70 would permit well directed artillery to effectively deal with any counterattacks. The plan was therefore to quickly occupy the high ground, establish defensive positions and utilize combined small arms and artillery fire to repel expected counterattacks and inflict as many casualties as possible.
In an attempt to further deceive the Germans, minor operations were conducted in an effort to suggest a forthcoming attack by the British First Army south of La Bassee canal. This included an attack by the 9th Canadian Brigade against units of the German 36th Reserve Division
36th Reserve Division (German Empire)
The 36th Reserve Division was a unit of the Imperial German Army, in World War I. The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 1914. The division was disbanded during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I...
at Mericourt trench and a British First Army poison gas
Poison gas in World War I
The use of chemical weapons in World War I ranged from disabling chemicals, such as tear gas and the severe mustard gas, to lethal agents like phosgene and chlorine. This chemical warfare was a major component of the first global war and first total war of the 20th century. The killing capacity of...
attack north of Loos
Loos-en-Gohelle
Loos-en-Gohelle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A former coal mining town, three miles northwest of the centre of Lens, at the junction of the D943 and the A21 autoroute. Its nearest neighbours are Lens to the south, Grenay to the...
, both in late July 1917.
Bad weather led to the postponement of the attack on Hill 70 from late July until mid-August. In the interim, special companies of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
augmented the regular level of harassment by firing a total of 3500 gas drums and 900 gas shells into Lens by 15 August. The artillery neutralized 40 out of an estimated 102 enemy batteries in the area and troops were rotated through the reserve area to conduct training and rehearsals in preparation for the assault. These obvious preliminary actions to an attack did not go unnoticed by the Germans, which made it impossible to conceal the First Army's general intentions or even, as it turned out, the date of the assault. The best that could be done was to attempt to mislead the Germans with respect to exact time and place. To this end I Corps staged exercises with dummy tanks on 14 August, directly west of Lens.
Opposing Forces
Canadian Corps commander Lieutenant-General Arthur CurrieArthur Currie
Sir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...
had three attacking divisions, one division of reserves and numerous support units under his command.
German Sixth Army commander General der Infanterie Otto von Below
Otto von Below
Otto von Below was a Prussian general. He was born at and died at Danzig .Before World War I, Otto von Below became major-general in 1909 and lieutenant-general in 1912. On August 1, 1914 he took command of the I. Reserve Corps, which on the outbreak of the war was to be assigned to the Eight Army...
was responsible for the area between Lille and Cambrai. Hill 70, and the area surrounding it was defended by the ad hoc Gruppe Loos. The defending elements of the German Sixth Army consisted of the 7th Infantry Division
7th Division (German Empire)
The 7th Division was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was formed in Magdeburg in November 1816 as a brigade and became a division on September 5, 1818. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the IV Army Corps . The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the...
, 4th Guards Infantry Division, 185th Infantry Divisions, 11th Reserve Division
11th Reserve Division (German Empire)
The 11th Reserve Division was a unit of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed on mobilization of the German Army in August 1914. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I...
and 220th Infantry Division.
Assault on Hill 70
The plan to capture Hill 70 called for 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions to attack on a front of 4000 yards (3,657.6 m). Their objective was to capture the main enemy defensive positions on the eastern or reverse slope of Hill 70. The objectives were marked off in depth by three stages. In the first stage, the assaulting troops would capture the German front-line trenches. The German second position on the crest of the hill during the second stage and the final stage, marked by the German's third line, on the reverse side of the slope, some 1500 yards (1,371.6 m) from the starting position. The 1st Canadian Division's 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade would attack north of Hill 70 while the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade would attack the summit itself. The 2nd Canadian Division's 4th and 5th Canadian Infantry Brigades would attack the rubble remains of the suburbs of Cite St. Edouard, St. Laurent and St. Emile directly south of Hill 70.The assault began at 4:25 am on the morning of 15 August, just as dawn was breaking. Special companies of the Royal Engineers fired drums of burning oil into the suburb of Cite St. Elisabeth and at other selected targets in order to supplement the artillery rolling barrage and build up a smoke-screen. Divisional field artillery positions executed a rolling barrage directly in advance of the assaulting troops while field howitzers shelled German positions 400m in advance of the rolling barrage and heavy howitzers shelled all other known German strong-points. The Germans had moved up their reserve units on the previous night in anticipation of an attack. The main assembly of Canadian troops was detected by 3:00am, and within three minutes of the attack commencing the German artillery brought down defensive fire, but at widely scattered points. The affected forward positions of the German 7th Division and 11th Reserve Division were quickly overwhelmed. Within twenty minutes of the attack beginning, both Canadian Divisions had reached their first objective. By 6:00 a.m. the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade had reached the second objective line while units in the other three brigade had in some cases already reached their final objective. However, only the flanking companies of the two battalions attacking Hill 70 itself managed to reach their objectives. The remainder of the both units were forced to retreat up the slope and consolidate their position at intermediate objective line.
On the right flank of the 2nd Canadian Division, the 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division executed a diversionary operation which proved successful in drawing German retaliatory fire away from the main operation. Four hours later, the 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 4th Canadian Division attempted to exploit the weaken German force by pushing strong patrols towards the centre of Lens. This ultimately proved unsuccessful as the Germans used local counterattacks across the 4th Canadian Division's front to drive the patrols back to the city's outskirts.
Initial counterattacks
In preparation for German counterattacks, the 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions began to reinforce and construct strong points immediately after capturing the first objective line. Within two hours of the start of the battle the Germans began using their immediate reserves to mount local counterattacks. Between 7:00am and 9:00am on the morning of the 15th, the Germans executed four local attacks against Canadian positions. Each attack was repulsed due in large part to the work of forward artillery observers who could now overlook some of the German positions. However, in at least one instance the counterattack was only repulsed after engaging in hand-to-hand fighting. The Germans rapidly brought up seven additional battalions from the 4th Guards Division and 185th Division to reinforce the eight line battalions already in place. Over the following three days, the Germans executed no less than 21 counterattacks against Canadian positions. A frontal attacks against the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade on the afternoon of 15th ultimately failed. A German attack against the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade was initially successful with the Germans re-capturing Chicory Trench but were repulsed later the same afternoon.Capture of Hill 70 and additional counterattacks
The morning of 16 August was relatively quiet, with only a few attempts made by small German parties to approach the Canadian lines. After having failed to capture all their objectives the previous day and having postponed additional attacks a number of times, the 2nd Canadian Brigade attacked and captured the remainder of its final objective line on the afternoon of the 16th. The assault lasted a little over an hour but the troops were then forced to defend against a dozen German counterattacks during the day.Attempts by the 4th and 11th Canadian Infantry Brigades to eliminate an enemy salient between Cite St. Elisabeth and Lens on the 17th failed and as had been foreseen the Germans continued to mount determined counterattacks. On the 17th, the German command began to realize that the Canadian and British artillery would need to be neutralized before any counterattacks would be successful. The Germans began a series of counterattacks against a chalk quarry under Canadian control outside of Cite St. Auguste but also sought to wear down the Canadian artillery resources by sending up false flare signals or provoking the infantry to call for unnecessary artillery fire.
Yellow Cross (chemical warfare)
Yellow Cross is a World War I chemical warfare agent usually based on sulfur mustard .The original Gelbkreuz was a composition of 80-90% of sulfur mustard and 10-20% of tetrachloromethane or chlorobenzene as a solvent which lowered its viscosity and acted as an antifreeze, or, alternatively, 80%...
shells containing the blistering agent sulfur mustard
Sulfur mustard
The sulfur mustards, or sulphur mustards, commonly known as mustard gas, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin. Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous liquids at room temperature...
were fired in addition to an undetermined number of shells containing diphosgene
Diphosgene
Diphosgene is a chemical compound with the formula ClCO2CCl3. This colorless liquid is a valuable reagent in the synthesis of organic compounds...
. The Canadian 1st and 2nd Artillery Field Brigades and the Canadian front line were heavily gassed. Many artillery men became casualties after gas fogged the goggles of their respirators and they were forced to remove their masks in order to set the fuses, lay their sights and maintain accurate fire. The Germans used the cover of gas to make a number of attempts against the Canadian controlled chalk quarry and Chicory Trench on the night of the 17th and early morning of the 18th. All attempts against the chalk quarry failed and only one company of the 55th Reserve Infantry Regiment (on loan to the 11th Reserve Division) managed to breach the Canadian defenses at Chicory Trench before being repulsed. German troops employing flamethrowers managed to penetrate the Canadian line north of the quarry on the morning of the 18th before being driven out.
Attack on Lens
The front quieted significantly after the final attack against the chalk quarry. For the Canadian Corps, the following two days consisted largely of consolidation activities. The front line was drawn back 300 yards (274.3 m), midway between the original intermediate and final objective lines and the 4th Division slightly advanced its forward posts on the outskirts of Lens and extended its front northward to include the Lens-Bethune road. Currie however wish to further improve the position around Hill 70 and ordered an attack against enemy positions along a 3,000 yard (2,700 m) front directly opposite the 2nd and 4th Canadian Divisions.The operation was scheduled for the morning of 21 August, the tasks being divided between the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, on the left, and the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade on the right. The attack was to begin at 4:35am however the German began shelling the Canadian positions at 4:00am and just before the Canadian attack was set to launch the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade's left flank was attack by units of the German 4th Guards Infantry Division. Both forces met between their respective objectives, and desperate hand-to-hand and bayonet fighting ensued. In the chaos the 6th Brigade's advance all but collapsed. Communications between the brigade's forward units and brigade headquarters had broken down at the beginning of the attack and could not be restored due to heavy German shelling, making it all but impossible to coordinate further actions of the assaulting units and the artillery.
Counterattacks by the 4th Guards Division, reinforced by a battalion of the 220th Infantry Division ultimately forced any 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade units who had reached the objective line to retreat to the safety of the starting line. On the right flank, the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade fared no better. One attacking unit suffered a large number of shellfire casualties while still assembling for the attack and were met the intense artillery and machine-gun fire as they neared their objective line. Only three small parties, the largest of not more than twenty men, reached their goal. The remaining two attacking units of the brigade managed to reach and capture their objectives but not until late in the evening. As a result of having only partially captured their intended objectives, a salient was created in the 4th Canadian Division's line. On the evening of 21 August an attempt was made to correct the situation by sending three parties to bomb the German position from the flanks but was only moderately successful. An additional attack planned for the 22nd failed to materialize due to battalion-level misunderstandings. A brigade reserve unit was tasked with correcting the situation by attacking a slag heap called Green Crassier and the mine complex at Fosse St. Louis. The attack proved to be a miserable failure with the majority of the attackers being killed, wounded or taken prisoner. In the end the hotly disputed position was back in German possession and remained so until the German's general retreat towards the end of the war.
Aftermath
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
was transferred to the Ypres sector in early October in preparation for the Second Battle of Passchendaele.
Six Victoria Crosses, the highest military decoration for valour awarded to British and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces, were awarded to members of the Canadian Corps for their actions during the battle;
- Private Harry BrownHarry Brown (VC)Harry W. Brown, VC was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross during the First World War.-Biography:Harry Brown, from Ganonoque, Ontario, was born on 10 May 1898. He was a farmer in civilian life...
of the 10th (Canadian) Battalion10th Battalion, CEFThe 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a Canadian field force unit created during the First World War. Technically distinct from the Militia from which its soldiers were drawn the unit served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force , specifically in the 1st Canadian Division from 1914 to... - Private Michael James O'RourkeMichael James O'RourkeMichael James O'Rourke VC, MM , was born in Limerick and was by birth an Irish recipient, and by naturalisation a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross...
of the 7th (British Columbia) Battalion - Sergeant Frederick HobsonFrederick HobsonFrederick Hobson VC was a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, during the First World War.-Details:He was 43 years old, and a sergeant in the...
of the 20th (Central Ontario) Battalion - Acting Major Okill Massey LearmonthOkill Massey LearmonthOkill Massey Learmonth, VC, MC , born in Quebec City, Canada, was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to Commonwealth forces.-Details:He was 23 years old, and an Acting Major in the 2nd Battalion,...
of the 2nd (Eastern Ontario) Battalion - Company Sergeant-Major Robert Hill HannaRobert Hill HannaRobert Hill Hanna VC , was an Irish born naturalised immigrant to Canada. He was a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy", during the First World War.He was 30 years old, and a Company...
of the 29th (Vancouver) Battalion - Corporal Filip KonowalFilip KonowalFilip Konowal VC was a highly decorated Ukrainian Canadian soldier. He is the only Ukrainian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces...
of the 47th (British Columbia) Battalion (the only Ukrainian to ever be awarded the Victoria Cross)
Soon after the battle, German Sixth Army commander General der Infanterie Otto von Below was transferred to the Italian front
Italian Campaign (World War I)
The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...
, where he took command of the newly formed Austro-German 14th Army. In this capacity, he executed an extremely successful offensive at the Battle of Caporetto
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto , took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid , on the Austro-Italian front of World War I...
in October 1917. General der Infanterie Ferdinand von Quast took over command of the German Sixth Army and commanded the army through the Spring Offensive
Spring Offensive
The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...
right until the end of the war.