Battle of Festubert

The Battle of Festubert (15–25 May 1915) was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I.

Context
It was part of the larger French Artois Offensive and was undertaken to assist the French near Arras by preventing German reserve troops from being available to move there.

The battle
The attack was made by the British First Army under Sir Douglas Haig against a German salient between Neuve Chapelle to the north and the village of Festubert to the south. The assault was planned along a 3 mi front and would initially be made mainly by Indian troops. This would be the first British army night attack of the war.

The battle was preceded by a 60 hour bombardment by 433 artillery pieces that fired about 100,000 shells. This bombardment failed to significantly damage the front line defences of the German Sixth Army, but the initial advance made some progress in good weather conditions. The attack was renewed on the 16th, and by the 19th the British 2nd and 7th divisions had to be withdrawn due to heavy losses.

On 18 May the Canadian Division, assisted by the 51st (Highland) Division, renewed the advance, but this made little progress in the face of effective German artillery fire. The British forces then entrenched themselves at the new front line in conditions of heavy rain. The Germans now brought up more reserves to reinforce their lines.

From 20–25 May the attack was renewed, resulting in the capture of the village of Festubert. However the total offensive had only resulted in a 1 km advance, at a cost of 16,648 casualties. The Canadian Division's part in the offensive gained them 900 m on a 1.6 km front and cost 2,107 casualties.