During a recent tour of the Cambrai battlefield I began by taking my group to the memorial to those missing during that fighting. It was a few years since I had last visited the memorial, and quite a few more since I had ventured down the steps into the adjacent cemetery (Louverval Military Cemetery, Doignies). […]
Author Archive | Peter Hughes
Beyond Monchy-le-Preux
During a recent group visit to the Arras battlefield we stayed at Boiry- Notre-Dame. One morning, before breakfast, I decided to take myself off on foot through the village heading west along a track (a continuation of the Route d’ Arras) towards Monchy-le-Preux. After about twenty minutes the ground began to rise slightly (Infantry Hill), […]
“High Hopes and Disappointments”
Last year, during the winter months, I was involved in the ‘WW100Scotland’ project. I was asked to write a short piece on the Battle of Arras for inclusion in a booklet to commemorate the centenary. The work is just one in a series of booklets covering Scotland’s part in the Great War. For anyone going […]
Guémappe and Cavalry Farm – Applying the Brakes
Guémappe did not lie on high ground, nor was it very far from Wancourt, which lay a mere thousand yards or so further up the Cojeul valley to the south-west. With the Wancourt Tower in British hands, Guémappe appeared extremely vulnerable from the south, whilst to the north, with Monchy gone, it was beginning to […]
Wancourt, Héninel and the art of flexible defence
When the Germans evacuated the villages of Wancourt and Héninel on the 12th April they did so out of necessity. By then, the Wancourt-Feuchy Line, including Feuchy Chapel, had already fallen. The Hindenburg Line to the north of Héninel, around Neuville-Vitasse and Telegraph Hill, was now in our hands and Monchy-le-Preux had also been prised […]
Monchy-le-Preux
There can be no doubt that Monchy-le-Preux was a key location on the Arras battlefield. Its capture on the 11th April 1917 was an important event. The Germans certainly didn’t want to lose it, which was why they tried to retake it a few days later on the 14th April. That date rightly belongs to […]
Roeux – The real star of the show
Roeux was never intended as a front line defensive position, but on the afternoon of the 9th April 1917 it found itself thrust into the limelight, and immediately became the star of the show. For the next five weeks it proved to be a huge thorn in the side of the British. Its buildings, the […]
JB x 2
I can’t claim to be a ‘James Bond’ fan, nor can I claim not to be, it’s just that I’ve somehow never managed to watch a ‘007’ film from beginning to end. However, if you are a bit of a ‘Bond’ aficionado you might want to read on. It’s quite widely documented that Major Valentine […]
Faith, Hope and Charity
“The First Battle of the Scarpe had been fought in sure faith of victory, the Second in good hope of success, but the Third Battle, on the 3rd May, was mere charity.” As summaries go, this is probably as good a verdict on the Battle of Arras as you are likely to find anywhere. The […]
The 9th April 1917 – Battalion commanders killed or died of wounds
At the time of writing “Visiting the Fallen” I didn’t comment on the number of battalion commanders killed on the opening day of the Battle of Arras, though the ones buried within the area covered by the books are featured. I knew the number was far fewer than on the opening day of the Battle of the […]