The hardest battle: the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918
Gespeichert in:
| Beteilige Person: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Buch |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Warwick, England
Helion & Company
2023
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| Schlagwörter: | |
| Links: | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=034320524&sequence=000001&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
| Abstract: | "The Canadian Corps’ Second Arras campaign was its most significant operational assignment of the war. More pivotal than Vimy, Passchendaele or Amiens, its task was to smash through a 15-kilometre zone of five fortified positions including the formidable Drocourt–Quéant Line and then cross the Canal du Nord. In doing so, it would rupture the German defences on the Western Front. The commander of the Canadian Corps, Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Currie, considered the Corps’ actions in the campaign as 'the hardest battle in its history’. In his diary, he remarked it was a greater victory than Amiens. The German high command, well aware of the sector’s vital importance, defended it with all they had. The German formations that fought there deemed it momentous. Multiple elite divisional histories regarded it as one of the high points of their service in the First World War. Three German commanders received the rare Pour le Mérite, the highest German military order, for their performance at Arras 1918. As Corporal Albert West of the 43rd Battalion wrote, 'If Germany cannot hold us here she cannot hold us at all.' It represented the German’s best opportunity to stop the Canadians during the Hundred Days. Unlike Amiens, the enemy expected an attack, defended a deep and heavily fortified zone, had ample reserves, and was fighting over terrain scarred by years of intense combat. Depleted in numbers, tired and with lowered morale, German infantry – Landsers – still fought staunchly when they had the advantage. Their machine gunners continued to battle with skill and died hard. Hostile artillery was not the formidable force of 1916-17, but it was difficult to fully suppress it. It remained a factor despite the best Canadian efforts. Unlike Amiens, the famous tank battle, the Corps did not benefit from surprise, masses of tanks, or an elite corps on its flank [...]." |
| Umfang: | xxviii, 484 Seiten Illustrationen, Karten 25 cm 1 Kartenbuch (XXIX Seiten ; 25 cm) |
| ISBN: | 9781915113665 |
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| 520 | 3 | |a "The Canadian Corps’ Second Arras campaign was its most significant operational assignment of the war. More pivotal than Vimy, Passchendaele or Amiens, its task was to smash through a 15-kilometre zone of five fortified positions including the formidable Drocourt–Quéant Line and then cross the Canal du Nord. In doing so, it would rupture the German defences on the Western Front. The commander of the Canadian Corps, Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Currie, considered the Corps’ actions in the campaign as 'the hardest battle in its history’. In his diary, he remarked it was a greater victory than Amiens. The German high command, well aware of the sector’s vital importance, defended it with all they had. The German formations that fought there deemed it momentous. Multiple elite divisional histories regarded it as one of the high points of their service in the First World War. Three German commanders received the rare Pour le Mérite, the highest German military order, for their performance at Arras 1918. As Corporal Albert West of the 43rd Battalion wrote, 'If Germany cannot hold us here she cannot hold us at all.' It represented the German’s best opportunity to stop the Canadians during the Hundred Days. Unlike Amiens, the enemy expected an attack, defended a deep and heavily fortified zone, had ample reserves, and was fighting over terrain scarred by years of intense combat. Depleted in numbers, tired and with lowered morale, German infantry – Landsers – still fought staunchly when they had the advantage. Their machine gunners continued to battle with skill and died hard. Hostile artillery was not the formidable force of 1916-17, but it was difficult to fully suppress it. It remained a factor despite the best Canadian efforts. Unlike Amiens, the famous tank battle, the Corps did not benefit from surprise, masses of tanks, or an elite corps on its flank [...]." | |
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Datensatz im Suchindex
| _version_ | 1819290508820742144 |
|---|---|
| adam_text | Contents List of Photographs List of Maps List of Tables Preface and Acknowledgements Nomenclature List of Abbreviations Foreword Introduction Key Questions Sources Structure viii xi xiii xiv xv xvi xix xxi xxiii xxiv xxvii Section One: Context 29 1 ‘It had life’: The Canadian Corps’ Commanders, Formations, and Arms Command Structure Divisions and Organisation Canadian Divisional Organisation Canadian Advantages 30 30 35 45 54 2 Ground, Foe, and Method: Where, Whom, and How the Canadian Corps Fought ‘Nothing but ruins’: Arras 1918 Battlefield 60 German Organisation and Leaders Alte Hasen and Korsettenstangen — Defences, Tactics, and Morale Canadian Doctrine Face of Battle Arras 1917 60 3 68 71 79 80 83 ‘Shake us out of the habits acquired by years in the trenches’: Preparing the Corps For the Hundred Days 86 German Spring Offensives 86 Canadian Corps: January-May 1918 90 Operation Delta 92 iii
iv The Hardest Battle Open Warfare Training Arras 1918’s Precursor: Operation ‘Thistle’ Amiens: Tanks, Surprise and Victory Widening the Offensive Section Two: To the Fresnes-Rouvroy Line 95 98 100 105 111 4 ‘To surprise the Enemy’: Canadian Corps Operations Planning, 22-25 August Canadian Corps Moves North Planning Arras 1918 Haig Shifts the Spearhead Corps’ Plan Divisional Plans Highlanders! The 51st (Highland) Division German Actions 112 112 115 121 126 131 134 135 5 Tf Germany cannot hold us here’:Canadian Corps Operations, 26 August Right Flank: XVII Corps 2nd Division: Morning 2nd Division: Afternoon-Evening 3rd Division: Morning 7th Brigade 51st (Highland) Division Results and Analysis 140 140 142 145 150 154 162 163 6 ‘Pressed with the greatest vigour’: Failure Before the F-R Line, 27 August Strategic Situation Tempo Germans Corps Preparations Flanking Forces 2nd Division 5th Brigade 4th Brigade 3rd Division Highlanders Results and Analysis 167 167 169 174 174 175 175 178 185 188 192 193 7 A great importance was attached to its capture’: Operations to Break the F-R Line, 28 August 196 Strategic Situation 196 Planning 198 Germans 203 XVII Corps 204 2nd Division Suffers 204
Contents 5th Brigade: Costly Failure 4th Brigade: More Failure 26th Reserve Division Account 3rd Division: Triumph 9th Brigade 7th Brigade 8th Brigade Highlanders Results and Analysis Section Three: To the Drocourt-Quéant Line v 206 209 212 212 214 216 218 221 221 225 8 ‘Totally overrun, overcome, and taken prisoner:’ Approaching the D-Q_Line, 29-30 August 226 Strategic Situation 226 German Situation 228 1st Division 230 4th British Division 233 Brutinel’s Brigade 234 Relief: XXII Corps Takes Over the Northern Sector 237 Highlanders 238 Results 239 30 August: Task 2 Progress 239 Strategic Situation 241 German Situation 241 1st Brigade Planning 244 1st Brigade Strikes 246 German Counterblow 249 4th British Division: Task 3 Almost Completed 253 Results and Analysis 256 9 ‘Disorganised and thoroughly cowed’: Gaining the Jump-Off Line, 31 August and 1 September Preparing Strategic Situation Germans 1st Division: ‘OCEAN WORK and Vicinity’ Fall 4th British Division 4th Canadian Division Arrives Results Battle for the Jump-off Line:1 September Strategic Situation Germans 1st Division: Gaining the Jump-Off Line 4th Canadian Division 258 258 261 261 263 265 266 269 269 271 271 273 279
vi The Hardest Battle 4th British Division Results and Analysis 283 284 Section Four: Breaking the D-QLine 286 10 ‘Break the hinge’: Planning the D-QLine Attack Conceptual Challenge German Situation Decisions Planning Process Corps’ Plans XVII Corps’ Plan 1st Canadian Division’s Plan Canadian Independent Force’s Plans 4th Canadian Division’s Plan 4th British Division’s Plans Analysis 287 288 292 294 295 299 301 302 303 304 307 308 11 „Herr Leutnant, der Tommy ist hier”: 1st Division and CIF, 2 September Flanking Forces 3rd Brigade German Southern Sector 2nd Brigade 1st Brigade Air Operations Canadian Independent Force Analysis 311 311 313 319 320 325 326 327 332 12 ‘The most severe machine gun opposition’: 4th Canadian and 4th British Divisions, 2 September 1918 336 12th Canadian Brigade 10th Canadian Brigade 11th Canadian Brigade Unsupportive Support Weapons 4th British Division Germans North of the Arras-Cambrai Road Results and Analysis 336 341 345 351 353 354 356 13 ‘Impresses importance of pushing on’: The Offensive Stalls, 3-5 September Planning 4th Canadian Division Dellmensingen’s Decision Strategic and Flanking Forces Situation 3-5 September 1st Division 4th Canadian Division 360 360 362 364 365 365 369
Contents 4th British Division Offensive Sputters Out: 4-5 September vii 370 371 Section Five: Analysis 373 14 Analysis Amiens-Arras 1918 Comparison Outcomes Casualties Commander Assessment 374 374 376 382 386 Conclusion: ‘The Hardest Battle’ Core Threads - Facilitators Core Themes - Hindrances Why the Greater Success of Arras 1918 versus Arras 1917? Matériel, Manpower, Morale or Method Did it Matter? 392 393 398 404 407 416 Appendices 418 I II III IV V VI Historiographical Debate Comparison German and Canadian Divisions Formations, Units, Commanders, and Staff Detailed Canadian Corps Orders of Battle, 26 August 1918 Detailed Canadian Corps Orders of Battle, 2 September 1918 Canadian Independent Force Order of Battle, 2 September 1918 Bibliography Index 419 421 423 448 452 456 458 475
|
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| era | Geschichte 1918 gnd |
| era_facet | Geschichte 1918 |
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| id | DE-604.BV049058327 |
| illustrated | Illustrated |
| indexdate | 2024-12-20T19:59:34Z |
| institution | BVB |
| isbn | 9781915113665 |
| language | English |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-034320524 |
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| physical | xxviii, 484 Seiten Illustrationen, Karten 25 cm 1 Kartenbuch (XXIX Seiten ; 25 cm) |
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| spellingShingle | Stewart, William F. 1958- The hardest battle the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918 Kanada Canadian Expeditionary Force (DE-588)4600507-9 gnd Hunderttageoffensive (DE-588)1159903360 gnd |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4600507-9 (DE-588)1159903360 |
| title | The hardest battle the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918 |
| title_auth | The hardest battle the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918 |
| title_exact_search | The hardest battle the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918 |
| title_full | The hardest battle the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918 William F. Stewart |
| title_fullStr | The hardest battle the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918 William F. Stewart |
| title_full_unstemmed | The hardest battle the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918 William F. Stewart |
| title_short | The hardest battle |
| title_sort | the hardest battle the canadian corps and the arras campaign 1918 |
| title_sub | the Canadian Corps and the Arras Campaign 1918 |
| topic | Kanada Canadian Expeditionary Force (DE-588)4600507-9 gnd Hunderttageoffensive (DE-588)1159903360 gnd |
| topic_facet | Kanada Canadian Expeditionary Force Hunderttageoffensive |
| url | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=034320524&sequence=000001&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
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