Liveblogging World War I: October 1, 2014: The Battle of Arras
Battle of Arras (1914) - Wikipedia:
The Tenth Army, led by General Louis Maud'huy, attacked advancing German forces on 1 October and reached Douai, where the German 6th Army under Crown Prince Rupprecht counter-attacked, as three corps of the German 1st, 2nd and 7th armies attacked further south. The French were forced to withdraw towards Arras and Lens was occupied by German forces on 4 October. Attempts to encircle Arras from the north were defeated and both sides used reinforcements to try another flanking move further north at the Battle of La Bassée.... The reciprocal flanking moves ended in Flanders, when both sides reached the North Sea coast and then attempted breakthrough attacks....
On 28 September, Falkenhayn ordered that all available troops were to be transferred to the 6th Army, for an offensive on the existing northern flank by the IV, Guard and I Bavarian corps near Arras, an offensive by the II Cavalry Corps on the right flank of the 6th Army, across Flanders to the coast and an acceleration of the operations at the Siege of Antwerp, before it could be reinforced. Rupprecht intended to halt the advance of the French on the west side of Arras and conduct an enveloping attack around the north of the city....
A French division arrived at Arras on 30 September and repulsed a German attack at the Cojeul river and high ground near Monchy-le-Preux on 1 October. The French were then slowly pushed back from Guémappe, Wancourt and Monchy-le-Preux until the arrival of X Corps. The French XI Corps was withdrawn from the Ninth Army and sent to Amiens; by 1 October two more corps, three infantry and two cavalry divisions had been sent northwards to Amiens, Arras, Lens and Lille, which increased the Second Army to eight corps, along a front of 100 kilometres (62 mi). Joffre ordered Castelnau to cease attempts to outflank the Germans opposite and operate defensively. From the northern corps of the Second Army and the Territorial and cavalry divisions nearby, created a Subdivision d'Armée under the command of General Louis de Maud'huy. The Subdivision advanced on Arras, with the gap south to the Second Army held by the Territorial divisions.[10] Maud'huy was ready to begin an attack to the south-east past Arras and Lens, under the impression that the Subdivision was opposed only by a cavalry screen, rather than three German corps which were preparing to attack.
The westward advance of the XIV Reserve Corps, from Bapaume to Albert and Amiens, was stopped by French troops east of Albert. Five German cavalry divisions further north, were also confronted French cavalry and infantry.... The 1st Guard Division and IV Corps were moved to the northern flank of the XIV Reserve Corps, to allow some of the cavalry divisions to redeploy.... The 5th Bavarian Reserve Division advance was stopped by French troops at Lewarde, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) short of Douai, until the village was captured in the evening, after which the division stopped for the night. The 1st Bavarian Reserve Division battalions also came within 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of Douai.... The advance resumed on 2 October, with the 1st Bavarian Reserve Division in the south, attacking through Brebières to St. Laurent and the 5th Bavarian Reserve Division to advance via Izel and Oppy to Bailleul-Sir-Berthoult.... By the morning of 3 October, the German front line ran from Drocourt to Bois Bernard and Fresnoy.... The advance on Arras continued, supported by artillery moved forward during the night and the Guard, 4th, 7th and 9th Cavalry divisions in the Scarpe valley.... Costly German attacks were made on Beaurains, Mercatel and the Arras suburbs of St. Laurent-Blangy and St. Nicolas....
On 4 October, Joffre made the Subdivision d'Armée independent as the Tenth Army and told Castelnau to keep the Second Army in position, relying on the increasing number of French troops arriving further north to divert German pressure. Foch was appointed as a deputy to Joffre, with responsibility for the northern area of operations, the Territorial divisions, the Second and Tenth armies, which were combined in the Groupe Provisoire du Nord (GPN)....
The French had been able to use the undamaged railways behind their front to move troops more quickly than the Germans, who had to take long detours, wait for repairs to damaged tracks and replace rolling stock.... The initiative held by the Germans in August was not recovered as all troop movements to the right flank were piecemeal.... Information on German troop movements from wireless interception enabled the French to forestall German moves but the Germans had to rely on reports from spies, which were frequently wrong. The French resorted to more cautious infantry tactics, using cover to reduce casualties and a centralised system of control as the German army commanders followed contradictory plans. The French did not need quickly to obtain a decisive result and could concentrate on preserving the French army.
