Battle of Arras

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battle of arras 31
T he FiGhTinG aT Gavrelle
Following the initial swift gains of the Arras offensive, the British advance
faltered but the gain of 5 kilometres (the longest advance in a single day
since 1914) meant that the village of Gavrelle was now the German front
line. On the opening day of the offensive the Naval Division had been
split up, with the divisional artillery supporting the Canadian assault
on Vimy Ridge and individual Battalions being attached to assaulting
Divisions. By 14th April they were pulled together again and on 23rd April,
while the 51st (Highland) Division was attacking Roeux, the Royal Naval
Division was tasked with the capture of Gavrelle. This involved severe
fighting as they moved from house to house. However the windmill on
the high ground beyond the village remained in German hands and this
prevented further advance. The Arleux Loop, just north of the village of
Gavrelle, was part of a German defensive trench system known as the
Oppy-Méricourt Line - behind which lay a section of the partially
constructed Drocourt-Quéant Line, which was to connect the Hindenburg
Line with the existing defences around the town of Lens. The capture of
the village had created a disruption within the German line and a few days
later, on 28th April, the Naval Division was tasked to attack the southern
sector of the Loop, which required the windmill to be taken.
The 1st Battalion Royal Marine Light Infantry was completely wiped
out in the attack. Contact with them was lost shortly after they set off from
their trenches in the early morning. A German strong point in the trench
system had proved to be quite deadly and it was only after two days of
fighting by the Division’s Honourable Artillery Company, during which
two Victoria Crosses were won, that the trenches were finally taken. A
platoon from the 2nd Battalion Royal Marine Light Infantry succeeded in
capturing the windmill and then held out against 13 counter attacks as the
ground around them was retaken by the Germans.
Around 3,000 men of the Naval Division were lost during the battle
and marked the single largest casualty list ever for the Royal Marines. The
German defensive line was pushed back but the village was retaken by the
Germans the following year, before being finally liberated a few months
before the Armistice. A monument to the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division
stands on the outskirts of the village of Gavrelle today. The Division was
demobilised in France in April 1919, having suffered 47,900 casualties.