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2
battle of loos
25 September 1915
THE CHANGE OF FOCUS TO THE WESTERN FRONT
The desperate state of the Russian Army in 1915
demanded a change of focus, a major effort in the
West was required. The Allies therefore launched
a significant joint offensive that the French
General, Marshal Joffre, promised would ‘compel
the Germans to retire to the Meuse and probably
end the war’. The British sector centred on the
mining region of Loos.
On 25 September long lines of British infantry
advanced on heavily defended German positions
in and around the small coalmining town of Loos,
in the heart of the industrial area of northeast
France. The attack was preceded by an artillery
bombardment that began on 21 September. After
much agonised debate, chlorine gas and smoke was
discharged at 5.50 a.m. on the morning of the
battle. The decision was finally reached in order
to compensate for what Sir Douglas Haig, Commander
First Army, whose men would execute the advance,
considered insufficient artillery support. This
was the first time the British would use gas as
a weapon in the Great War.
1 G. Corrigan, Loos 1915: The Unwanted Battle (Stroud, 2006), 8.