French Flanders and Artois Battlefields of WW1, France
The 1914-1918 battlefields of French Flanders are located in an area of northern France historically
called the provinces of Flanders and the County of Artois. Nowadays these two
provinces are situated in the northernmost region of France, namely Nord-Pas-de-Calais. This region
shares its northern border with Flemish Flanders in Belgium. Towns and villages in the area which feature in
the battlefields of 1914-1918 are Armentières, Arras, Bailleul, Béthune, Bullecourt,
Festubert, Fromelles, Hazebrouck, Loos-en-Gohelle, Monchy-le-Preux and St. Omer. The city of Lille is
the administrative capital of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. During the First World War Lille was a busy centre of
commerce and was occupied by the German Army for exactly four years from October 1914 to October 1918.
The western part of the region is rural and generally low-lying, with fertile fields criss-crossed by streams and ditches.
The eastern part of the region is industrial. During the 19th century this area developed quickly into one
of the leading industrial centres of France, producing almost all of the coal used in France by 1914. The
landscape rising in gentle spurs and ridges towards the area of Arras underwent a transformation
in the early part of the twentieth century with the appearance of numerous “man-made mountains” of
spoil near the many pit-heads.
Visitors to the battlefields of French Flanders and Artois will find several small museums, mostly privately
owned, monuments and over 350 cemeteries for the thousands of Allied and German casualties who died. This
region was the most badly damaged by the four years of warfare of all the areas in France on the
Western Front.
Events
Commemorative events are held on the battlefields of French Flanders according to an annual or special
anniversary of a battle. At times there are private ceremonies and Remembrance events in relation to a
particular monument or memorial.
French Flanders Events
Battles of French Flanders and Artois
- First Battle of Artois, (27th September to 10th October 1914)
- First Battle of Arras, (1st October to 4th October 1914)
- Battle of Armentières, (13th October to 2nd November 1914)
- Battle of Neuve Chapelle, (10th to 13th March 1915)
- Second Battle of Artois, (9th May to 18th June 1915)
- Battle of Aubers Ridge, (9th May 1915)
- Battle of Festubert, (15th to 27th May 1915)
- Third Battle of Artois, also called the Loos-Artois Offensive (25th September to 15th October 1915)
- Battle of Loos, (25th September to 8th October 1915)
- Battle of Fromelles, also known as the Action at Fromelles or the Battle of Fleurbaix (19th to 20th July 1916)
- Battles of Arras, (9th April to 4th May 1917)
- First Battle of the Scarpe (9th to 14th April 1917)
- Battle of Vimy Ridge (9th to 12th April 1917)
- First Battle of Bullecourt (10th to 11th April 1917)
- Battle of Lagnicourt (15th April 1917)
- Second Battle of the Scarpe (23rd to 24th April 1917)
- Battle of Arleux (28th to 29th April 1917)
- Battle of Bullecourt (3rd to 17th May 1917)
- Third Battle of the Scarpe (3rd to 4th May 1917)
- Battles of the Lys, (also known as the Lys Offensive, the Fourth Battle of Ypres,
the Third Battle of Flanders and as the
Btalha de la Lys by Portugal) (9th to 29th April 1918)
- Second Battle of Arras, (26th August to 3rd September 1918)
Towns and Villages
- Armentières — The town lies on the east bank of the River Lys and just south of the Belgian border.
It is famed for its weaving, spinning and brewing industry dating from the end of the 19th and early
20th centuries. The town was awarded the British award of the Military Cross and the French Legion d'Honneur
medal after the First World War. After a very brief period of occupation by German forces the town was in Allied territory
from 17th October 1914. Close to the Front Lines it became a British Army base and a place where troops
spent relaxation time out of the trenches. The town was evacuated by the British before the advance of
German forces on 10th April 1918 as part of the German spring offensive on the Western Front during the Battle
of the Lys. Armentières was recaptured by Allied forces on 2nd October 1918. Although the town had not
been badly damaged from German artillery shelling, it was damaged by the German forces during their withdrawal in October 1918.
- Arras — The town is the capital of the Department of Pas-de-Calais. The settlement of Atrebates
pre-dates a Roman military garrison which was established there during the Roman invasion of Northern Gaul. It is a town with a complicated
history, with its origins split between two communities of the Cité and the Ville (town) around the Abbey Saint
Vaast. Over the centuries Arras endured sieges, occupation and annexation. Underneath the town there are ancient
cellars dug out of the soft stone called “Boves”. During the First World War Arras was taken
on 6th September 1914 by German forces during their advance into France. They were driven out by the French Army
three days later on 9th September. The Front Lines remained close to the town for the duration of the war. By the end of the war it was very badly damaged from the German artillery shelling and aerial bombing. The ancient buildings, the belfry and medieval gabled house fronts
were rebuilt after the war. The “Boves” were used by Allied forces for the duration of the war as shelter,
living space and medical stations. These underground caves grew into a city underneath the shattered buildings above.
- Bailleul — The town of Bailleul is situated to the north-west
of Armentièères in the Department of Nord. Archeological finds have dated the town to a site during the Gallo-Roman
period in the 11th century. As with many towns in this region of Flanders it suffered damage from invading
forces several times in its history. During the First World War it was occupied for a short time in autumn 1914
by the German Army, but on 14th October 1914 it was captured by the British Expeditionary Force. It
remained in British and French territory until 15th April 1918, when the German advance took the town
during its spring offensive in the Battle of the Lys. A few months later the British 29th Division retook the
ruined town on 30th August 1918. During the time it was in British hands, from the end of 1914 to spring
1918, Bailleul was a front line town. Until it became the target of German artillery shells from July 1917 the
town was busy with Allied troops passing through, resting out of the line, there were hospital facilities for treating
the Allied wounded, and well-visited cafés in the market square.
- Béthune — The town was used as by British corps and divisional headquarters
during the First World War, being a place with useful facilities and at a distance behind the fighting lines
to avoid too much damage from enemy artillery bombardments. It was used for billeting troops, it was an
important railhead for troop movement and supply lines. In 1914 and 1915 the Indian Corps was holding
Béthune.
- Bullecourt — The village of Bullecourt lies to the east of Arras. The village was
incorporated into the Hindeburg Line (known as the Siegfried Stellung by the German Army) by German forces.
It was the
scene of fighting in 1917 during the Battle of Arras, when the Australian 4th Division and the British 62nd
Division attacked with tanks from 3rd May 1917. The village was completely destroyed by 1918.
- Festubert — Festubert was the location of the Battle of Festubert in May 1915.
- Fromelles — The village is a commune located in the Department of Nord in the region
of Nord-Pas-de Calais. It is situated about 8 miles south-west of the city of Lille. The countryside around
Fromelles village is quiet, flat, fertile land used for agriculture. Fromelles is one of a number of small
villages in an area characterized by the patchwork of small fields, copses and small-holdings. The Imperial
German Army occupied part of the village from 9th October 1914.
- Hazebrouck — The town was an important railway junction from the late 1800s and for this
reason was a strategic town for the Allied forces to operate from as a base and as a key town in the lines of
communication for supplies, and equipment or troop movement. During the First World War the Saint-Francis of
Assisi College was used as a British hospital by Casualty Clearing Station number 12.
- Lille — The city of Lille is also known by its Dutch name of Rijsel. It is the capital of the region of
Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Lille fell to German forces on 12th October 1914. Much of the city had been destroyed by
German artillery shelling in the early weeks of the war. It became a German Army headquarters and its military
fortifications, modified in the 1670s by Sébastian le Prestre de Vauban, were useful as a military garrison behind
the Front Line for German forces. It was recaptured by British forces on 17th October 1918.
- Loos-en-Gohelle — In the late 1890s the discovery of coal in the area changed this village from a farming
community into an industrial mining town with pit heads and slag heaps. The Germans occupied the town until British
forces took it on the first day of the Battle of Loos, 25th September 1915. By the end of the war there was
nothing recognizable of the pre-war bustling community; the town and surrounding area were pounded into a moonscape.
- Monchy-le-Preux — The village is located about 10 miles southeast of Arras. This was the
location from where the German forces bombarded Arras. The village was badly damaged in the battles of spring 1917.
- St. Omer — The town was behind the British Front Line during the war. It was used as a base for Allied flying
services. The Royal Flying Corps set up a headquarters at the airfield on 8th October 1914 and from that
time it grew into an important base for air operations throughout the war.
Cemeteries in French Flanders and Artois
The battlefield area of French Flanders contains the resting place of many thousands of Allied and
Imperial German troops. The military cemeteries for the British and Commonwealth casualties number over
300 and range in size from small battlefield cemeteries to larger concentration or collecting cemeteries created after the First World War. This area includes several French military
cemeteries, one of which is the largest French military
cemetery in the world at Ablain St. Nazaire (Notre Dame de Lorette). The largest German military cemetery for First World War casualties in France called
Neuville-Saint-Vaast “Maison Blanche” contains the remains of 44,833 German soldiers.
French Flanders and Artois Military Cemeteries
Memorials in French Flanders and Artois
In addition to numerous memorials to individual military units, this battlefield area has several
national memorials dedicated to thousands of servicemen who died in this area and who have no known
grave.
French Flanders and Artois Monuments and Memorials to the Missing
Related Links
The Western Front
An overview of the main WW1 battle areas of the Western Front and the type of landscape where they are found
in Belgium and France:
The Western Front
Visiting the WW1 Western Front Battlefields
Advice and information for travellers wishing to visit the battlefields in Belgium and France:
Visiting the WW1 Western Front Battlefields
