The battle came to an abrupt end on the 15th March. The advance of some two miles had been halted and Aubers Ridge, a prime target, remained beyond reach. The British had suffered around 7,000 casualties (killed and wounded) and the Indian Brigade around 4,200. The Germans lost near to 10,000 men. From the Allied point of view, the attack must be seen as something of a failure, but ground had been taken; Neuve Chapelle had been captured; and the stubborn and competent performance of the British troops had done much to cement relationships within the Alliance, particularly and more importantly with the French. The B.E.F. had shown that it was capable of carrying out a well organised attack. As the French commander, Joseph Joffre, put it, the attack was “a success that led to nothing.” Nor were the Germans unimpressed. They set about strengthening their forward positions and installing more substantial second and third line defences.

    Incidentally, this battle was notable for the significant and growing contribution being made by the British Royal Flying Corps during the course of the fighting. Haig, unlike some commanders, was particularly keen to encourage aircraft participation, and, in addition to general reconnaissance – identifying targets prior to the battle – found the photographs taken of enemy gun emplacements particularly useful in directing his own artillery fire. This is not surprising. In planning for this battle, the RFC had striven to provide the means, amongst others, by which “photo mosaics” could map out the enemy’s artillery positions, thereby allowing for the pre-planned registration of guns. Indeed, in the world of aerial warfare, the Battle of Neuve Chapelle became known as the “First Imagery Planned Battle”! And, in addition, it was in this encounter that aircraft took on a noteworthy tactical role, dropping 100lb bombs on German lines, trains and marshalling yards. ……

    …… ThexFrench supported the British offensive. Five miles to the south, they opened up a diversionary attack on the road, rail and canal junction at La Bassée (see map above), but, when the British were brought to a standstill, they decided to take no further action. But that decision was also motivated, it must be noted, by a more serious concern: the growing shortage of ammunition, particularly artillery ammunition. Because of the intense increase of artillery on the battlefield itself, the Allies, and especially the French and British, were quickly running out of shells. Indeed, at the end of this battle, both Sir Douglas Haigh and Sir John French (commander of the B.E.F), complained about the serious lack of ammunition for the guns. Matters were to come to a head two months later during the Battle of Artois. In Britain, the shortage came to be known as the “Shell Crisis” and it contributed, in part at least, to the fall of the government.

    The following month, April, is remembered for the Second Battle of Ypres, a ferocious and prolonged encounter in which the Germans used poison gas for the first time on the Western Front. They failed once again to take Ypres, but, as we shall see, they seized a considerable amount of territory to the north of the city.

THE WESTERN FRONT

THE BATTLE OF NEUVE CHAPELLE: 10th – 15th MARCH 1915

Acknowledgements

Map: ww1battlefields.co.uk  Map of Battle: historybytez.com  Capture of Neuve Chapelle (left): by English artist James Prinsep Beadle, Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Gallery  Capture of Neuve Chapelle (right): nam.ac.uk by French artist Jean-Jacques Berne-Bellecour, 1916.  Chlorine: dailymail.co.uk

     The Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the first all-British offensive in the new age of trench warfare, proved something of a learning process in battlefield tactics. The First Army, commanded by General Sir Douglas Haig, was set the task of taking the village of Neuve Chapelle, about twenty miles south of Ypres (see map), and then seizing Aubers Ridge beyond, a modest but commanding height. From there, an attack could be planned upon the city of Lille, an important railway link which supplied men and material to the German line throughout this northern region.

    Thexinfantry attack included four battalions of the Indian Garhwal Brigade and the first Canadian contingent to be in action on the Western Front. It was launched on the 10th March, and was preceded by an hour of devastating bombardment – the heaviest of its day – aimed equally at the German front line and the village of Neuve Chapelle, the first objective (see map). By the end of the day, the village, reduced to rubble, was in the the hands of the British. Overnight, however, the Germans reinforced their second line in front of the Bois de Biez, and, come the next day, the British infantry, short of ammunition and with no immediate back-up, were brought to a standstill. They managed to repulse a powerful German counter attack, but could advance no further. They had pushed back their enemy and shown ability in so doing, but they had failed to break through the German defences. The lessons to be learnt were clear. The initial bombardment, powerful though it had been, had not done sufficient damage to the German defences, especially the barbed wire entanglements; once the initiative had been gained, there was an immediate need for a support force to maintain the momentum; and on the battlefield itself, it was vital to have an effective communication system. Far too often the lines of communication had broken down or been easily cut by the enemy, leaving front-line troops without direction and lacking vital information. And that was a need that was still to be met in many of the encounters that lay ahead. “Runners” (foot messengers) often took too long to complete their mission, and many were killed or wounded en route. Technology needed to be improved.

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