|
History — Military
history — List of battles — World War I
The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted
on the Western Front in 1915 during
World War I. The battle was the British component of the combined
Anglo-French offensive known as the Second Battle of Artois. General Douglas
Haig, then commander of the British First Army, directed
the battle however his plans were limited by the shortage of artillery shells
which meant the preliminary bombardment, essential for success in the emerging trench warfare, was weak. The British also released 140 tons of chlorine gas with mixed success—in places the gas was blown back onto British trenches.
The battle opened on September 25 and the British were able to
breakthrough the weaker German trenches and capture the town of Loos. However the inevitable supply and communications problems
and the late arrival of reserves meant that the breakthrough could not be exploited. When the battle resumed the following day,
the Germans were prepared and repulsed attempts to continue the advance. The fighting subsided on September 28 with the British having retreated to their starting positions.
This article is a stub. You can
help Wikipedia by expanding it .
|