ressmex Posted 13 January , 2006 Share Posted 13 January , 2006 I've not really heard a lot about this particular battle. Was it a full set piece battle or a side show to a bigger battle? possible a relative died here and I would like to know more about it in particular the part played by 2 KOSB. Any help would be of great importance to me, so thank you in advance. TOM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withcall Posted 13 January , 2006 Share Posted 13 January , 2006 All nicked from another site, but there's plenty out there if you 'google' it The Third Battle of the Scarpe - 3rd - 4th May 1917 First Army XIII Corps : 2nd Division, 5th Division, 31st Division Canadian Corps : 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions Third Army VI Corps :3rd Division, 12th Division, 56th Division VII Corps :14th Division, 18th Division, 21st Division XVII Corps :4th Division, 9th Division Included the Tactical Incident: The Capture of Fresnoy, by the 1st Canadian Division. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subsequent action : The Capture of Roeux - 13th - 14th May 1917 Third Army VI Corps :3rd Division, 12th Division XVII Corps :17th Division, 51st Division Subsequent action : The Capture of Oppy Wood - 28th June 1917 First Army XIII Corps : 5th Division, 31st Division -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Flanking Operations Round Bullecourt - 11th April - 16th June 1917 First Attack on Bullecourt - 11th April 1917 Fifth Army V Corps : 62nd Division 1st ANZAC : 4th Australian Division German Attack at Lagnicourt - 15th April 1917 Fifth Army V Corps : 62nd Division 1st ANZAC : 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions The Battle of Bullecourt - 3rd - 17th May 1917 Fifth Army V Corps : 7th Division, 58th Division, 62nd Division 1st ANZAC : 1st, 2nd and 5th Australian Divisions Actions on the Hindenburg Line - 20th May - 16th June 1917 Third Army VII Corps :21st Division, 33rd Division Fifth Army V Corps : 7th Division, 58th Division, 62nd Division 1st ANZAC : 5th Australian Division Note : the 20th Division relieved 5th Australian Division on 26 May. The fighting around Roeux was particularly awful - especially the attempts to evict the Germans from the Chemical Works. First and Second Bullecourt have a very long-lasting resonance for Australians, and over the years have contributed pretty heavily, along with Gallipoli and Fromelles, to the widely held (but unfair) view that gallant Australian troops were squandered by incompetent British staff work. I've got loads of stuff n Bullecourt if you're interested. The Scarpe is just the name of the river that runs through the Arras area - I don't think it had any particular strategic importance as it ran largely on an east-west axis. Rather like the Ancre, the valley of the Scarpe was pretty marshy and not much use to either attackers or defenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 14 January , 2006 Share Posted 14 January , 2006 The Scarpe runs from Arras to Cambrai; the battles were designed to break through the Hindenburg line which lay to the south-east of Arras as well as suupor the French attacks under Nivelle's leadership. The ground is very open with occasional villages and small plantations of trees. To advance over such open ground was very difficult as it was ideal country for defenders; artillery OPs could easily spot movement and machine guns were able to use their full range. Use of armour was limited as there were few tanks available, they were Mark I or Mark II (training) tanks which had great difficulty getting foward; those which did very generally destroyed. Even cavalry was used, because of the open ground, but again their success was nil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ressmex Posted 14 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 14 January , 2006 All nicked from another site, but there's plenty out there if you 'google' it The Third Battle of the Scarpe - 3rd - 4th May 1917 First Army XIII Corps : 2nd Division, 5th Division, 31st Division Canadian Corps : 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions Third Army VI Corps :3rd Division, 12th Division, 56th Division VII Corps :14th Division, 18th Division, 21st Division XVII Corps :4th Division, 9th Division Included the Tactical Incident: The Capture of Fresnoy, by the 1st Canadian Division. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subsequent action : The Capture of Roeux - 13th - 14th May 1917 Third Army VI Corps :3rd Division, 12th Division XVII Corps :17th Division, 51st Division Subsequent action : The Capture of Oppy Wood - 28th June 1917 First Army XIII Corps : 5th Division, 31st Division -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Flanking Operations Round Bullecourt - 11th April - 16th June 1917 First Attack on Bullecourt - 11th April 1917 Fifth Army V Corps : 62nd Division 1st ANZAC : 4th Australian Division German Attack at Lagnicourt - 15th April 1917 Fifth Army V Corps : 62nd Division 1st ANZAC : 1st and 2nd Australian Divisions The Battle of Bullecourt - 3rd - 17th May 1917 Fifth Army V Corps : 7th Division, 58th Division, 62nd Division 1st ANZAC : 1st, 2nd and 5th Australian Divisions Actions on the Hindenburg Line - 20th May - 16th June 1917 Third Army VII Corps :21st Division, 33rd Division Fifth Army V Corps : 7th Division, 58th Division, 62nd Division 1st ANZAC : 5th Australian Division Note : the 20th Division relieved 5th Australian Division on 26 May. The fighting around Roeux was particularly awful - especially the attempts to evict the Germans from the Chemical Works. First and Second Bullecourt have a very long-lasting resonance for Australians, and over the years have contributed pretty heavily, along with Gallipoli and Fromelles, to the widely held (but unfair) view that gallant Australian troops were squandered by incompetent British staff work. I've got loads of stuff n Bullecourt if you're interested. The Scarpe is just the name of the river that runs through the Arras area - I don't think it had any particular strategic importance as it ran largely on an east-west axis. Rather like the Ancre, the valley of the Scarpe was pretty marshy and not much use to either attackers or defenders. Soaking up as much info as I can get, Cheers TOM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ressmex Posted 14 January , 2006 Author Share Posted 14 January , 2006 The Scarpe runs from Arras to Cambrai; the battles were designed to break through the Hindenburg line which lay to the south-east of Arras as well as suupor the French attacks under Nivelle's leadership. The ground is very open with occasional villages and small plantations of trees. To advance over such open ground was very difficult as it was ideal country for defenders; artillery OPs could easily spot movement and machine guns were able to use their full range. Use of armour was limited as there were few tanks available, they were Mark I or Mark II (training) tanks which had great difficulty getting foward; those which did very generally destroyed. Even cavalry was used, because of the open ground, but again their success was nil. You mean three attempts!! any idea of the casualties in particular 2KOSB. TOM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delta Posted 16 January , 2006 Share Posted 16 January , 2006 I have no info on 2 KOSB but there is bound to be some-one who has. Suggest that you edit the title of the thread and see what happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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