Back to the River Arras

Battle of Arras (according to Alistair Horne)
=============================================

Martin Rapier, April 1997

Ref: To Lose a Battle, Ch 18.

1. The Plan.
------------

Gen Gamelin ordered 'Instruction No12' on 19th June for
an attack towards Mezieres from the south, and the Somme
from the north. This was cancelled by Weygand on assuming
command, who also ordered the roads cleared of refugees
and the un-mothballing of as many WWI 75s as possible.

On the 20th while Weygand flew around over Northern France
having meetings, Gen Ironside ordered Gen Gort to
attack south with all possible strength at 0800 hours on
that day. Gort pointed out that seven of his nine divisions
were already engaged and refused. He said that he was
instead planning a limited attack with his two unengaged
divisions south from Arras.

Ironsides then went to see Billotte (Gorts nominal
commander) and bullied Billotte and Blanchard into accepting
the attack plan, and it ws agreed that both armies would
attack with two divisions each on the 21st.

2. Forces committed
-------------------

Attack was coordinated by Major General Franklyn (GOC
5th Div) and he was allotted 5th and 50th Div plus 1st
Army Tank Brigade.

BUT, the infantry divisions only had two brigades each, one
from 5th Div was sent to relieve the French on the river Scarpe
and the other brigade (17th) was held in reserve.

50th Div lost a brigade to garrison Arras itself and to hold the
river line east of the city.

So, all that was left for the attack were two battalions of
151st Brigade (50th Div), plus the armour.

1st Army Tank Brigade started with 100 tanks, but by the 21st
its runners consisted of 58 Matilda Is and 16 Matilda IIs. It
may also have had some light Vickers IV or VI in the
regimental scout troops (not mentioned in Horne).

Meanwhile late on the 20th Blanchard informed Gort that the
French infantry could not attack until the 22nd, so instead
Priouxs Cavalry Corps was allotted to provide flank cover
to the West. Unfortunately Prioux had already lost most
of 1st DLM fighting Hoeppner,a nd the rest of his tanks had
lent to various infantry units, even by 1700 hours on the 20th
he had not succeeded in reassembling his armour. He was only
able to commit "a few weak detachments of 3rd DLM" - I believe
this amounted to around a battlion of H39s.

No RAF or ZOAN support was forthcoming.

The attack finally went in at 1400 hours on the 21st.

3. The attack
-------------

Gen Martel led from an open car. The troops were divided
into two equal sized columns of a tank battalion, an
infantry battalion (DLI - Durham Light Infantry) plus a
battery of field artillery and AT guns. These would probably
have been 18/25 pdrs (eight or twelve guns) and the AT guns
would be Swedish 37mm Bofors AT guns (three troops of four
each). The tanks seem to have been equally divided up.

The right hand column - fought to clear Duisans and left two
infantry companies & some AT to garrison it. Pushed on to
Warlus, again captured after a stiff fight, took Berneville,
and put troops across the Doullen-Arras road. The infantry
were pinned down by MG/mortar fire and attacked by Stukas.
The tanks left them behind and attacked Wailly where they
caused panic among the lead units of 3rd SSTK. They were now
overextended and the whole force fell back to Warlus with
heavy losses, where the British AT gunners and Priouxs tanks
fought each other! Some of the French tanks (six) than
engaged 25th Panzer Regiment around Duisans.

The left hand column - fought all the way but made rapid
progress. Took Dainville, destroying a "motorised column"
in the process (vehicles KO'd, troops made prisoner). Two
miles east six Matildas wiped out an AT battery near Achicourt
then pushed on to Agny and Beaurains, a few units reached
Wancourt on the River Cojeul (the objective of the attack).
Most of the heavy fighting took place in the Agny-Beaurains
area between 4th RTR and German 6th Rifle Brigade, backed up
by the Div artillery and Flak of 7th Panzer Div. Both sides
suffered heavy losses.

Meanwhile 150th Brigade (50th Div) attacked across the Scarpe
to Tilloy, and 13th Brigade also established a bridghead.
However it was obvious that the ground could not be held, and
the whole force fell back as 25th Panzer Reg approached Arras
from the west. They took 400 prisnoers, destroyed "large
numbers" of tanks and vehicles, but were left with only
26 Matilda Is and 2 Matilda IIs.

4. The German View
------------------

(You may have most of this already from The Rommel Papers).

3rd SSTK evidently abandoned its positions in Wailly and
showed 'signs of panic' (Guderian).

Rommel was busy trying to round up 6th and 7th Rifle brigades
to support 25th Pz Reg when the attack started. He couldn't
find 7th Bde.

He found elements of 6th Bde south of Wailly, and howitzers
north of the village were engaging British tanks. The village
itself came under MG fire as Rommel reached it. He found that
the vilage was jammed with troops and vehicles trying to take
cover (RtC!). West of Wailly were some light AA guns and AT
guns again hiding in full cover, and there were some destroyed
German tanks (he says Pz III, they must have been Pz38s).

The German infantry and gun crews in the village then broke and
ran. At this point Rommel brought up all the available guns,
both AA and AT and concentrated their fire on each group of
tanks, evidently with some success as the attack petered out
(this was the high water mark of the right hand column).
Rommel reports several British tanks destroyed or disabled,
and the rest retreating.

By the time he got the rest of 6th Rifle reg it had suffered
'very heavy losses in men and material' and he reports
the overrunning of their light AT batteries. He organised
a gun line between Agny and Beaurains from the Div artillery
and heavy AA (88) batteries - according to Guderian there
were at most six of these. This finished off the attack in the
north, one 88 battery claiming nine kills.

25th Panzer Reg eventually intervened, and Rommel reports the
destruction of seven tanks for the loss of nine of his own (no
mention of the French though) fighting NW of Arras.

He had lost 'considerable numbers' of tanks, 205 dead or wounded,
and 173 missing (presumably the remaining 200 prisoners were
from 3rd SS).