NEUVE EGLISE 



5603 



NEUVILLE-ST. VAAST 



rps (PultO- 



',! Ilifll- 



tieres, and the 

 1st corps (Gough) 

 at C, i v e no h y. 

 Tlii-iiL'li tin- H"t- 

 isli supply >f inu- 

 nitii'iis wasinadc- 

 <|iiatt>, by the 

 strictest possible 

 economy suffi- 

 cient had been 

 accumulated for 

 a violent 40- 

 minute artillery 

 preparation 

 \\hidi, it was 

 hoped, would 

 wipe out the Ger- 

 man trenches. 

 The date fixed for 

 the attack was 

 March 10, and 

 before it the 

 Royal Air Force 

 had secured de- 

 cided superiority 

 in the air. British 

 artillery, includ- 

 ing new 15 -in. 

 howitzers, had 

 been c o n c e n- 

 trated during 

 March 8 and 9, 

 undetected b y 

 the Germans. 

 This section 

 of the front was 

 held by the 6th 

 German army 



BATTLE OF 



NEUVE CHAPELLE 



Neuve Chapelle. Map of the country between Armen- 

 tieres and La Bassee, showing the disposition of the 

 British forces just before the battle of March 10-12, 1915 



(Prince Rupert of Bavaria). 



The British guns opened at 

 7.30 a.m. of March 10, a cold and 

 misty morning, after preliminary 

 shots necessary to secure correct 

 registration. The preliminary 

 firing alarmed the Germans, who 

 opened a heavy fire on the crowded 

 trenches, but this was almost 

 immediately followed by the roar 

 of 480 British guns, which for 35 

 minutes poured in a storm of pro- 

 jectiles on the hostile positions. At 

 the same time the airmen bombed 

 the rly. bridges and junctions to 

 the rear of the German front, and 

 set one of the German headquarters 

 on fire. At 8.5 the guns lengthened 

 their range, to put down a barrage 

 behind the German line, and the 

 infantry advanced. 



On the front of the Indian corps 

 the artillery preparation had been 

 satisfactory ; attacking the S.E. 

 coiner of Neuve Chapelle village, 

 its troops found the German 

 trenches destroyed and the wire 

 cut. They carried four lines of 

 trenches, consolidated the position, 

 and searched the houses for snipers 

 and machine guns, while the Brit- 

 ish artillery lengthened its range to 

 interpose a barrage between the 

 village and the German rear. N. of 



the village British troops attacked 

 and found in most places the 

 German trenches and wire intact. 

 Their losses were heavy, but Neuve 

 Chapelle was won, and by 11 a.m. 

 all resistance there had ceased. 



To carry out the purpose of the 

 command it was necessary to use 

 to the utmost the opportunity 

 which the surprise of the Germans 

 had given, and to push E., driving 

 a deep wedge into the German 

 front. Unfortunately, in the critical 

 hours of the battle, the reserves of 

 the 4th corps were late in arriving, 

 owing to defective staff work. 

 Communications between the Brit- 

 ish front line and the rear broke 

 down. Telephone wires were cut 

 by the German artillery, while the 

 German machine guns enfiladed 

 the new British positions. 



At 3.30 p.m. the 4th corps 

 reserves were on the ground and 

 the three brigades of the 7th 

 division attempted an advance 

 towards Aubers and Pietre, while 

 Indian troops on the 8. attacked 

 the Bois du Biez. But at both 

 points the Germans were strongly 

 posted, and the British artillery fire 

 had produced little effect. The ad- 

 vance came to a standstill, and the 

 British entrenched, having gained 



a lii. ut a null- .f Around and cleared 

 the \euve('hii|K-llc salient. Order, 

 were i.-MH-d t<> renew the attack on 

 the llth, hut di>l not reach all 

 the troops, and the attack by unite 

 (if the Indian corps was "beaten 

 back with heavy loss. On Man h 12 

 the German reserves arrived and 

 a number of counter-attacks were 

 delivered by them, but without 

 gaining any ground. 



The British casualties in the 

 battle were 2,527 killed, 8,533 

 wounded, and 1,751 miming, a 

 total of 12,811. The German losses, 

 including 30 officers and 1,657 men 

 taken prisoners, may have been 

 almost as large, as, on the 

 of front captured by the Indian 

 troops, 2,000 dead were counted. 



Neuve Eglise. Village of Bel- 

 gium, in the pr. >v. of W. Flanders. 

 It is 3 m. S.W. of Messines (q.v.). 

 The centre of a network of roads, 

 it was an important British posi- 

 tion in the Ypres salient in the 

 Great War. It came into promin- 

 ence in the German offensive 

 against Ypres, April, 1918, being 

 gallantly defended by remnants 

 of the 25th division, April 12-13. 

 It was subsequently lost, but re- 

 taken by the 33rd and 49th divi- 

 sions. A party of the 2nd Wor- 

 cesters made an heroic stand in the 

 .Maine against a German attack on 

 April 14. The village was reduced 

 to ruins in the fighting. A war 

 memorial has been erected here. 



Neuville, ALPHONSE MABFE DE 

 (1836-85). French painter. He was 

 born at St. Orner, May 31, 1836. 

 In 1861 his 

 Chasseurs of 

 the Guards 

 took a second- 

 class medal at 

 the Salon, and 

 was followed 

 by a series of 

 military p i c- 

 tures, the art- 

 ist supporting 

 himself mean- 

 while by making woodcuts for the 

 illustrated press. His pictures of the 

 outstanding incidents of the \\ar 

 of 1870-71 made him the best- 

 known military artist in Europe, 

 The Last Cartridge, 1873, and 

 Attack on a Barricaded House at 

 Villersexel, 1874, being notable. 

 He died in Paris, May 20, 1885. 



Neuville-St. Vaast. Village of 

 Franco, in the dept. of Pas-de- 

 Calais. It is 6 m. N. of Arras and 

 was prominent in the Great War, 

 being the scene of fighting be- 

 tween the Germans and the French. 

 It was the centre of mining opera- 

 tions, and was stormed by the 

 French on June 8, 1915. Its site 

 was almost obliterated. See Artois, 

 Battle of ; Careucy ; Souchez. 



Alphonae de Nenville, 

 French painter 



