How many casualties were there during the German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916 ?
54966986#28
In 1932, Edmonds recorded 1,344 German casualties; 615 men in the attack and 729 during British counter-attacks. British casualties in the 47th Division from 22 to 24 May were 1,571, 2nd Division casualties were 267 and the 7th Brigade (25th Division) had 637 casualties, a total of 2,475. In 1936, the official historians of "Der Weltkrieg", the German official history, recorded that 300 British prisoners had been taken.
German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
54966735#0
Orders of battle for The German Attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916 (Unternehmen Schleswig-Holstein/Operation Schleswig-Holstein), 21 May 1916. The operation was a local German attack on Vimy Ridge on the Western Front during the First World War. At the Third Battle of Artois (25 September – 4 November 1915) the French Tenth Army captured positions on the western slope of Vimy Ridge and the German 6th Army was forced back to positions on the steeper eastern slope. Both sides resorted to a continuous underground offensive. The Tenth Army was transferred south by March 1916, during the Battle of Verdun (21 February – 18 December 1916) and the British First Army and Third Army on either flank extended their lines to take over Vimy Ridge.
Orders of battle for the German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
54966986#0
The German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916 ("Unternehmen Schleswig-Holstein"/Operation Schleswig-Holstein) was a local attack on the Western Front during the First World War. The Germans intended to prevent mines being blown under German positions by capturing the British front line and mine gallery entrances. After the Third Battle of Artois (25 September – 4 November 1915) The French Tenth Army had held positions on the western slope of Vimy Ridge and the German 6th Army ("Generaloberst" [Colonel General] Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria) occupied positions on the steeper eastern slope. After the beginning of the Battle of Verdun (21 February – 18 December 1916), the Tenth Army was withdrawn and the British First Army and Third Army on either flank, took over the French positions.
German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
54966986#2
The Germans attacked on 21 May and were able to consolidate their objectives, before the British could conduct counter-attacks powerful enough to recapture the ground. In the attack and its aftermath the Germans suffered against the A British plan to recapture the front positions and take the German side of the ridge was cancelled, because of the demand for men and equipment of the forthcoming Battle of the Somme, the attack on the Gommecourt Salient taking priority. British planning continued and became the basis for the much larger attack by the Canadian Corps at the Battle of Vimy Ridge (9–12 April 1917).
German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
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Northern Sector (Data taken from Rogers "The German Attack at Vimy Ridge" [2010] pp. 46–47 unless indicated.)
Orders of battle for the German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
1142371#3
The 47th Division conducted effective mining operations against Vimy Ridge on 3 May and 15 May 1916, but a German attack on the evening of Sunday 21 May moved forward 800 yards, capturing 1,000 yards of the British front line, and the Division performed badly during a counterattack on 23 May. The 47th Division conducted a carefully planned single battalion raid on the night of 27–8 June, claiming to have killed 300–600 Germans for only 13 British casualties.
47th (1/2nd London) Division
952246#4
The ridge fell under German control in October 1914, during the Race to the Sea, as the Franco-British and German forces continually attempted to outflank each other through northeastern France. The French Tenth Army attempted to dislodge the Germans from the region during the Second Battle of Artois in May 1915 by attacking their positions at Vimy Ridge and Notre Dame de Lorette. During the attack, the French 1st Moroccan Division briefly captured the height of the ridge, where the Vimy memorial is currently located, but was unable to hold it owing to a lack of reinforcements. The French made another attempt during the Third Battle of Artois in September 1915, but were once again unsuccessful in capturing the top of the ridge. The French suffered approximately 150,000 casualties in their attempts to gain control of Vimy Ridge and surrounding territory.
Canadian National Vimy Memorial
54966986#3
Vimy Ridge extends from the Scarpe river valley east of Arras for north to the valley of the Souchez river. During the winter of 1915–1916, the German and French troops on the ridge spent much time trying to drain and repair trenches. In the area of the German 17th Reserve Division, long trenches were dug to divert water from the front trenches; in January 1916, about of duckboards were laid by Reserve Infantry Regiment 76 alone. Conditions were so bad in the front line, that soldiers fraternised to alleviate the conditions; on 25 January, the German companies in the line were transferred to prevent it. Conditions became so bad that infantry units were set to work to maintain the troops in the front line. The rains and French mortar fire destroyed German field fortifications almost as fast as they were built. To gain more defensive depth and to mislead the French about German offensive preparations at Verdun, the I Bavarian Reserve Corps ("General der Infanterie" Karl von Fasbender) conducted "Unternehmen Rupprecht" (Operation Rupprecht), several carefully prepared local attacks.
German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
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25th Division (Data taken from Rogers "The German Attack at Vimy Ridge" [2010] p. 47 unless indicated.)
Orders of battle for the German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
54966986#10
At on 3 May, the British sprung four mines a little to the north of Ersatz Ave, which formed three big craters. The crater lips, from which the British had excellent observation, were occupied by troops from the 1/21st Battalion, London Regiment (1/21st Battalion) of the 142nd Brigade, 47th (1st London) Division (Major-General Sir Charles Barter) and the 2/3rd London Field Company RE, with casualties of four killed and 18 wounded; the craters were named Momber, Love and Kennedy. On 15 May, the British blew another five mines between White Hart Ave and Angel Ave in the Berthonval sector, under German trenches in an area they had captured in a previous attack. The new craters were swiftly occupied by six parties of the 11th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers and a detachment from the 9th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire from the 74th Brigade, 25th Division and named the Crosbie Craters. Working parties dug in on the forward edge of the craters, assisted by the 105th Field Company RE and the divisional pioneer battalion, for the loss of 107 casualties. The Germans detonated a mine some distance behind the German front line to site an observation post but did not counter-attack. The Germans bombarded the craters every night and used trench mortars, systematically to obliterate the British defensive positions on the ridge.
German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916