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Step onto the battlefields of Arras to discover one of the most
remarkable campaigns of the First World War. On 9 April 1917, after
months of meticulous planning and engineering, thousands of British
and Commonwealth soldiers emerged from a hidden underground city to
launch an assault that stunned the German defenders. It was a day
of extraordinary courage, innovation and sacrifice.
This immersive battlefield tour follows the dramatic story of
the Battle of Arras, exploring how tunnellers created miles of
subterranean passages beneath the city, allowing over 24,000 troops
to assemble unseen before the attack. Descend into the famous
Wellington Quarry, where the soldiers silently waited before
emerging into history.
Hear about the determined German resistance on the River Scarpe
as the British assaulted Monchy-Le-Preux and how repeated counter
attacks were heroically held off. Stand on the commanding heights
of Vimy Ridge, where the Canadian Corps achieved one of the most
celebrated victories of the war and explore the now quiet fields,
preserved trenches and memorials that tell the story of the
campaign in vivid detail.
Study the air war that raged continually in the skies above
Arras, despite a technological disadvantage - the Royal Flying
Corps and Royal Naval Air Service maintained constant offensive
patrols above the advancing ground troops despite catastrophic
losses.
This expertly guided tour in the company of military historian
Clive Harris will visit the magnificent Arras Memorial and Faubourg
d 'Amiens Cemetery, where thousands of soldiers with no known grave
are remembered, alongside many beautifully maintained Commonwealth
War Graves Commission cemeteries that provide powerful reminders of
the human cost of victory. It was, in terms of daily attrition
rate, the costliest British offensive of the war.
With expert historical interpretation, this tour brings to life
the tactics, technology and personal stories behind one of
Britain's greatest offensives. From the underground war fought by
the Royal Engineers, the gallantry of the infantry advancing across
'No Man's Land' to the airman in the skies above, every stop
reveals another chapter in the story of Arras 1917.
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