Loos, battle of (1915). In the summer of 1915 the French C-in-C Joffre planned a repetition of the strategy used that spring, an assault on each flank of the great German salient in the centre of the western front. His Tenth Army was to attack in the Vimy sector, and he pressed Sir John French, C-in-C of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), to support this by attacking around Loos, to the immediate north. French looked at the ground in July and was not impressed by the numerous mines and miners' cottages, which he believed to be well suited to defence. However, Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, made it clear that the French were to be supported even if the British suffered ‘very heavy casualties’ by doing so.
French then seemed to warm to the scheme, in part because he hoped that the use of chlorine gas on a large scale would paralyse the German defence. The attack was entrusted to the First Army under Haig, which was to attack with two corps, each of three divisions, side by side on a front running from Loos to La Bassée. French decided to keep the general reserve, two of whose divisions were inexperienced ‘New Army’ formations, at his own disposal rather than to entrust it to Haig, probably because he feared that it might be committed prematurely.
The battle began early on 25 September, and although the gas was not as successful as had been hoped the attack went well in the south and Loos was taken. However, the reserves were too far back to reinforce success, and the German second position—constructed following the experience of receiving British offensives at Neuve Chapelle and Aubers Ridge that spring—remained untouched. When the reserves appeared on the 26th, after a difficult approach march, they could make no impression on it and lost heavily. Although the battle did not end until 4 November, there was no real prospect of success after its first day. The British lost over 60, 000 casualties to about 20, 000 German. Three British major generals were among the killed, as was the only son of the poet Rudyard Kipling. The failure inspired serious disappointment in Britain, and the issue of the reserves became a cause célèbre. Haig used official papers, some of them shown to the king, to demonstrate French's unfitness for high command, and succeeded as C-in-C in December.
— Richard Holmes
