german attack on vimy ridge order of battle

Source: German attack on Vimy Ridge order of battle

The German attack on Vimy Ridge (Unternehmen Schleswig-Holstein/Operation Schleswig-Holstein) was a local German attack on Vimy Ridge. The attack took place on 21 May 1916 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 in 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.
Unternehmen Schleswig-Holstein was intended to capture British positions, from which the French mining offensive had been continued, to gain more defensive depth and to forestall mine attacks on the German positions. The British divisions were still organising their defences on the ridge, having recently relieved the French when the German attack began. The attack was a success and raised concerns that it was a prelude to a more ambitious attempt to capture Arras. Plans were made for a British counter-attack but it was cancelled, to avoid a diversion of effort from the forthcoming offensive on the Somme, in favour of the Attack on the Gommecourt Salient; plans laid in the meantime formed the basis for the attack of the Canadian Corps in April 1917.