Monchy Le Preux: Arras

As the motorist speeds past Arras on the motorway south to Paris, a look to the east should bring into view the hilltop village of Monchy le Preux. This farming community dominates the ground to the North (as it falls away to the River Scarpe) and to the South (to the River Coejeul).

In the early days of the Battle of Arras in the spring of 1917 the Village fell to British attacks after a stubborn resistance by the German defenders. Therefore the struggle continued to wage just to its…