The Battle of Festubert was the continuation of the Battle of Aubers Ridge (9 May) and part of the larger French Second Battle of Artois. The resumption of the British offensive was intended to assist the French Tenth Army offensive against Vimy Ridge near Arras, by attracting German divisions to the British front, rather than reinforcing the defenders opposite the French. The attack was made by the British First Army under Sir Douglas Haig against a German salient between Neuve Chapelle to the north and the village of Festubert to the south. The assault was planned along a 3-mile (4.8 km) front and would initially be made mainly by Indian troops. This would be the first British army night attack of the war. The battle was preceded by a 60-hour bombardment by 433 artillery pieces that fired about 100,000 shells. This bombardment failed to significantly damage the front line defences of the German 6th Army but the initial advance made some progress in good weather conditions. The attack was renewed on 16 May and by 19 May the 2nd Division and 7th Division had to be withdrawn due to heavy losses. On 18 May, the 1st Canadian Division, assisted by the 51st (Highland) Division, attacked but made little progress in the face of German artillery fire. The British forces dug in at the new front line in heavy rain. The Germans brought up reinforcements and reinforced their defences. From 20–25 May the attack was resumed and Festubert was captured. The offensive had resulted in a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) advance.The British lost 16,648 casualties from 15/16 to 25 May; the 2nd Division lost 5,445 casualties, the 7th Division 4,123, the 47th Division had 2,355 losses, the Canadian Division lost 2,204 casualties and the 7th (Meerut) Division had 2,521 casualties. The German defenders had c. 5,000 casualties, including 800 men taken prisoner. French casualties during the Second Battle of Artois were 102,533 men and German casualties were 73,072. The 100th anniversary of the battle saw a range of commemorations held across the world. Some of the most poignant were those held in the Highlands of Scotland, in particular in shinty playing communities, which were affected disproportionately by losses in the battle. Skye Camanachd and Kingussie Camanachd, representing two areas which lost a great many men, were joined by the British Forces shinty team, SCOTS Camanachd for a weekend of commemorations, lectures, memorial services and shinty matches on the weekend of 15–17 May 2015 in Portree. Isle of Skye. A week later, the Beauly Shinty Club renamed their pavilion after the Paterson brothers, Donald and Alasdair, who were killed in the battle and were part of their 1913 Camanachd Cup winning side. Donald's bagpipes were recovered with his other effects in the early 1980s and were played at both commemorations.
