(和訳あり) Mont Cornilletの戦いとは？| OKWAVE

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German counter-attacks from Moronvilliers were dispersed by French artillery, directed over the heights from observation posts on Mont Haut and next day German columns, trying to reach the summits through ravines south-west of Moronvilliers, were also repulsed by French artillery-fire. The German 5th and 6th divisions from Alsace, were moved into the line between the south of Mont Blond and Le Téton and from there, recaptured the summit of Mont Haut. The difficulties of the VIII Corps divisions continued and the 16th Division was attacked by the German Infantry Regiment 145 which had just arrived, after an extensive artillery bombardment, to force the French 95th Regiment from the western fringe of the wood. The German attack was defeated by small-arms fire and another German counter-attack on 20 April, was repulsed but a resumption of the French advance was cancelled. German infantry massed in the woods between Monronvilliers and Nauroy, opposite the VIII Corps front and after a preliminary bombardment, attacked Mont Cornillet and Mont Blond, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Waves of German troops ascended the northern slopes of the hills, joined the German infantry from the Mont Cornillet tunnel and Flensburg Trench and attacked the positions of the 34th Division. German reinforcements were assembled in echelon from Mont Haut westwards to Nauroy and attacked all day, until a final effort failed at 4:00 p.m.

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The high ground from Mont Cornillet to the west, ran north-east to the height of Mont Blond, on to Mont Haut and then descended by Le Casque to Le Téton. Just in front of Mont Haut was Mont Perthois, at about the same height as Mont Cornillet. An attack from the south on Mont Blond and Mont Haut, could be subjected to enfilade fire by the Germans on Mont Cornillet and Mont Perthois. Mont Sans Nom lay about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south-east of Le Téton, at the same height as Mont Blond, with Côte 181 at the south end. The two defensive lines built before the Herbstschlacht (Second Battle of Champagne, September – November 1915), had been increased to four and in places to five lines, which enclosed defensive zones by early 1917. The number of communication trenches in the defensive zones had been increased, trenches and dug-outs deepened and huge amounts of concrete used, to reinforce the fortifications against French artillery-fire. Two tunnels, capable of accommodating several battalions of infantry, had been dug under the north slope of Mont Cornillet and the north-east side of Mont Perthois. The Cornillet Tunnel had three galleries, with light railways along two of the galleries, a transverse connecting tunnel and air shafts up to the top of the hill.

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The highest point of the massif on the eastern summit of Mont Haut, was captured at 8:00 p.m. The attack on Fosse Froide Trench was held up just short, which left the Germans with a foothold on Mont Haut. On 18 April, the 45th Division on the right, completed the capture of the Konstanzlager and dug-outs nearby, the 34th Division consolidated and the 83rd Regiment was relieved by the 88th Regiment. The 11th Regiment of the 33rd Division, attacked again and was caught in cross-fire, from machine-guns at the mouth of the western entrances of the Mont Perthois tunnel. The French light field guns engaged the machine-guns and put them out of action, then fired at the entrances, while heavy artillery bombarded the slopes and tops of Le Casque and Le Téton, with high explosive shells; the 34th Division on the right of VIII Corps consolidated. The 33rd Division attacked the heights of Le Casque and Le Téton at 5:00 a.m. The 11th Regiment advanced quickly up Le Téton in the dawn sun and the German defenders fought hand-to-hand on the narrow summit. Waves of German reinforcements, climbed the northern slopes to dislodge the French. The 20th Regiment attacked Le Casque, under machine-gun fire from the woods, on the western slopes of Mont Perthois.

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The troops on the left were exposed by the repulse of the troops to the west, beyond the Thuizy–Nauroy road. German resistance in the Konstanzlager to the south-east of Mont Blond, prevented its right from being supported by the 45th division. The 83rd Regiment managed a costly advance to the summit of Mont Cornillet but German machine-guns on the ridge between Mont Cornillet and Mont Blond, slowed the advance. The left flank of the 59th Regiment was stopped by the Germans at Flensburg Trench, which connected the German defences of Mont Cornillet and Mont Blond, losing touch with the 83rd Regiment. The Germans in the west end of Erfurt Trench, repulsed the attack and the left flank regiment of the 45th Division on the right, was held up at the Konstanzlager. Lobit, the 34th division commander, sent the reserve battalions of the two regiments, to guard the open western flank of the division, between Erfurt trench and Mont Cornillet and to close the gap between the 83rd and 59th regiments. Some companies were sent to outflank the Konstanzlager from the west. Field artillery from the 128th Division, was galloped up the slopes of Mont Cornillet, despite German return fire and the 34th Division was subjected to a heavy German bombardment and counter-attacks against both flanks. At 2:30 p.m., the German garrison and reinforcements from the tunnel under the hill, broke into the French position on Mont Cornillet.

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At 6:00 p.m., the French attacked the two summits of Mont Haut and Fosse Froide Trench, which ran from Mont Haut, across the northern slopes of Mont Perthois. The highest point of the massif on the eastern summit of Mont Haut, was captured at 8:00 p.m. The attack on Fosse Froide Trench was held up just short, which left the Germans with a foothold on Mont Haut. On 18 April, the 45th Division on the right, completed the capture of the Konstanzlager and dug-outs nearby, the 34th Division consolidated and the 83rd Regiment was relieved by the 88th Regiment. The 11th Regiment of the 33rd Division, attacked again and was caught in cross-fire, from machine-guns at the mouth of the western entrances of the Mont Perthois tunnel. The French light field guns engaged the machine-guns and put them out of action, then fired at the entrances, while heavy artillery bombarded the slopes and tops of Le Casque and Le Téton, with high explosive shells; the 34th Division on the right of VIII Corps consolidated. The 33rd Division attacked the heights of Le Casque and Le Téton at 5:00 a.m. The 11th Regiment advanced quickly up Le Téton in the dawn sun and the German defenders fought hand-to-hand on the narrow summit. Waves of German reinforcements, climbed the northern slopes to dislodge the French.

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The observation posts on the heights were highly vulnerable to German bombardment and surprise attacks, against which the French had to keep large numbers of infantry close to the front, ready to intervene but vulnerable to German artillery-fire. Ludendorff called the loss of the heights a "severe blow" and sixteen counter-attacks were made against the French positions along the heights in the next ten days, with little success. The French Fourth Army had casualties of 21,697 men. Among the German casualties, 6,120 prisoners were taken. After a series of divisional reliefs to replace the assault divisions, which were exhausted and had suffered many casualties, a new French attack began on 4 May. The west slopes of Mont Cornillet were attacked at 5:30 p.m. and a small advance was made. A German counter-attack from the tunnel repulsed the attack except on the right, where the French captured an artillery battery and penetrated some way down the north slope of Mont Blond. French casualties were so high that Vandenbergh postponed operations against Mont Cornillet and Flensburg trench. On 10 May, a French attack took a small amount of ground north-east of Mont Haut and a big German attack on Mont Téton was repulsed. Three fresh French divisions made preparations to resume the offensive on 20 May. After a big bombardment on 19 May, the French attack began at 4:30 a.m. in good weather, from south of Mont Cornillet to the north of Le Téton, with the main objective at the summit of Mont Cornillet.

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Most of the German defences on the southern slopes of Mont Cornillet, Mont Blond, Mont Haut and Mont Perthois had been badly damaged but many intermediate strong points, machine-gun nests remained. Most of the German observation posts on Mont Cornillet, Mont Haut and Le Téton, had been destroyed but many dug-outs and buried telephone lines had remained intact, as did the German defences on the north slopes of the Mont Cornillet–Le Téton ridge and the tunnels under Mont Cornillet and Mont Perthois, which were still unknown to the French. German infantry encampments, below the ridge on the north slope had been damaged and the roads from Nauroy, Mont Haut and Moronvilliers, to St. Masmes, Pont Faverger, Betheniville and the Suippes valley north-west of St. Hilaire-le-Petit, were blocked in places by shell craters. An attack from the west, was still obstructed by Bois de la Grille and Leopoldshöhe Trench and an attack on the eastern flank would be confronted by Le Golfe, a position which extended the German line east to Aubérive. The fortified village of Vaudesincourt to the north, on the banks of the Suippes and the maze of trenches on the right bank, had been badly damaged but much of the wire was uncut and blockhouses and pill-boxes had not been destroyed.

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Field artillery moved forward and engaged the Konstanzlager from near Bois-en-Escalier but the reinforced concrete structure was so resilient, that the attack on the redoubt and dug-outs was postponed, until a bombardment by heavy howitzers could be arranged next day. The troops near the redoubt dug in but the troops on the right flank, advanced close to the summit of the ridge. At 5:45 a.m., the French took the east end of Erfurt Trench, despite delays as some redoubts held out, reached the edge of Bois de Mont Perthois by noon and then repulsed four German counter-attacks before nightfall. In the VIII Corps area, the 34th Division east of the Thuizy–Nauroy road, attacked at 4.45 a.m., with two regiments and an hour later, could be seen threading their way up the heights, bombing dug-outs and fighting hand-to-hand in the open with German infantry. By 6.45 a.m., part of Erfurt Trench and the communication trenches leading towards it, had been captured but the Germans retained a foothold, at the west end of the trench. The 83rd Regiment resumed the advance on Mont Cornillet and the 59th Regiment attacked Mont Blond the 34th Division took nearly all of its objectives on Mont Cornillet and Mont Blond, at the west end of the Moronvilliers massif.

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The 20th Regiment attacked Le Casque, under machine-gun fire from the woods, on the western slopes of Mont Perthois. The French veered to the right, away from the machine-gun fire and attacked Rendsburg and Göttingen trenches. German counter-attacks forced the 20th Regiment to halt below the summit and during lulls, German artillery bombarded the summit from the west, north and south. French artillery replied with heavy bombardments on the peak and on Moronvilliers village, in the hollow beneath. Columns of the German 5th and 6th divisions in lorries and German artillery batteries, could be seen on the roads approaching the German front positions, from the Suippes at St. Hilaire le Petit, Bethenville and Pont Faverger. At 4:00 p.m., two German battalions attacked the summit, which was recaptured and lost twice. A French reserve battalion was committed and soon French units dissolved into a mass of individuals, who fought on their own initiative. During the night of 19/20 April, German infantry infiltrated the woods on the flanks of the summit and at dawn, German artillery-observation aircraft directed the fire of German batteries, before another German counter-attack, which was repulsed. To relieve the pressure, the 20th Regiment of the 33rd Division resumed the attack on Le Casque; Rendsburg and Göttingen trenches were captured and the French entered the wood on the hill, before reaching the summit of Le Casque at 6:00 p.m. and then being forced to retire by German counter-attacks.

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In the XVII Corps area, the French captured Bois Noir. The 34th Division on the right of VIII Corps, failed to take a small wooded height on the left, south-east of Mont Cornillet and on the night of 20/21 April, detachments of the 169th Division entered two trenches west of the Cornillet redoubt and reached an observation post, from where they were repulsed by German counter-attacks but managed to prevent an attempt to outflank Mont Cornillet from the west. By dark on 20 April, parts of the Moronvilliers Hills had been captured but had not been outflanked at either end. On the right, the French had reached the summit of Le Téton and were just below the crest of Le Casque. Further west, the French had a tenuous hold on the two summits of Mont Haut, had consolidated the top of Mont Blond and gained a foothold on Mont Cornillet. On the western flank, the French had been repulsed west of the Thuizy–Nauroy road. On 21 and 22 April, fighting for the redoubt and the observation posts continued and on 21 April, the Legionnaires, on the right flank of the Moroccan Division, stormed the German defences in front of the Main Boyau. The French alleged that German troops had feigned surrender, while hiding hand grenades in their raised hands, after which the Germans were all killed. The Main Boyau was entered, which made the redoubt south of Vaudesincourt untenable, which was captured with the 75th Territorial Regiment and part of the 185th Territorial Brigade on 22 April.

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The tunnel entrances were invisible to air observation and a French advance across the top of Mont Cornillet could be attacked from behind from them. Every move by the French, was under observation from the German positions but the ridge from Mont Cornillet to Le Téton and the woods to the west and east, hid German movements from ground observation and could only be detected by French aviators, who were frequently grounded by bad weather in the winter and spring of 1916–1917. By the beginning of April, the German Higher Command expected a French offensive from the Ailette to Reims but the quiescence of the French artillery east of Reims, led to no serious operation against Nogent l'Abbesse or Moronvilliers being anticipated. During Easter, General Chales de Beaulieu, the XIV Corps commander and the general commanding the 214th Division at Moronvilliers, briefed his subordinates that only artillery demonstrations were likely, between Reims and Aubérive. General von Gersdorf, the 58th Division commander, disagreed with the corps commander, which led to his resignation. The German defences were held by the 30th, 58th, 214th and 29th divisions from east to west. The 29th and 58th divisions were considered to be of high quality but the 214th Division was new division and its troops had had little opportunity for training; the 30th Division was considered to have one good and two indifferent regiments.

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Despite the shortfalls, by the summer of 1917, the Westheer artillery park had increased from 5,300 to 6,700 field guns and from 3,700 to 4,300 heavy guns, many being newer models of superior performance. Machine-gun output enabled each division to have 54 heavy and 108 light machine-guns and for the number of Maschinengewehr-Scharfschützen-Abteilungen (MGA, machine-gun sharpshooter detachments) to be increased. The greater output was insufficient to equip the new divisions, and existing divisions, which still had two artillery brigades with two regiments each, lost a regiment and the brigade headquarters, leaving three regiments. Against the new scales of equipment, British divisions in early 1917 had 64 heavy and 192 light machine-guns and the French 88 heavy and 432 light machine-guns.

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The 39th Division crossed the German trenches in front of La Targette, where two strong points contained artillery but the French advance was so swift, that only a few machine-gunners were able to engage them and the village was captured by 11:15 a.m., 350 prisoners being taken. The area was quickly consolidated and French field artillery galloped up to engage German troops nearby. The French pressed on to Neuville and advanced up the southern part of Vimy Ridge but troops of the 11th Division on the right flank, were held up by the defenders of the Labyrnthe. In the centre, the French gained a foothold in houses at the south end of the village and near the cemetery and half of the village was captured. On the main front, the French artillery had prepared the way for the infantry and creeping barrages had kept the surviving German infantry pinned down but where the French had fewer heavy guns and ammunition, the attacks had failed. The XVII Corps to the south of the attack front, had been expected to make a deeper advance than the other corps but was stopped by German machine-gun fire in no man's land and was only able to establish small footholds in the first position. In the south of the attack front, the X Corps infantry were stopped in no man's land. By nightfall the Tenth Army had taken 3,000 prisoners, ten field guns and fifty machine-guns. The success of XXXIII Corps had used up much of its ammunition and poor-quality shells had caused 24 premature explosions in its guns, against only four knocked out by German counter-battery fire. On 10 May, Joffre and Foch decided that infantry attacks would have to reflect the capacity of the artillery to support them and a proposal by d'Urbal to attack south of Arras was rejected. Joffre ordered several cavalry divisions to move towards the Tenth Army area as a decoy. To keep German reserves pinned down, a feint attack was made north of the Lorette Spur towards Loos, which managed a small advance on the left, until stopped by the fire of German artillery in Angres. On the Lorette Spur, machine-gun fire from a German strong point near the chapel caused many French casualties. A counter-attack from the sugar refinery between Ablain and Souchez was seen assembling and the French attack in the area was suspended. Barrage fire by the French artillery prevented the German infantry from advancing and the French infantry descended from the spur towards the Ablain ravine. The attack on Carency continued and German counter-attacks recovered some of the communication trenches and tunnels connecting it with Souchez. During the day, houses east of the village were stormed and a hollow south of the Carency–Souchez road was captured.

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On the left flank of the division, Bethmann-Hollweg Trench to the north-east of Mont Sans Nom, was captured along with six guns, which secured Mont Sans Nom from an attack against the eastern slope. c. 1,100 prisoners, 22 guns, sixty mortars and 47 machine-guns were captured by the Foreign Legion. On 25 April, the 34th Division was relieved by the 19th Division. In the attack of 17 April, the Fourth Army had swiftly reached the crest of the Moronvilliers massif but German observation over the battlefield had enabled accurate German artillery-fire against the French infantry. The attack had been costly, despite fog protecting the French infantry from the fire of some German machine-guns. Tunnels driven through the chalk connected the foremost German positions with the rear. German infantry could fire until the last moment, then retire through them to the northern slopes. French heavy artillery-fire blocked some tunnels, subways, deep dugouts and caverns, entombing German troops and others were overrun and captured. As the French infantry encountered the German reverse-slope defences, fatigue, losses and the relatively undamaged state of the German positions, stopped the French advance. Possession of the crest was a substantial tactical advantage for the French, which denied the Germans observation to the south.

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3/7 Infantry Brigade - 4 battalions(2800 rifles), 22 machine guns 18th Artillery Regiment - 20 guns 10th Artillery Regiment(German) - 26 guns, 4 mortars Divisional Reserve - 2 battalions(German), 6 machine guns 22nd German-Bulgarian Infantry Brigade (von Reuter) 42nd Infantry Regiment(German) - 2 battalions, 39 machine guns 44th Infantry Regiment - 3 battalions(2,600 rifles), 16 machine guns 28th Infantry Regiment - 3 battalions(2,300 rifles), 16 machine guns German Artillery Group - 16 guns Bulgarian Artillery Group - 28 guns Total first-line troops - 30 battalions, 205 machine guns, 90 guns Second-line troops 61st Corps Reserve 146th Infantry Regiment(German) - 2 battalions, 12 machine guns Bulgarian and German artillery - 32 guns, Third-line troops Army reserve 2/8 Infantry Brigade - 8 battalions, 29 machine guns Total troops in the Crna Bend sector - 40 battalions, 246 machine guns, 122 guns Allies The Allied position in the Crna Bend were occupied by troops of various nationality. The western part of the sector was entrusted to the Italian Expeditionary Force which faced parts of the 302nd division along a 10,5 kilometer front. The remaining part of the sector was in the hands of the I Group of Divisions which also had to cover a 10,5 kilometer front line. By the beginning of May the Allies managed to concentrate a large force of infantry and artillery that outnumbered the Bulgarians and Germans. First-line troops 35th Italian Infantry Division (General Giuseppe Pennella) Sicilia Infantry Brigade - 6 battalions(4,710 rifles), 51 machine guns Ivrea Infantry Brigade - 6 battalions(4,143 rifles), 48 machine guns Cagliari Infantry Brigade - 6 battalions(5,954 rifles), 72 machine guns Artillery - 144 guns 16th French Colonial Infantry Division (General Antoine Dessort) 4th Infantry Brigade - 6 battalions, 48 machine guns 32nd Infantry Brigade - 6 battalions, 48 machine guns Artillery - 78 guns 2nd Russian Infantry Brigade (Mikhail Dieterichs) 4th Infantry Regiment - 3 battalions, 16 machine guns 3rd Infantry Regiment - 3 battalions, 16 machine guns Artillery - 54 guns 17th French Colonial Infantry Division (General Georges Têtart) 33rd Infantry Brigade - 6 battalions, 48 machine guns 34th Infantry Brigade - 6 battalions, 48 machine guns Artillery - 50 guns Attached heavy artillery - 46 guns Total first-line troops - 48 battalions, 395 machine guns, 372 guns Second-line troops 11th French Colonial Infantry Division (General Jean Paul Sicre) 22nd Infantry Brigade - 6 battalions, 48 machine guns 157th Infantry Regiment - 3 battalions, 24 machine guns African Chasseur Regiment - 3 battalions, ? machine guns Artillery - 8 guns Third-line troops Reserve of the commander-in-chief 30th French Colonial Infantry Division - 9 battalions, 48 machine guns, 32 guns Total troops in the Crna Bend sector - 69 battalions, c. 515 machine guns, 412 guns

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The 25th Division was ordered by the army commander, General Humbert to attack again at 6:00 p.m. but the orders arrived too late and the attack did not take place. French aircraft were active over the attack front but at midday large formations of German fighters arrived and forced the French artillery-observation and reconnaissance aircraft back behind the front line. By the end of the day the 26th Division had held on to 100 yards (91 m) of the German front trench and the 25th Division had been forced back to its jumping-off trenches. German artillery-fire had not been heavy and the defence had been based on machine-gun fire and rapid counter-attacks. The XIII Corps and XXXV Corps attack due next day was eventually cancelled. The Fifth Army attacked on 16 April at 6:00 a.m., which dawned misty and overcast. From the beginning German machine-gunners were able to engage the French infantry and inflict many casualties, although German artillery-fire was far less destructive. Courcy on the right flank was captured by the 1st Brigade of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France but the advance was stopped at the Aisne–Marne canal. The canal was crossed further north and Berméricourt was captured against a determined German defence. From Bermericourt to the Aisne the French attack was repulsed and south of the river French infantry were forced back to their start-line.

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On 17 April the Fourth Army on the left of Groupe d'armées de Centre (GAC) began the subsidiary attack in Champagne from Aubérive to the east of Reims which became known as Bataille des Monts, with the VIII, XVII and XII Corps on an 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) front. The attack began at 4:45 a.m. in cold rain alternating with snow showers. The right flank guard to the east of Suippes was established by the 24th Division and Aubérive on the east bank of the river and the 34th Division took Mont Cornillet and Mont Blond. The "Monts" were held against a German counter-attack on 19 April by the 5th, 6th (Eingreif divisions) and the 23rd division and one regiment between Nauroy and Moronvilliers. On the west bank the Moroccan Division was repulsed on the right and captured Mont sans Nom on the left. To the north-east of the hill the advance reached a depth of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and next day the advance was pressed beyond Mont Haut. The Fourth Army attacks took 3,550 prisoners and 27 guns. German attacks on 27 May had temporary success before French counter-attacks recaptured the ground around Mont Haut; lack of troops had forced the Germans into piecemeal attacks instead of a simultaneous attack along the whole front.

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The survivors were sent to defend the line from Longueval to Bazentin Wood, a position which had been "laid waste" by artillery-fire, had no barbed-wire and in which only six or seven dugouts remained open. A motley of troops from Reserve Infantry Regiment 91, III Battalion, Bavarian Infantry Regiment 16, Infantry Regiment 184, two machine-gun groups, a company of Reserve Infantry Regiment 77 and III Battalion, Infantry Regiment 190 held the area, which was subjected to steadily increasing artillery bombardment, reaching an "unparalleled intensity" on the night of 13/14 July.

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At dusk, the French consolidated the craters on the northern crest; near midnight some German soldiers were captured as they headed for Nauroy, who turned out to be from the tunnel garrison and disclosed the main entrance. Just inside the tunnel, heaps of German dead were found, apparently having panicked and made a rush for the exit. More German dead were found in the tunnels, having been killed by the special gas shells fired by the French artillery. A survivor was rescued and the tunnel cleared and occupied, until a German shell started a fire and the new garrison retired. The French attack between Mont Cornillet and the north of Le Téton on 20 May, failed on the north slope of Mont Blond and the north-west slopes of Mont Haut but succeeded to the north-east, north of Le Casque and Le Téton, where 985 prisoners were taken. German losses in dead and wounded were considerable; in the Cornillet tunnel, more than 600 corpses were found. In 1918, the number of German prisoners taken since 17 April, was given as 6,120, with 52 guns, 42 mortars and 103 machine-guns. The attacks on 20 May, were the final stage of the Nivelle Offensive, in which most of the Chemin des Dames plateau, Bois des Buttes, Ville-aux-Bois, Bois des Boches and the German first and second lines, from the heights to the Aisne had been captured. In 1940, Cyril Falls the British Official Historian, wrote that the Fourth Army attacks took 3,550 prisoners and 27 guns on the first day. German attacks on 27 May had temporary success, before French counter-attacks recaptured the ground around Mont Haut; lack of troops had forced the Germans into piecemeal attacks instead of a simultaneous attack along all the front.

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Charbonneau explained that the defeat of the Colonial Corps was caused by faulty reconnaissance, the ineffectiveness of advanced guards in causing delay to advancing German units and that French offensive tactics neglected the importance of obtaining a superiority of fire, which had led to reckless attacks. The quality of the German opponents was not mentioned but German reconnaissance had been effective, communication between commanders and subordinates had not broken down, mutual support between neighbouring units had occurred and German artillery had provided continuous close fire support.[9] At Neufchâteau, the French colonial infantry had been out-gunned and outnumbered by German units, which had been able to engage all their forces quickly. The French XII Corps had a greater number of guns but was not able to overcome two German infantry battalions. German artillery had engaged the Colonial Brigade from close range but when in a hastily occupied defensive position, the French had nullified much of the German artillery-fire; French troops caught in the open had been annihilated. Both sides had attempted to gain fire superiority before advancing and once this had been achieved by the Germans, they had been able to manoeuvre without severe casualties.