Battle of Hill 70 (1917)

The Battle of Hill 70 (15–25 Aug. 1917) was an important First World War battle. General Arthur William Currie, commander of the Canadian Corps, was ordered to make a frontal assault against the fortified and ruined city of Lens, France, which would have resulted in heavy casualties in an environment that favoured the German defenders. The new corps commander surveyed the battlefield and persuaded his superiors that the attack should instead be directed against Hill 70, which overlooked Lens from the north. His idea was to capture the hill and then set up a kill zone targeted by thousands of rifles, 200 heavy machine guns, and scores of artillery pieces. The Germans would be compelled either to pull out of Lens or to advance into a firestorm. After detailed preparations, the Canadian assault on 15 August worked as Currie had planned. The enemy counter-attacked 21 times over four days but never retook the hill, and instead left behind thousands of dead and dying on its slopes. Despite having their forces shattered, the Germans refused to withdraw from Lens. Currie unwisely ordered two probing strikes into the city on the 21st and 23rd, which were beaten back with heavy losses. A more experienced commander might have waited longer to see if his artillery could have dislodged the enemy, but Currie knew that his army commander had called for Lens to be taken and he felt the pressure to keep moving forward. Even with this setback, and more than 9,000 casualties by 25 August, Hill 70 was an overwhelming victory for the Canadians.