A circular tour beginning at: the church at Neuve Chapelle
Coordinates: 50°35 02.63” N – 2°46 51.04” E
Distance: 5.1km/3.2 miles
Suitable for:
Grade: Easy
Maps: IGN Série Bleue 2404 E – Armentières
General description and context: Neuve Chapelle was taken by the Germans on 26 October 1914 after some desperate fighting that pushed the British and Indian troops back from the Bois du Biez. This short route provides the opportunity to take in some of the more prominent features of the British attack on Neuve Chapelle that took place on 10 March 1915. The route complements the first section of Route 7 which visits several locations not covered by this short stroll around the village. We also point out the locations of six of the nine Victoria Crosses won during the 1915 battle and another which was won in 1914.
The attack had two objectives: the capture of the village itself, and the occupation of the strongly defended Aubers Ridge which lay 4km to the northeast. The brigades selected for the initial assault were the Indian Garhwal Brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Charles Blackader, which was to attack from the west along the line of the D947, and the British 23 and 25 Brigades under the respective commands of Brigadier Generals Reginald Pinney and Arthur Lowry-Cole, whose assembly trenches were just northwest of the D170 – Rue de Carnin. Both assaults were designed to break through the German line from Port Arthur to the Moated Grange, capture the village and broaden the attack towards the Aubers Ridge.
The assault began at 8.05am and was initially very successful, although 23 Brigade in the centre soon ran into difficulties with the uncut German wire. All three brigades took their objectives and very quickly captured the village. The push towards Aubers Ridge was delayed for a variety of reasons – the 7th Division for example was held up for nearly 5 hours whilst waiting for orders to advance – and only began around 4pm over the difficult ground southeast of the village. Poor light and the absence of artillery support together with a determined enemy soon brought progress on the first day to a close.
Overnight the German defences were not only improved but in places were altered and strengthened, but more crucially the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division and units of the XIX (Saxon) Army Corps had arrived as reinforcements. Further attacks by the British and Indian forces made little progress. The inevitable German counter-attack began at 4.30am on 12 March with the intention of capturing all the lost ground. Their efforts failed in much the same way as the British and Indian attack had failed on the previous two days and no further progress was made. The offensive was called off at 10.40pm on 12 March. The German salient that enclosed Neuve Chapelle had been captured but the wider strategic aim of achieving a breakthrough to the Aubers Ridge was in tatters. The casualty figures for the British and Commonwealth forces were around 3,500 killed and 8,500 wounded with German losses almost as high. In 1919 Heathcote William Garrod published a brief poem – ‘Epitaph: Neuve Chapelle’ – in his Worms and Epitaphs which clearly echoed Simonides’ epitaph for the Spartan dead at Thermopylae and Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade: ‘Tell them at home, there’s nothing here to hide: We took our orders, asked no questions, died.
Directions to start: Neuve Chapelle is situated some 12.9 km/8 miles northeast of Béthune and 25.7 km/16 miles southwest of Lille, near the junction of the D947 and D171 roads. From the Indian Memorial at the Port Arthur crossroads follow the D168 past the communal cemetery to the church. Park at the rear of the church.
Route description: Before you visit the church 
of St Christophe – which we suggest you do before you begin the tour – walk across the car park to the rather strange memorial to memory of l’Abbé Lefébvre who was the parish priest from 1868–1912. The memorial features a reproduction of the lower part of the crucifix – a mock tree trunk with lopped branches – that once stood near the church and is often seen in contemporary photographs of Neuve Chapelle. The ‘shell’, which appears embedded in the upright, was apparently found in the original crucifix but it could have been placed there after the war, although a post-war photograph of the crucifix amidst the rubble of the cemetery does appear to show shell-like protrusions. Perhaps these were simply stylized lopped branches? The Christ figure that once adorned the upper part of the crucifix is now inside the church which you will see high up on the left as you enter – still riddled with ‘stigmata’ caused by shell fragments.