Champagne, Battles of

In World War I, two battles December 1914-March 1915 and September-October 1915 in the Champagne region of northeast France between French and German forces. The French attacks were intended to relieve pressure on the Russians by drawing German troops away from the Eastern Front; although they succeeded in this they made no real gains in territory and there was an enormous cost in casualties on both sides.

December 1914-March 1915 During this battle, both sides were heavily entrenched and the battle was simply a series of limited attacks and counterattacks at intervals throughout the winter. Artillery support was, for the period, enormous: the French fired over 100,000 shells in one 24-hour period in February. At the end of the battle, the French had advanced 450 m/500 yds.

September-October 1915 An initial French assault gained 4 km/2.5 mi to the north in the first day, but the units in the south of the line were less effective, allowing the Germans to withdraw troops to reinforce their northern defences. They held the French advance long enough for reserve troops to be brought from other parts of the front. When the French resumed their attack 26 September the German forces drove them back, and a third French attempt on 4 October was also stopped. The battle died away at the end of October 1915 without further gains. The French army lost 120,000 killed and taken prisoner, and 260,000 wounded, while German losses were estimated at 140,000.