Memorial to the French Moroccan Division at Vimy Ridge. The face commemorates the Division's victory at the Second Battle of Artois, in which the Moroccan Division broke the German front for the first time and took Hill 140, their objective.
Listed on the sides of the memorial are the sectors and battles where the Division fought:
1914
The Ardennes
August 28 — La Fosse a l'Eeau
August 30 — Bertoncourt
September 1 — Alincourt
The Marne
September 6 to 9 — Coizard, Mondement
December 30 — Ferme d'Alger
1915
Belgium
January 28 — Nieuport, la Grande Dune
Artois
May 9 — la Cote 140
June 16 — Ravin de Souchez
Champagne
September 25 — Butte de Souain, Bois Sabot
1916
the Somme
July 4 — Assevillers, Bellov en Santerre, Barleux
1917
Champagne
April 17 — Moronvilliers, Mont sans Nom, Auberive
Verdun
August 20 — Cumieres, Bois des Corbeaux, Forges Regnieville
1918
Lorraine
January 8 — Flirey
the Somme
April 26 — Villers-Bretonneux, Bois de Hangard
the Aisne
May 30 — Vauxbuin, Chazelle
June 12 — Ambleny
July 18 to 20 — Dommiers Chaudum
September 2 to 8 — Terny-Sorny, Moulin de Laffaux, Allemant
November 11 — Victory
November 17 — Entered Chateau-Salins © 2013, John M. Shea

Aux Morts de la Division Marocaine

Sans Peur Sans Pitié

A la mémoire

du Colonel Pein, Ct. de la 1re Brigade. du Colonel Cros, Ct. de la 2me Brigade

des Officiers, S/Officiers et Soldats de la Don Marocaine

Tombé ici glorieusement les 9, 10, & 11 Mai 1915

Le 9 Mai 1915 les Régiments de la Don Morocaine s'elancant a 10 Hres des tranchées de Berthonval et brisant de haute lutte la résistance des Allemands atteignirent d'un bond la cote 140, leur objectif, rompant pour la premiere fois le front ennemi



To the Dead of the Moroccan Division

Fearless Pitiless

To the Memory

of Colonel Pein, Commandant of the 1st Brigade, of Colonel Cros, Commandant of the 2nd Brigade,

of the Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and Soldiers of the Moroccan Division

Gloriously fell here May 9, 10, & 11 1915

On May 9 1915 the Regiments of the Moroccan Division, darting at 10:00 hours from the Berthonval trenches, and breaking the resistance of the Germans in a hard-fought struggle, reached Hill 140, their object, breaking the enemy's front for the first time.

Other views: Detail, Left Side, Right Side

Sunday, May 9, 1915

". . . the new chief of the [French] Tenth Army, Gerneral d'Urbal, on May 9th [1915] at 10 A.M., launched [the Artois offensive] against the Vimy Ridge.

In the centre the success was immediate. In less than an hour on a front of four miles and for a depth of two or three, the enemy's positions were captured; more than 6,000 prisoners, 20 guns, 100 machine guns, remained in our hands; the crest at its culminating point, hill 140, was reached and even passed. The German artillery ceased firing and we had the impression we had broken through. Unfortunately, this satisfaction was of short duration.

Our reserves were too far in rear to follow up our success or widen the breach while there was yet time. . . . On the Lorette plateau and farther along, towards Pont-à-Vendin, we had gained little or no ground, while to the north of La Bassée the British had very nearly completely failed."

Quotation Context

Excerpt from French General Ferdinand Foch's account of the first day of the Second Battle of Artois. The British launched a simultaneous attack at Aubers Ridge. In 1914's Race to the Sea, German troops were very effective at seizing and holding high ground in the battles that shaped the Western Front. From October 4, 1914, German forces held high ground in Artois including Vimy Ridge and the plateau of Notre Dame de Lorette. The First, Second, and Third Battles of Artois were failed French attempt to regain these heights. The Allies did not capture Vimy Ridge for two more years, finally succeeding in April 1917.

Source

The Memoirs of Marshal Foch, translated by Col. T. Bentley Mott by Ferdinand Foch, page 208, copyright © 1931 by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., publisher: Doubleday, Doran & Co., publication date: 1931

Tags

1915-05-09, 1915, May, Foch, Second Battle of Artois, Second Artois, Vimy Ridge