Battle of Armentières

Winter operations 1914–1915 is the name given to military operations during the First World War, from 23 November 1914 – 6 February 1915, in the 1921 report of the British government Battles Nomenclature Committee. The operations took place on the part of the Western Front held by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), in French and Belgian Flanders. After the northern flank of the Western Front had disappeared during the Race to the Sea in late 1914, the Franco-British attacked towards Lille in October, then the BEF, Belgians and the French Eighth Army attacked in Belgium. A German offensive began on 21 October but the 4th Army (Generaloberst Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg) and 6th Army (Generaloberst Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria) were only able to take small amounts of ground, at great cost to both sides, at the Battle of the Yser (16–31 October) and further south in the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November). By 8 November, the Germans realised that the advance along the coast had failed and that taking Ypres was impossible. Attacks by both sides had quickly been defeated and the opposing armies had improvised field defences, against which attacks were costly failures. By the end of the First Battle of Ypres in November 1914, both sides were exhausted, short of ammunition and suffering from collapses in morale; some infantry units refused orders. The mutual defeat of the First Battle of Flanders was followed by trench warfare, in which both sides tried to improve their positions as far as the winter weather, mutual exhaustion and chronic equipment and ammunition shortages allowed.

Armentières (French pronunciation: ​[aʁmɑ̃tjɛʁ]; West Flemish: Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.The motto of the town is Pauvre mais fière (Poor but proud).

La Chapelle-d'Armentières (French pronunciation: ​[la ʃapɛl daʁmɑ̃tjɛʁ]; Dutch: Armentiers-Kapelle) is a commune of the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.

Houplines (French pronunciation: ​[uplin]; Dutch: Opline) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.Adjoining the communal (village) cemetery is the Houplines Communal Cemetery Extension, a Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintained cemetery containing the graves of 466 identified casualties, 465 of them Commonwealth servicemen who died in the area around the village during the First World War. Houplines maintains a partnership arrangement with the German community of Kirchhundem.

The Canton of Armentières is a canton of the Nord département in France. Since the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015, the communes of the canton of Armentières are: Armentières (chief town) Bois-Grenier Capinghem La Chapelle-d'Armentières Deûlémont Erquinghem-Lys Frelinghien Houplines Pérenchies Prémesques Warneton

Erquinghem-Lys (French pronunciation: ​[ɛʁkɛ̃ɡɛm lis]) (Erkegem an de Leie in West Flemish) is a commune situated in the Nord department in northern France.It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Erquinghem is one of a series of villages on the river Lys established by the Viking Rikiwulf in 880 AD at the time of the invasion led by Godfrid, Duke of Frisia: Racquinghem, Reclinghem, Rekkem and Rijkegem (the latter two now in West Flanders - Belgium). Erquinghem-Lys has been twinned with Skipton, North Yorkshire, England since 24 October 2009.

Ploegsteert (Picard: Ploster) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Comines-Warneton, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the most westerly settlement of Wallonia. It is approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the French border. Created in 1850 on part of the territory of Warneton, it includes the hamlet of Le Bizet, which is the border with France (there is also a hamlet named "Le Bizet" in France). It is largely francophone, with facilities for Dutch speakers. In late 1914 and early 1915, the nearby Ploegsteert Wood was the site of fierce WWI fighting. Today there are numerous cemeteries and memorials, including the Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) CWGC Cemetery and the Berks CWGC Cemetery Extension with the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing, which commemorates more than 11,000 British and Empire servicemen who died outside the Ypres Salient and have no known grave. From January to May 1916, Winston Churchill served in the area as Commanding Officer (Lieutenant-Colonel) of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. Another nearby burial ground is the Lancashire Cottage Cemetery. As part of Comines-Warneton, Ploegsteert was declared a sister city of Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, England, in 2006; this was partly initiated through the finding of letters from a 16-year-old soldier from Wolverton named Albert French. He is buried in Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery, just outside the village. The village is home to a carpentry museum.

Bois-Grenier (French pronunciation: ​[bwa ɡʁənje]) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Located south of Armentières and bordering with the department of Pas-de-Calais.

Nieppe (French pronunciation: ​[njɛp]; Dutch: Niepkerke) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is in the Lys Plain and a portion of it is in the Lys Valley (Leiedal in Dutch).

Gheer is a hamlet of Wallonia in the municipality of Comines-Warneton, district of Warneton, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The hamlet is situated on the Warneton - Ploegsteert road, approximately 15 km south of Ypres .The hamlet was completely destroyed in the First World War.

Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient. It is located around the Belgian village of Ploegsteert, Wallonia. After fierce fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, Ploegsteert Wood became a quiet sector where no major action took place. Units were sent here to recuperate and retrain after tougher fighting elsewhere, and before returning to take part in more active operations. British Tommies referred to Ploegsteert Wood as "Plugstreet Wood". From January to May 1916, Winston Churchill served in the area as Commanding Officer (Lieutenant-Colonel) of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. There are numerous Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemeteries and memorials around the wood, including the Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) CWGC Cemetery and the Berks CWGC Cemetery Extension with the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing. The Ploegsteert Memorial commemorates more than 11,000 British and Empire servicemen who died during the First World War and have no known grave. It is one of several CWGC Memorials to the Missing along the Western Front. Those lost within the Ypres Salient without a known grave are commemorated at the Menin Gate and Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, while the missing of New Zealand and Newfoundland are honoured on separate memorials.

Fleurbaix (French pronunciation: ​[flœʁbɛ]; West Flemish: Vloerbeek) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.