Neuville-Saint-Vaast

The Neuville-St Vaast German War Cemetery (also called Maison Blanche) is a World War I cemetery located near Neuville-Saint-Vaast, a small village, near Arras, Pas-de-Calais, in Northern France. It is the largest German cemetery in France, containing 44,833 burials, of which 8,040 were never identified.

The Battle of Arras was fought on 9 May 1915 on the Western Front in France. The so-called Bayonne Legion (a French Foreign Legion infantry unit which consisted of ethnic Polish volunteers) clashed with troops of the Imperial German Army, defending the hill of Vimy, located 10 kilometers north of Arras, France. The Czechoslovak battalion Nazdar also took part in the engagement, the first battle of what would become the Czechoslovak Legion, and was nearly wiped out in the process.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a war memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for Canadian soldiers of the First World War killed or presumed dead in France who have no known grave. The monument is the centrepiece of a 100-hectare (250-acre) preserved battlefield park that encompasses a portion of the ground over which the Canadian Corps made their assault during the initial Battle of Vimy Ridge offensive of the Battle of Arras. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the first time all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated in a battle as a cohesive formation, and it became a Canadian national symbol of achievement and sacrifice. France ceded to Canada the perpetual use of a portion of land on Vimy Ridge on the understanding that Canada use the land to establish a battlefield park and memorial. Wartime tunnels, trenches, craters, and unexploded munitions still honeycomb the grounds of the site, which remains largely closed off for reasons of public safety. Along with preserved trench lines, several other memorials and cemeteries are contained within the park. The project took designer Walter Seymour Allward eleven years to build. King Edward VIII unveiled it on 26 July 1936 in the presence of French President Albert Lebrun and a crowd of over 50,000 people, including 6,200 attendees from Canada. Following an extensive multi-year restoration, Queen Elizabeth II re-dedicated the monument on 9 April 2007 at a ceremony commemorating the 90th anniversary of the battle. The site is maintained by Veterans Affairs Canada. The Vimy Memorial is one of only two National Historic Sites of Canada located outside the country, the other being the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle occurred from 9 to 12 April 1917, marking the commencement of the Battle of Arras and serving as the inaugural assault of the Nivelle Offensive. The objective was to draw German reserves away from the French forces, preparing for a crucial offensive along the Aisne and the Chemin des Dames ridge several days later. The Canadian Corps were to capture the German-held high ground of Vimy Ridge, an escarpment on the northern flank of the Arras front. This would protect the First Army and the Third Army farther south from German enfilade fire. Supported by a creeping barrage, the Canadian Corps captured most of the ridge during the first day. The village of Thélus fell during the second day, as did the crest of the ridge, once the Canadian Corps overran a salient against considerable German resistance. The final objective, a fortified knoll outside the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, fell to the Canadians on 12 April. The German 6th Army then retreated to the Oppy–Méricourt line. Historians attribute the success of the Canadian Corps to technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support and extensive training, as well as the inability of the 6th Army to properly apply the new German defensive doctrine. The battle was the first occasion when the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together and it was made a symbol of Canadian national achievement and sacrifice. A 100 ha (250-acre) portion of the former battleground serves as a memorial park and site of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

Écurie (French pronunciation: [ekyʁi] ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

William "Willie" Middleton Wallace (23 September 1892 – 22 August 1915) was a rugby union player. He played fullback for Cambridge University RFC and was capped for Scotland in 1913–14. Having grown up in Edinburgh, Willie Wallace went to King's College, Cambridge in 1912, where he was immediately noticed for his rugby-playing ability. He was selected to play against Oxford in the Varsity Match in his first term. Later in the season, in March 1913, Scotland picked him to play away against England, in a close game, which England won by just three points. The following season he played in all three Home Nations matches against Wales, Ireland and England. He was commissioned second lieutenant in The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) at the start of the First World War and departed for the Western Front a few weeks later. In February 1915, he was attached to the Royal Flying Corps and soon became No. 2 Squadron's senior observer. In August 1915, while on a photographic reconnaissance mission, his aircraft was shot down in northern France, near Lille. At the time of his death, it was suggested that he might have been the first undergraduate to see action in the war.

Souchez (French pronunciation: [suʃe]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is located 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) northwest of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the missing First World War Canadian soldiers with no known grave; the Memorial is also the site of two Canadian cemeteries.

Givenchy-en-Gohelle (French pronunciation: [ʒivɑ̃ʃi ɑ̃ ɡɔɛl]; Picard: Givinchy-in-Gohelle) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The village was destroyed during World War I but was rebuilt after the war.

The zone rouge (English: red zone) is a chain of non-contiguous areas throughout northeastern France that the French government isolated after the First World War. The land, which originally covered more than 1,200 square kilometres (460 sq mi), was deemed too physically and environmentally damaged by conflict for human habitation. Rather than attempt to immediately clean up the former battlefields, the land was allowed to return to nature. Restrictions within the Zone Rouge still exist today, although the control areas have been greatly reduced. The zone rouge was defined just after the war as "Completely devastated. Damage to properties: 100%. Damage to Agriculture: 100%. Impossible to clean. Human life impossible".Under French law, activities such as housing, farming, or forestry were temporarily or permanently forbidden in the Zone Rouge, because of the vast amounts of human and animal remains, and millions of items of unexploded ordnance contaminating the land. Some towns and villages were never permitted to be rebuilt after the war.

Roclincourt (French pronunciation: [ʁɔklɛ̃kuʁ]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.

Thélus (French pronunciation: [tely]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is located four kilometres (2.5 mi) southeast of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the missing First World War Canadian soldiers with no known grave; the Memorial is also the site of two Canadian cemeteries.

Anzin-Saint-Aubin (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃zɛ̃ sɛ̃t‿obɛ̃]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.