Arras
Arras names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Arras BATTLES OF, a series of important engagements in the
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
BATTLES OF, a series of important engagements in the World War which took place in the neighborhood of the city of Arras, France. This area, from the autumn of 1914, following the German attempt to break through the Allied lines to the channel ports, was the of almost continual operations. scene The city itself was exposed to repeated bombardments and almost comwas pletely destroyed. The most important offensive in the vicinity was undertaken by the British in the spring of 1917. It was carried on a 12-mile front N. and S. of Arras, and was gradually extended to an offensive over the whole line from Arras to St. Quentin. The defense was prepared by an artillery bombardment which lasted four days. On the fifth day of the battle the Canadian troops stormed Vimy Ridge, capturing 4,000 prisoners and large quantities of war material. The advance continued on April 11 when Monchy and other towns were captured. On April 13 the British swept forward from a new position E. of Arras and drove the Germans back on a 12-mile front, capturing six villages and seriously threatening the city of Lens. The outskirts of that city were entered on April 15. After a pause of several days, the British on April 24 pushed forward E. of Monchy. Three days later they broke the Oppy line, a switch of the Hindenburg line. On May 3 they captured Fresnoy and a part of Bullecourt, but were later obliged to give these up. The battle reached a standstill on May 15, 1917. The British were driven back, in the first two weeks of June, E. of Loos. The chief effects of the battle, aside from the capture of over 15,000 Germans and 200 guns, was the placing of Lens in a pocket which constantly tightened until its final capture by the British. See WORLD WAR.
Arras BATTLES OF large commerce in cotton and stuffs
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
BATTLES OF large commerce in cotton and stuffs, hosiery, lace, pottery, etc. Arras has been the theater of many memorable historical events, and was fortified by Vauban, in the reign of Louis XIV. Robespierre was born here, as was also Damiens, the assassin of Louis XV. During the Middle Ages, Arras was famed for its tapestry, richly figured hangings that adorned the halls of the kings and the nobles. They were known under the name of arras; but have been for a long time superseded by the tapestry of the Gobelins. Arras was the capital of the Celtic Atrebates (whence the name), and consequently of the province of is. As such it was long a part of Artois. Burgundy. It was ceded to France in 1482; attached to Austria in 1493; and finally became French in 1640, when Louis XIII. took it after a long siege. In the World War the town was wrecked by bomdardments. The Germans attacked the place three times in October, 1914. From Oct. 20 to 26 Arras was under heavy fire. Eventually the French under General Maud'huy drove the Germans back so far that their howitzers could no longer threaten the town. Pop. about 26,000.
Arras a city of France
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of France, capital of the department of Pas-de- Calais, 60 miles S. E. of Calais, and 100 ط TOWN HALL AT ARRAS, FRANCE, BEFORE THE WORLD WAR miles N. N. E. of Paris. It is a very ancient city, and previous to the World War was replete with fine old architectural remains, and also possessing a
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote in 1921 the town had just been "wrecked by bombardments" and its "fine old architectural remains" largely lost; over the following two decades the Grand'Place and Petite Place, the Flemish-style town hall and its belfry were rebuilt to their old designs, and the belfry was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2005 with the other belfries of Belgium and France. The 1917 fighting Collier's describes is now commemorated by the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, unveiled in 1936 on the ridge stormed by Canadian troops, while the tunnels British soldiers sheltered in beneath Arras opened to visitors as the Carrière Wellington museum in 2008. Arras was occupied again in the Second World War, in 1940, but escaped the near-total destruction of 1914-18. Population has grown from the "about 26,000" given here to roughly 40,000; the town's old textile and lace trade has given way to food processing, administration and war tourism.
Written for this edition, 2026.