page_title: 23rd (Northumbrian) Division
section_title: Fighting near Arras
hierarchical_section_title: 23rd (Northumbrian) Division / History / Fighting near Arras
caption_attribution_description: English: The German advance to the English Channel between 16 May and 21 May of 1940.
context_page_description: The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which fought briefly in the Battle of France during the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Germany as a European power and its occupation of Czechoslovakia, the British Army increased the number of divisions within the Territorial Army by duplicating existing units. The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was formed in October 1939, as a second-line duplicate of the 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division. It was made up of two brigades, unlike regular infantry divisions that were composed of three, with battalions hailing from the north of England.
  It was intended that the division would remain in the United Kingdom to complete training and preparation, before being deployed to France within twelve months of the war breaking out. The division spent little time training and its soldiers were dispersed and used to guard strategically important and vulnerable locations across North East England. Guard duty and little preparation for war were seen as a hindrance to good morale. In France, the British Expeditionary Force was suffering from a manpower shortage among rear-line units.
context_section_description: The 23rd was ordered to occupy a 16-mile (26-kilometre) front along the Canal du Nord, around 6 miles (10 km) west of Cambrai and 10 miles (16 km) east of Arras. The canal represented the last major water obstacle between the advancing German force and the English Channel. The 23rd Division was the only British formation standing in the way of the main German assault and the BEF's supply lines. The British official history acknowledges that the division "could do little to stop" the advancing Germans. The troops, having to make their way through refugee-packed roads, arrived along the canal but were unable to dig-in due to a lack of tools. Brigadier Richard Dawnay's 69th Brigade held the northern portion of the division's sector, taking up positions at Arleux and was in contact with the French First Army on their northern flank. Brigadier Philip Kirkup's 70th Brigade held the southern flank, to a distance of about 10 miles (16 km) north of Péronne. Additional French troops were supposed to be covering the division's southern flank, but due to the swift nature of the German advance they never arrived along the canal.
  The author Hugh Sebag-Montefiore described the state of the unfinished canal: "there was no water in it, and the deep ditch that was supposed to hold up the German armour would not have challenged a car in some places, let alone a tank". At this point, a composite battery of eleven field guns and two 4.5-inch (110 mm) howitzers were assigned to the division, coming from a Royal Artillery (RA) training camp near Arras. Most of the guns lacked the required equipment for indirect fire and could only be fired over open sights; some had no sights at all. The division soon encountered the vanguard of the German force, who did not attempt to force the canal in the division's area. With Germans nearby, the order was given to blow the bridges across the canal that included one bridge being destroyed while refugees were still crossing. During the day, an alleged spy was brought to the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, Tyneside Scottish. The individual was briefly interrogated by Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Swinburne and the battalion's French liaison officer before a summary execution was carried out by Sergeant Dick Chambers. The division soon suffered its first casualties from air attacks. Unbeknown to the troops, the German advance troops had already formed a bridgehead over the canal to the south of the division.
  Having been in position for less than 24 hours, the division was ordered to withdraw towards Arras as a result of the German crossings of the canal. The 69th Brigade moved and took up position along the River Scarpe, northeast of Arras while the 8th Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (the division's motorcycle reconnaissance battalion) entered the town itself to reinforce the garrison. The 70th Brigade was to take up position southwest of the town along the Arras–Doullens road as far as Saulty. By daybreak on 20 May, only the 70th Brigade headquarters and parts of the 10th and 11th DLI were in position. The rest of the brigade was spread out to the south east. Some were waiting on the few trucks in use to ferry them to their intended positions. Others were marching west along the roads in open formation with wide intervals under a constant threat from the Luftwaffe. During this, the brigade was joined by men of the Ordnance Corps and AMPC, who were largely unarmed.
  What followed was a series of confused company actions fought by the 70th Brigade in and around the villages of Wancourt, Neuville-Vitasse, Mercatel and Ficheux. At 08:30 on 20 May, elements of the German 8th Panzer Division entered Wancourt and overran parts of the 11th DLI who were awaiting transport. Ill-equipped to engage tanks, these men were either killed or captured following the engagement that saw hand-to-hand fighting with the German panzergrenadiers. Between Neuville-Vitasse and Ficheux, the Tyneside Scottish were ambushed by the Germans. The battalion deployed on either side of the road. Company Sergeant-Major Baggs described "the boys figh
caption: The German advance up to 21 May 1940
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