Battle of Oppy Wood: Casualties were Less than 2,000

The Battle of Oppy was fought May 3 and June 28, 1917, in Arras, France.

The skirmishes were part of the large Battle of Arras. Capturing the highlands was of strategic advantage, offering a view of the surround area.

The nations involved were Canada, Great Britain and Germany.

“Two infantrymen stand to the left of the dug-out entrance, one of them on the firestep looking over the parapet into No Man’s Land,” Imperial War Museums describes John Nash’s painting of the battle. “There is a wood of shattered trees littered with corrugated iron and planks at ground level to the right of the composition. The sky stretches above in varying shades of blue with a spectacular cloud formation framing a clear space towards the top of the composition.”

Major Battle Events

The May 3 attack had mixed results. The British were stopped by German resistance, but the 1^st Canadian Division captured the town of Fresnoy.
The June 28 attack resulted in the British surprising the Germans and capturing Allied objectives.
Casualties were less than 2,000.

Updated: 23 October 2020

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Melina Druga

Most kids have an active imagination.My imagination has stayed strong into adulthood, and I’ve funneled that creativity into a successful writing career.I write history, both fiction and nonfiction, because although your school history classes may have been boring, the past is not.My goal is to bring the past to life in all its myriad of colors.