In May, 1915, Henri-Philippe Petain and 9th French Army launched an attack at Artois. Petain initially made good progress but was unable to take the main objective, Vimy Ridge. On 25th September Anglo-French forces launched another offensive at Artois and at nearby Loos.

General Auguste Dubail and the French Tenth Army made some progress at Artois and one division managed to reach the crest of Vimy Ridge on 29th September. However, Count Prince Rupprecht and the German Sixth Army made sure that the French made no long-term gains.

General Sir Douglas Haig, and the British First Army, attacked at Loos. By the end of the first day the British troops were on the outskirts of Lens. Strong counter-attacks by the Germans forced the British back. When a second British attack suffered heavy losses on 13th October, Sir John French, decided to being an end to the Artois-Loos offensive. The campaign cost the British Expeditionary Force 50,000 casualties. The French lost 48,000 and the Germans about 24,000.