ABSTRACT
On 16 June 1915 the French Tenth Army launched the largest single trench offensive on the Western Front to date: 799 field guns and 355 heavies had been amassed for what was to be the final victorious push on Vimy Ridge. Tenth Army had received substantial reinforcements, yet the end result did not amount to many more guns than had been present on 9 May. Where Tenth Army could boast a significant increase over its 9 May strength was in munitions. According to the French Official History, Tenth Army would fire 497,122 shells of all calibres from 10 to 16 June plus an additional 221,429 from 17 to 18 June; between 3 May and 9 May Tenth Army fired only 265,430. Tenth Army had access to 10,000 gas shells on 16 June, and concentrated them against difficult urban positions like Neuville, Souchez and Angres, against areas in which German artillery was known to be concentrated, like La Folie.
