In the Front Line

1917-1918
Imperial War Museums (ART 2243)

On 14th June 1917 the Artists Rifles were ordered to

go into the line as part of the 190th Infantry Brigade,
63rd (Royal Naval) Division. From July to September
they were in the front line at Oppy and Gavrelle.
Among those getting their first taste of the trenches
was the artist John Nash, brother of Paul. The
paintings he later made of his experiences have since
become some of the most famous images of the war.
In October 1917 the 63rd Division was sent to the
Ypres front, where the Third Battle of Ypres had been

Oppy Wood by John Nash: I used to have my habitation in that

dug out there ... It looks a peaceful, idyllic scene. It was supposed to
be a quiet sector. It was our introduction to the front ...They
wanted to find out if you were windy or not.
Imperial War Museums (ART 1656)

grinding on since July. The fighting and heavy rain had

turned the battlefield into a quagmire. The Artists
part in the Battle of Passchendaele came in an attack
on 30th October. They quickly came under machine
gun and shell fire and became bogged down in the
mud, where some men drowned in water-filled shell
holes. Of the 470 Artists who attacked 350 became
casualties, 170 of them killed.
The Artists were involved in the retreat of the British
Fifth Army in the face of German offensives in March

Over The Top. 1st Artists Rifles at Marcoing, 30th December 1917
by John Nash. After Passchendaele the Artists were sent to
Marcoing near Cambrai. On 30th December they made a
counter attack in daylight without artillery support.
They failed to make their objectives and took 116 casualties.

and April 1918. They then took part in the Allied

counter offensives which were to end the war,
including the successful attack on the Canal du Nord
in September. Three days later they found themselves
attacking again near Cambrai. When the Armistice
came on 11th November the Artists Rifles were at
Harmignies, just south of Mons where the British
Army had first seen action back in 1914. They took
part in the official entry into Mons on 15th November.

At the outbreak of war the strength of

the Artists Rifles was 621. During the
course of the war 14,401 recruits passed
through the Regiment, of whom 10,256
were trained and commissioned to other
regiments. Of these 2,003 were killed,
3,250 wounded or gassed, 532 were
posted as missing and 286 became
prisoners of war.