German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
In 1932, Edmonds recorded 1,344 German casualties; 615 men in the attack and 729 during British counter-attacks. British casualties in the 47th Division from 22 to 24 May were 1,571, 2nd Division casualties were 267 and the 7th Brigade (25th Division) had 637 casualties, a total of 2,475. In 1936, the official historians of "Der Weltkrieg", the German official history, recorded that 300 British prisoners had been taken.
German attack on Vimy Ridge, 21 May 1916
At 10 Kite Balloon Section RFC, sent up its balloon, which stayed up all night. The balloon observers were able to see the German bombardment and keep HQ informed as the bombardment intensified at and track the barrage as it crept forward in front of the German infantry. When the German barrage lifted off the British front line at a mine exploded close to Royal Ave and the German attack began. The German left flank (British right flank) advanced on Royal Ave, short of which was Broadmarsh Crater, to the north-west of a new crater, which had been captured by the British on the night of 18/19 May and the German right flank (British left) attacked towards Momber Crater. In the smoke and dust the German infantry got half-way across no man's land before the British could see them, moving in skirmish lines, the men apart. Behind the foremost line, the British could see men carrying barbed wire, wood and machine-guns. The Germans were able to walk into the sector of the 140th Brigade, where the survivors of the bombardment were stunned and their weapons smashed or buried. The 47th Divisional artillery was unable to help as communications had been cut and was short of ammunition. Many men of the 1/7th and 1/8th London were caught in their shelters and captured, except for a few who fought hand to hand.
On the front of Reserve "Jäger" Battalion 9 (RJB 9) the 1st and 4th companies advanced to encounter determined resistance from the British infantry in the front trench, which was quickly overcome. The fight for the British reserve trench was much harder, particularly in sections where the German bombardment has been least effective. Some British troops erected barricades in parts of the trench and then fought until all were killed. Liaison between German units was difficult and later a fighting patrol was sent to gain touch with Footguard Regiment 5 (FR 5). On the right flank, RIR 86 had advanced so far that the 4th Company RJB 9 had to attack again to come into line and bogged down in the British reserve positions. Small British counter-attacks were repulsed during the night but the main effort went into consolidating the new positions and linking them to the old front line.