During the Battle of Arras 1917, the 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers returned to the front line on 14 May. The Inniskillings faced a German position known as ‘Hook Trench’ and received orders to take part in a local operation to attack the enemy position, including a copse at its north end.

When the three companies of the Inniskillings went over the top, they were met with intense and accurate machine-gun fire. The German reaction suggested that the enemy had been warned to expect the attack. However, the Inniskillings pressed on despite heavy losses. Elements of one company appeared to reach Hook Trench but were overwhelmed and then lost when the remainder of the company had to withdraw. The other two companies pressed on to the copse and here too the enemy appeared to be ready for them. This part of the attack was also a calamity as most of the men were taken prisoner with only a few getting back to their own lines. Most of the 200 casualties accounted for those killed or missing. Later, an account of the action by a military officer writing The Story of the 29th Division attributed the disaster to ‘the murderous treachery of a deserter’ who had betrayed the plan for the night attack.

The Inniskillings were relieved on 15 May and moved into reserve. The Battalion would not see action again until late June – not in the Arras area but in the Ypres Salient.