Editing Arras (section)

===Modern period===

During the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], in 1712, Arras was [[Bombardment of Arras|bombarded]] by an Anglo-Dutch Army under [[Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle|Arnold van Keppel, the Earl of Albemarle]].

====French Revolution====
{{Main|French Revolution}}[[Maximilien de Robespierre]], a French lawyer and politician from Arras and one of the best-known and most influential figures of the [[French Revolution]], was elected fifth deputy of the [[estates of the realm|third estate]] of [[Artois]] to the Estates-General in 1789. Robespierre also helped draft the [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]].<ref name="eupedia.com" />{{Unreliable source?|date=April 2017}}[[File:Robespierre.jpg|thumb|Arras-born lawyer and politician [[Maximilien de Robespierre]]]]

During the French Revolution, the city of Arras was first presided over by French reformer Dubois de Fosseux, erudite squire, secretary of the Arras district (''[[arrondissement]]'' in French) and future president of the Pas-de-Calais department. Around the same time, competing against Aire-sur-la-Lys, Calais, and Saint-Omer, Arras won the [[prefecture]] of Pas-de-Calais. From September 1793 to July 1794, during the [[Reign of Terror]], the city was under the supervision of Joseph Lebon who implemented food restrictions, ordered 400 executions and destroyed several religious monuments including the [[Arras Cathedral]] and the [[Abbey of St. Vaast]]. Arras' demography and economic activity remained the same throughout the French Revolution while Lille's grew exponentially. In 1898, under the influence of Mayor Émile Legrelle, some of Arras' ramparts were demolished to build vast boulevards, establish a new sewage system and replace the old railway station from 1846.

====World Wars====

===== World War I =====
[[File:Ruins of the Hôtel de Ville, Arras on 26 May 1917.jpg|thumb|Hôtel de Ville, Arras on 26&nbsp;May 1917]]
[[File:ArrasFrance.February1919.ws.jpg|thumb|Grand'Place of Arras in February 1919]]
During most of the [[First World War]], Arras was about {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=off}} away from the front line, and a series of battles took place around the city and nearby, including the [[Battle of Arras (1914)]], the [[Battle of Arras (1917)]], and the [[Second Battle of the Somme (1918)|Second Battle of the Somme]] component of 1918's [[Hundred Days Offensive]].

On 31&nbsp;August 1914, German light cavalry ([[Uhlan]]s) arrived in [[Tilloy-lès-Mofflaines]], and an army patrol made a foray into Arras. On 6&nbsp;September 1914, 3,000 soldiers led by General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim barracked within the city and in the citadel. Shortly after, Louis Ernest de Maud'huy's soldiers partly repelled the German army troops, and trenches were dug in the ''Faubourgs d'Arras''. On 7&nbsp;October 1914 the city hall burned. On 21&nbsp;October 1914 the [[belfry (architecture)|belfry]] was destroyed, and so was Arras Cathedral on 6&nbsp;July 1915.<ref>{{cite news |title= Arras an Unburied City |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/12/12/104018306.pdf |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |date= 12 December 1915 |access-date= 2015-08-16 }}</ref>

In 1917, a series of medieval tunnels beneath the city, linked and greatly expanded by the [[New Zealand Tunnelling Company]], became a decisive factor in the British forces holding the city - particularly during that year's Battle of Arras.<ref name="Stuff.co.nz_4906621">{{cite web|url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/4906621/Legacy-of-the-Kiwi-tunnellers |title= Legacy of the Kiwi tunnellers |author= Johnson, Matt |date= 20 April 2011 |work= [[Stuff.co.nz]] |access-date= 16 September 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Vimy Memorial (September 2010) cropped.jpg|thumb|The nearby Canadian National Vimy Memorial]]
By the end of World War I (1918), the city was so heavily damaged that three-quarters had to be rebuilt. The reconstruction was extremely costly, yet it proved to be a success and allowed the city to expand.

The town is located approximately {{convert|11|km|abbr= on}} south of the [[Canadian National Vimy Memorial]] built in 1936 on Hill&nbsp;145, the highest point of the Vimy Ridge [[escarpment]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/first-world-war/france/vimy/fast-facts|title=Fast Facts - Canadian National Vimy Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada|date=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name=RidgeRuns>{{cite web |url= http://www.greatwar.co.uk/french-flanders-artois/memorial-canadian-national-vimy-memorial.htm |title= Canadian National Vimy Memorial, France |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 2015 |website= The Great War UK |access-date= 31 March 2017 |quote= The ridge runs in a direction from Givenchy-en-Gohelle in the north-west to Farbus in the south-east.}}</ref> It is dedicated to the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]] assault (part of the 1917 Battle of Arras) and the missing [[First World War]] Canadian soldiers with no known grave; it is also the site of two WWI Canadian cemeteries.<ref name=RidgeRuns/>

On 9&nbsp;April 2017, the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Arras Mayor [[Frédéric Leturque]] thanked Canadians, as well as Australians and British, New Zealanders and South Africans, for their role in the First World War battles in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/1458104-slideshow-justin-trudeau-in-france-to-mark-the-100th-anniversary-of-vimy-ridge|title = Saltwire &#124; Halifax}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2017/04/09/justin-trudeau-in-france-to-mark-the-100th-anniversary-of-vimy-ridge-2/#.WOpNcfnyvX5 |title=Canadian and French leaders pay homage to fallen soldiers at Vimy Ridge  |author=The Canadian Press<!--Not stated--> |date=9 April 2017 |website=National Newswatch |publisher=National Newswatch Inc. |access-date=7 April 2017}}
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===== World War II =====
In the early stages of the [[World War II|second World War]], during the [[Battle of France|invasion of France]] in May 1940, the city was the focus of a [[Battle of Arras (1940)|major British counterattack]]. Arras saw an Allied counterattack against the flank of the German army. The German forces were pushing north towards the channel coast, in order to entrap the Allied Forces that were advancing east into Belgium. The counterattack at Arras was an Allied attempt to cut through the German spearhead and frustrate the German advance. Although the Allies initially made gains, they were repulsed by German forces and forced to withdraw to avoid encirclement. Arras was then occupied by the Germans and over the years 1941-44 218 [[French Resistance]] members were executed in ditches around the Arras citadel. On 3&nbsp;September 1944, the city was entered and liberated by the British [[Guards Armoured Division]].