Arras is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region. Before the 2014 reorganization, it was the Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Founded by the Gauls during the Iron Age, the city of Arras was initially known as Nemetocenna.
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ReisenTranskript
00:00On our trip to the Nord Pas de Calais we also make a detour to Arras.
00:16Arras has a long history.
00:18During the 9th century favorite residence of the Counts of Flanders, during the 12th
00:22and 13th centuries an economic golden age, during the 14th and 15th centuries belonging
00:27to Burgundy, and during the 17th century under Louis XIII return under French rule.
00:43The town made its mark in the resistance against the German invaders in the First World War.
00:50The Wellington Quarry depicts the history of the Battle of Arras at the end of First
00:54World War in 1917.
00:57This is the site which is devoted to the Battle of Arras and the secret place which was used
01:04by the British troops before the 9th of April 1917.
01:09So this is first a museum when you will learn about World War I, Arras during the Great
01:14War, and also about the preparation of the Battle of Arras in the underground tunnels
01:21which were dug by the New Zealand Tunnelers.
01:24The quarries were named after cities of New Zealand, like for instance here the Wellington
01:30Tunnels.
01:31It's like an underground map that the New Zealand Tunnelers created to know where they
01:38were.
01:39The main idea was to dig tunnels to link all the quarries together to create an underground
01:44town which could welcome about 24,000 soldiers before the Battle of Arras to create a surprise
01:50attack on the German which was planned for the 9th of April 1917.
02:06The underground tunnel system that played an essential role in this deadly conflict
02:10can be discovered here.