(For other battles with the same name, see Battle of Arras (disambiguation).)(See also: First Battle of Artois) The Battle of Arras (also known as the First Battle of Arras, 1–4 October 1914), was an attempt by the French Army to outflank the German Army, which was attempting to do the same thing during the "Race to the Sea", the reciprocal attempts by both sides, to exploit conditions created during the First Battle of the Aisne. At the First Battle of Picardy (22–26 September) each side had attacked expecting to advance round an open northern flank and found instead that troops had arrived from further south and extended the flank northwards.