 On 9 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.In the early stages of the second World War, during the invasion of France in May 1940, the city was the focus of a major British counterattack.Arras saw an Allied counterattack against the flank of the German army.