The Battle of the Hills () also known as the Battle of the Hills of Champagne and the Third Battle of Champagne, was a battle of the First World War that was fought from April–May 1917. The French Fourth Army offensive against the German 4th Army was to support the (GAN, Northern Army Group) along the Chemin des Dames, in the Second Battle of the Aisne. General Anthoine, commander of the Fourth Army planned a supporting attack but this was rejected by Nivelle and Anthoine planned a frontal attack by two corps on an front, to break through the German defences on the first day and commence exploitation the following day. The battle took place east of Reims, between Prunay and Aubérive, in the province of Champagne, along the Moronvilliers Hills.
On the left of XII Corps to the east of the Suippes river, the 24th Division established a flank guard by attacking through Bois des Abattis towards Germains and Baden-Baden trenches. On the left flank of the division, Aubérive on the east bank of the river was rapidly captured. On the west bank of the Suippes, the 75th Territorial Regiment (Moroccan Division) made progress round the main part of Aubérive. The Moroccan Division was repulsed on its extreme right but the (March Regiment of the Foreign Legion) gained a foothold at Le Golfe. North-east of Mont Haut, the advance reached a depth of and next day the advance was pressed further. To the west, the French 34th Division took Mont Cornillet and Mont Blond and the 16th Division was repulsed at Bois de la Grille.
The French spent 18 April consolidating and the 45th Division pushed up to the southern edge of Mont Haut. The "Monts" were held against a German counter-attack on 19 April, between Nauroy and Moronvilliers, by the 5th Division and 6th Division, which had been trained as (specialist counter-attack divisions), supported by the 23rd Division plus one regiment. Next day, the French 33rd Division captured Le Téton and the capture of Aubérive was completed by the 24th Division and the Territorial battalions. On 20 April, French troops got onto the summit of Le Casque and on 22 April, the eastern and lower summit of Mont Haut was secured by the 45th Division.
The Fourth Army took and Counter-attacks by the German 4th Army on 27 May had temporary success, before the French recaptured ground around Mont Haut; lack of troops had forced the Germans into piecemeal attacks, instead of a simultaneous attack all along the front. The French attacked again from and despite German counter-attacks on 19 and 23 April, advanced slightly on the Heights of Moronvilliers. After a lull, the French attacked again on 30 April and ended the offensive on 20 May. The number of German prisoners taken by the end of the battle had been increased to and
Background
Strategic developments
The Moronvilliers massif was a group of hills, densely wooded before 1914, to the west of the Suippes river. The village of Moronvilliers lay in a dip below the north crest of the main ridge. There is an outlying peak known as Mont Sans Nom, high, with a hollow then a ridge to the north-west, the highest part of which is the western summit of Mont Haut at . West of the ridge, which in 1917 was between the left flank of the French Fourth Army and the Fifth Army, was an area of low ground about wide, between the Moronvilliers massif and the Nogent l'Abbesse massif east of Reims, in which lay the village of Beine. A road ran east from Beine to Nauroy, Moronvilliers and St Martin l'Heureux on the Suippes, north of the Moronvilliers massif. The eastern slope declines close to the bank of the Suippes, between St Martin-l'Heureux and Aubérive and the southern slope declines south of the road from Reims to St Hilaire le Grand, St Ménéhould and Verdun as it descends into the Plain of Châlons. The highest point of Mont Haut is nearly as high as Vigie de Berru (, the highest hill overlooking Reims from the east. The capture of Mont Sans Nom and the Moronvilliers Ridge would threaten the German hold on the Beine basin and the Nogent l'Abbesse massif; the loss of these would make the German positions on the Fresne and Brimont heights untenable. The loss of Fort Brimont would make the German positions on the low ground south of the Aisne, from Berméricourt north-west to the mouth of the Suippes, vulnerable to another attack.