Arras: A city of northeastern France, the chief town of the department of Pas-de-Calais, on the south bank of the Scarpe. In Roman times it was known as Nemetacum and was the capital of the Atrebates, from which word Arras is derived. Arras was the birthplace of Robespierre. The city suffered immense damage in connection with the German invasion of 1914, and during the great German attack on the British lines in 1918 the vicinity of Arras was the scene of most desperate struggles.

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