Battle of Passchendaele Third Battle of Ypres
Part of World War I
Australian gunners on a duckboard track in Château Wood near Hooge, 29 October 1917. Photo by Frank Hurley.
Date: 31 July 1917 – 10 November 1917 Location: Ypres, West Flanders, Belgium Result: Stalemate
Combatants
United Kingdom France Canada Australia New Zealand	German Empire
Commanders
Douglas Haig Hubert Gough Herbert Plumer Arthur Currie	Max von Gallwitz Erich Ludendorff
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties
448,000 killed and wounded	260,000 killed and wounded

The 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres or simply Third Ypres, was one of the major battles of World War I, fought by British, ANZAC, and Canadian soldiers against the German army. The battle was fought for control of the village of Passendale, (Belgium-French Passchendaele on maps of that time), near the Belgian town of Ypres in West Flanders. The plan was to drive a hole in the German lines and advance to the Belgian coast and capture the German submarine bases there. It would have created a decisive corridor to be opened in a crucial area of the front, and it would also take pressure off of the French forces. After the disastrous Nivelle Offensive the French Army was suffering from extremely low morale, which resulted in such an increase in cases of mutiny and misconduct as to threaten the field-worthiness of entire divisions. Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x769, 100 KB)Soldiers of an Australian 4th Division field artillery brigade on a duckboard track passing through Chateau Wood, near Hooge in the Ypres salient, October 29, 1917. ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Chateau Wood, Ypres, 1917 by Frank Hurley James Francis Frank Hurley (1885 - 1962) was an official photographer with the Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Hurley travelled on a number of expedititions to the Antarctic including Douglas Mawsons 1911 expedition. ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... The Belfry of Ypres Ypres (French, generally used in English;1 Ieper official name in the local Dutch) is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. ... West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) is the westernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada-1868-Red. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_German_Empire. ... Flag of the German Empire, 1871–1918: black-white-red The German Empire is the name conventionally given in English to the German state from the time of the proclamation of Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor (January 18, 1871) to the abdication of Wilhelm II (November 9, 1918). ... Field Marshal Lord Haig Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC (June 19, 1861 – January 28, 1928) was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I. He was commander of the British Expeditionary Force during the Battle of the Somme and... Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough (August 12, 1870–1963) was a British World War I general who commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918. ... Herbert Onslow Plumer (1857-1932) was a British colonial official and soldier. ... General Sir Arthur William Currie, KCMG , CB (December 5, 1875 - November 30, 1933) was the first Canadian commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (a corps of four divisions) on the Western Front during World War I and one of the most successful Allied generals of the war and in Canadian... Categories: Stub | German World War I people ... Ludendorff in 1918 Erich Ludendorff (sometimes given incorrectly as Erich von Ludendorff) (April 9, 1865 – December 20, 1937, Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany) was a German Army officer, noted as a general during World War I. Ludendorff was born in Kruszewnia near Posen, Prussia (now PoznaÅ„, Poland). ... For most of World War I, Allied and German Forces were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ... The Battle of the Frontiers was a series of battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. ... The Battle of Liège was the opening battle of the German invasion into Belgium, and the first battle of World War I. // The plan In 1870, soon after the German military defeated the French in the Franco-Prussian War, German military leader Helmuth von Moltke began formulating a plan... The Siege of Antwerp was an engagement of the Germans and the Belgians during World War I. The German army invaded Belgium on the morning of August 4, 1914, two days after the decision of the Belgian government not to allow German troops unhindered passage to France. ... The Great Retreat covers the slow retreat by the Allies to the River Marne after their defeat by the Germans at Battle of Mons on 23 August. ... Course of the Race to the Sea showing dates of encounters and highlighting the significant battles. ... The Battles of Neuve Chapelle and Artois was a battle in the First World War. ... Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Newfoundland German Empire Commanders General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien Duke Albrecht of Württemberg Strength UK, Canada, Newfoundland: 6 infantry divisions France: 2 infantry divisions 7 infantry divisions Casualties UK, Canada, Newfoundland: (6,000) India: 58,000 France: 10,000 35,000 The Second Battle... A battle on the western front of World War I, the Second Battle of Artois is also known as the Loos-Artois Offensive. ... The Battle of Hill 70 took place took place near the French city of Lens on 15 August and 16 August 1917 and was fought between the Canadian Corps under the command of Gen. ... Combatants France, Britain Germany Commanders Auguste Dubail Sir John French Crown Prince Rupprecht Strength French 10th Army 6 British Divisions German 6th Army Casualties 48,000 French 50,000 British 20,000 German A battle on the western front of World War I, the Second Battle of Artois is also... The Battle of Loos was one of the major British offensives mounted on the Western Front in 1915 during World War I. The battle was the British component of the combined Anglo-French offensive known as the Second Battle of Artois. ... Combatants France Germany Commanders Philippe Pétain Robert Nivelle Erich von Falkenhayn Strength About 30,000 on 21 February 1916 About 150,000 on 21 February 1916 Casualties 378,000; of whom 120,000 dead 337,000; of whom 100,000 dead The Battle of Verdun was a major battle... The Battle of Hulluch was a conflict in World War One, April 27-29, 1916, involving the 16th Division of the British Armys 19th Corps. ... Combatants United Kingdom France Canada India Newfoundland New Zealand South Africa Australia German Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Ferdinand Foch Max von Gallwitz Fritz von Below Strength 13 British & 6 French divisions (initial) 51 British divisions (final) 10. ... The Battle of Arras took place from 9 April to 16 May 1917. ... Combatants Allies Central Powers Commanders Julian Byng Arthur Currie Ludwig von Falkenhausen Strength 30,000 Unknown Casualties 3,598 dead 7,104 wounded 20,000 The Battle of Vimy Ridge was one of the opening battles in a larger British campaign known as the Battle of Arras. ... Combatants France Germany Commanders Robert Nivelle Charles Mangin François Anthoine Mazel von Boehm Fritz von Below Strength 1. ... The Battle of Messines was launched on June 7, 1917 by British General Herbert Plumers second army, which included the 16th (Irish) Division and the 36th (Ulster) Division, near the villages of Mesen (in French Messines, as it was on most maps at that time) and Wytschaete. ... Passchendaele village, before and after the Battle of Passchendaele The Battle of Passchendaele, otherwise known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was one of the major battles of World War I, fought by British, ANZAC, and Canadian soldiers against the German army near Ypres ( Ieper in Flemish) in West Flanders... Combatants United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Newfoundland German Empire Commanders Julian Byng Georg von der Marwitz Strength 2 Corps 1 Corps Casualties 45,000 killed 9,000 prisoners 100 tanks destroyed 45,000 killed 11,000 prisoners The Battle of Cambrai (November 20 - December 3, 1917) was a... British and Portuguese captured by German forces in the Flanders region (1918) British 55th (West Lancashire) Division troops blinded by tear gas during the battle, 10 April 1918. ... The Third Battle of the Aisne was a German offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Force could arrive in France. ... Combatants France Britain United States German Empire Commanders John J. Pershing James Harbord Crown Prince Wilhelm Strength U.S 2nd and 3rd Divisions, plus some elements of the French 6th Army and British IX Corps elements of the 237th, 10th, 197th, 87th, and 28th Divisions Casualties 9,777 unknown The... The Second Battle of the Marne, was a World War I battle fought from July 15 to July 18, 1918 near the Marne River. ... The Battle of Chateau Thierry was fought on July 18, 1918. ... The Battle of Hamel (4 July 1918) was a planned attack launched by the Australian Corps of the Australian Imperial Force against German positions in the town of Hamel in western France during World War I. The battle was planned and commanded by Lieutenant General John Monash (later knighted). ... The Hundred Days Offensive was the final offensive in World War I by the Allies against the Central Powers on the Western Front from August 8, 1918 to November 11, 1918. ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First... An ANZAC soldier gives water to a wounded Turk The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (popularly abbreviated as ANZAC) was originally an army corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought in World War I at Gallipoli, in the Middle East and on the Western Front. ... The Belfry of Ypres Ypres (French, generally used in English;1 Ieper official name in the local Dutch) is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. ... West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) is the westernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Gunter Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ... The Nivelle Offensive was a 1917 Allied attack on the Western Front in World War I. The offensive was a costly failure. ...

The land on which the battle took place was largely reclaimed marshland, swampy even without rain. The extremely heavy preparatory bombardment by the British tore up the surface of the land, and heavy rain from August onwards produced an impassable terrain of deep "liquid mud", in which an unknown number of soldiers drowned. Even the newly-developed tanks bogged down. The Germans were well entrenched, with mutually-supporting pillboxes which the initial bombardment had not destroyed. The town of Passendale was finally taken by the Canadian forces, but the combined casualties of the allies was almost a quarter of a million men, with about the same number of men lost by the Germans. A bunker is a defensive warfare fortification to protect oneself. ...

Passendale is the modern spelling of the village, and the old name of Passchendaele is now used only to refer to this battle. This term should properly apply only to the later actions of the battle in October–November 1917, but has come to be applied also to the entire campaign from July 31. After three months of fierce fighting, the Canadian Corps took Passchendaele on November 6, 1917, ending the battle. In the history of World War I, the term 'Passchendaele' has become a symbol of the extreme brutality of industrial warfare. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining. ... The Canadian Corps was a World War I Canadas soldiers in September of 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Passendale today forms part of the municipality of Zonnebeke, Belgium. Zonnebeke is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. ...

Messines Ridge

Main article: Battle of Messines The Battle of Messines was launched on June 7, 1917 by British General Herbert Plumers second army, which included the 16th (Irish) Division and the 36th (Ulster) Division, near the villages of Mesen (in French Messines, as it was on most maps at that time) and Wytschaete. ...

The ridge to the south of Ypres had been lost to the Germans in the First Battle of Ypres, creating an allied salient sticking out into the German position and overlooked by German artillery on higher ground. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, the allied chief commander, decided to break through the front and capture the German submarine bases on the Belgian coast. A successful action would not only put the submarines out of action, but shorten the allied lines and potentially trap a number of German troops behind the new lines. In military terms, a salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. ... Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (June 19, 1861 - January 28, 1928) was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I. He had independent wealth: his family manufactured Haig & Haig whisky. ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Gunter Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ...

Engineers from both sides had been tunnelling under the Messines ridge since 1915, and by the spring of 1917, the British had placed 21 huge mines totalling 450 tonnes of the high explosive Ammonal. At zero hour at 03:10 on 7 June 1917, after the most intense bombardment of the entire war, nineteen of the allied mines were detonated, killing an estimated ten thousand German troops in moments. The explosion was said to be audible as far away as Dublin, and was possibly the loudest man-made noise made up to that date. Of the two mines which failed to detonate, one exploded during a thunderstorm on 17 July 1955. The 21st mine is believed to have been found in recent years, but no attempt has been made to remove it. Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Various anti-tank and anti-personnel land mines A land mine is a type of self-contained explosive device which is placed onto or into the ground, exploding when triggered by a vehicle or person. ... Ammonal is an explosive mixture of ammonium nitrate, aluminium dust and stearic acid. ... June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Following the detonation of the mines, nine allied infantry divisions attacked, supported by 72 Mark IV tanks. They achieved the initial objectives due to the effect of the huge mines and the fact that the German reserves were too far back to intervene. Haig ordered General Plumer, the Second Army commander, to continue the battle, but was persuaded to delay further attacks until preparations could be made and the strategic Messines Ridge could be consolidated. Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A Mark I tank on 26 September 1916 (moving left to right). ... Herbert Onslow Plumer (1857-1932) was a British colonial official and soldier. ...

July 1917

As a second stage of the action, General Sir Hubert Gough was put in charge of the attacks to secure the Gheluvelt Plateau which overlooked Ypres. Huge numbers of guns were moved into the area and started a four-day bombardment, but the Germans recognised the sign of an impending offensive, and moved more troops in to reinforce the defences. Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough (August 12, 1870–1963) was a British World War I general who commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918. ...

In July the Germans used mustard gas for the first time. It attacked sensitive parts of the body, caused blistering, damage to the lungs and inflammation of the eyes, causing blindness (sometimes temporary) and great pain. Airborne exposure limit 0. ...

One problem in carrying the offensive forward was the Yser canal, but this was taken on July 27 when the Allies found the German trenches empty. Four days later, the offensive proper opened with a major action at Pilkem ridge, with allied gains of up to 2000 yards. The Allies suffered about thirty-two thousand casualties--killed, wounded or missing--in this one action. July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ...

Ground conditions during the whole Ypres-Passendale action were atrocious. Continuous shelling destroyed drainage canals in the area, and unseasonable heavy rain turned the whole area into a sea of mud and water-filled shell-craters. The troops walked up to the front over paths made of duckboards laid across the mud, often carrying up to one hundred pounds (45 kg) of equipment. It was possible for them to slip off the path into the craters and drown before they could be rescued. The trees were reduced to blunted trunks, the branches and leaves torn away, and the bodies of men buried after previous actions were often uncovered by the rain or later shelling.

September 1917

A new strategy known as "bite and hold" was adopted for the actions of September and October, after the awful weather in August had contributed to the failures of earlier large-scale attacks. The idea was to make small gains which could be held against counter-attack. Sir Herbert Plumer replaced Hubert Gough in command of the offensive. Herbert Onslow Plumer (1857-1932) was a British colonial official and soldier. ... Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough (August 12, 1870–1963) was a British World War I general who commanded the British Fifth Army from 1916 to 1918. ...

1,295 guns were concentrated in the area, approximately one for every five yards of attack front. On September 20 at the battle of Menin Road, after a massive bombardment, the Allies attacked and managed to hold their objective of about 1,500 yards gained, despite heavy counter-attacks, suffering twenty-one thousand casualties. The Germans by this time had a semi-permanent front line, with very deep dugouts and concrete pillboxes, supported by artillery accurately ranged on no man's land. September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... No mans land is a term for a land that is not occupied or more specifically land that is under dispute between parties that wont occupy it because of fear or uncertainty. ...

Further advances at Polygon Wood and Broodseinde on the south-western edge of the salient accounted for another two thousand yards and thirty thousand Allied casualties. The British line was now overlooked by the Passchendaele ridge, which therefore became an important objective. An advance on October 9 at Poelkapelle (Poelcapelle) was a dismal failure for the Allies, with minor advances by exhausted troops forced back by counter-attacks. October 9 is the 282nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (283rd in leap years). ... Langemark-Poelkapelle is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. ...

First Battle of Passchendaele

Aerial view of Passchendaele village, before and after the battle.

The First Battle of Passchendaele, on October 12, 1917 began with a further Allied attempt to gain ground around Poelkapelle. The heavy rain again made movement difficult, and artillery could not be brought closer to the front owing to the mud. The Allied troops were tired, and morale was suffering. Against the well-prepared German defences, the gains were minimal and there were 13,000 Allied casualties. Download high resolution version (500x674, 80 KB)Aerial view of the village of Passchendaele (North is to the right of the photo) before and after the Third Battle of Ypres, 1917. ... Download high resolution version (500x674, 80 KB)Aerial view of the village of Passchendaele (North is to the right of the photo) before and after the Third Battle of Ypres, 1917. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

By this point there had been 100,000 Allied casualties, with only limited gains and no strategic breakthrough.

Second Battle of Passchendaele

Canadian general Sir Arthur William Currie, who led the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Passchendaele. Currie correctly predicted that the Canadians would incur from 16,000 to 20,000 casualties if they were to be successful.

At this point two divisions of the Canadian Corps were moved into the line to replace the badly depleted ANZAC forces. After their successes at Vimy Ridge and the Battle of Hill 70, the Canadians were considered to be an élite force and were sent into action in some of the worst conditions of the war. General Sir Arthur William Currie, KCMG , CB (December 5, 1875 - November 30, 1933) was the first Canadian commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (a corps of four divisions) on the Western Front during World War I and one of the most successful Allied generals of the war and in Canadian... Canadian Forces Land Force Command (LF) is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Armed Forces. ... The Canadian Corps was a World War I Canadas soldiers in September of 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. ... The Battle of Vimy Ridge was one of the opening battles in a larger British campaign known as the Battle of Arras. ... The Battle of Hill 70 took place took place near the French city of Lens on 15 August and 16 August 1917 and was fought between the Canadian Corps under the command of Gen. ...

Upon his arrival, the Canadian Commander-in-Chief General Sir Arthur Currie expressed the view that the cost of the objective would be sixteen thousand casualties. While Currie viewed this figure as inordinately high in comparison to the objective, Haig was used to high casualty rates after years of allied losses in the hundreds of thousands, and he ordered the offensive to proceed. General Sir Arthur William Currie, KCMG , CB (December 5, 1875 - November 30, 1933) was the first Canadian commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (a corps of four divisions) on the Western Front during World War I and one of the most successful Allied generals of the war and in Canadian...

The Canadians moved into the line during mid-October, and on October 26, 1917, the Second Battle of Passchendaele began with twenty thousand men of the Third and Fourth Canadian Divisions advancing up the hills of the salient. It cost the Allies twelve thousand casualties for a gain of a few hundred yards. October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Reinforced with the addition of two British divisions, a second offensive on October 30 resulted in the capture of the town in blinding rain. For the next five days the force held the town in the face of repeated German shelling and counter-attacks, and by the time a second group of reinforcements arrived on November 6, four-fifths of two Canadian divisions had been lost. October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ...

Their replacements were the Canadian First and Second Divisions. German troops still ringed the area, so a limited attack on the 6th by the remaining troops of the Third Division allowed the First Division to make major advances and gain strong points throughout the area.

One such action on the First Division front was at Hill 52; the Tenth Battalion, CEF were called out of reserve to assist an attack on Hill 52, part of the same low rise Passchendaele itself was situated on. The Battalion was not scheduled to attack, but the Commanding Officer of the Tenth had wisely prepared his soldiers as if they would be making the main assault - a decision that paid dividends when the unit was called out of reserve. On 10 November 1917, the Tenth Battalion took the feature with light casualties. The Calgary Highlanders are a Land Force Reserve Infantry Regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armoury in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ...

A further attack by the Second Division the same day pushed the Germans from the slopes to the east of the town. The high ground was now firmly under Allied control.

Aftermath

The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing and the Tyne Cot Cemetery.

Because of the Third Battle of Ypres there were insufficient reserves available to exploit the Allied success at the Battle of Cambrai, the first breakthrough by massed tanks, that restored somewhat the shaken confidence of the British government in the final victory. The politicians were reluctant however to fully replace the manpower losses, for fear the new troops would be sacrificed also. This made the British Army vulnerable to a German attack. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1964x1141, 647 KB) Summary Author: Redvers. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1964x1141, 647 KB) Summary Author: Redvers. ... Combatants United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Newfoundland German Empire Commanders Julian Byng Georg von der Marwitz Strength 2 Corps 1 Corps Casualties 45,000 killed 9,000 prisoners 100 tanks destroyed 45,000 killed 11,000 prisoners The Battle of Cambrai (November 20 - December 3, 1917) was a...

The major German offensive of 1918, Operation Michael, began on March 21, 1918, and a supporting operation which became the Battle of the Lys, began on April 9. This regained almost all of the ground taken by the Allies at Passendale, the Germans advancing about 6 miles. 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War, which marked the deepest advance by either side since 1914. ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... British and Portuguese captured by German forces in the Flanders region (1918) British 55th (West Lancashire) Division troops blinded by tear gas during the battle, 10 April 1918. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ...

These battles, and those British and Commonwealth soldiers who gave their lives, are commemorated at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, and at the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the world with nearly 12,000 graves. The Menin Gate Memorial at the eastern exit of the town of Ieper (usually known in English as Ypres) in Flanders, Belgium, marks the starting point for one of the main roads out of the town that led Allied soldiers to the front line during World War I. Designed by... The Tyne Cot Memorial to the missing is a memeorial to the dead of those who fought in and around the area of Ypres ... iThe Commonwealth War Graves Commission is a joint governmental organisation responsible for marking and maintaining the graves of members of the Commonwealth military forces who died in the two world wars and subsequent wars, to build memorials to those with no known grave, and to keep records of the war...

Passchendaele has come to symbolise the horrific nature of the great battles of the First World War. The Germans lost approximately 270,000 men, while the British Empire forces lost about 450,000, including 36,500 Australians and 16,000 Canadians - the latter of which were lost in the intense final assault between October 26 and November 10; 90,000 British and Australian bodies were never identified, and 42,000 never recovered. Aerial photography showed 1,000,000 shell holes in 1 square mile. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

Quotations

Australian wounded at Retaliation Farm aid post, near Zonnebeke, 21 October 1917. A composite photo by Frank Hurley.

"I died in Hell

(they called it Passchendaele); my wound was slight

and I was hobbling back; and then a shell

burst slick upon the duckboards; so I fell

into the bottomless mud, and lost the light"

— Siegfried Sassoon

"The horror of the shell-hole area of Verdun was surpassed. It was no longer life at all. It was mere unspeakable suffering. And through this world of mud the attackers dragged themselves, slowly, but steadily, and in dense masses. Caught in the advanced zone by our hail of fire they often collapsed, and the lonely man in the shell-hole breathed again. Then the mass came on again. Rifle and machine-gun jammed with the mud. Man fought against man, and only too often the mass was successful. " — General Erich Ludendorff

The man beside him, who had been through the campaign, replied tonelessly, 'It's worse further on up.'" — Leon Wolff, In Flanders Fields

"Passchendaele was just a terrible, terrible place. We used to walk along these wooden duckboards - something like ladders laid on the ground. The Germans would concentrate on these things. If a man was hit and wounded and fell off he could easily drown in the mud and never be seen again. You just did not want [to] go off the duckboards." — Private Richard W. Mercer (911016)

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (690x961, 149 KB) Dead and wounded Australian infantry at Retaliation Farm first aid post near Zonnebeke Railway Station, 12 October 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (690x961, 149 KB) Dead and wounded Australian infantry at Retaliation Farm first aid post near Zonnebeke Railway Station, 12 October 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres. ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Chateau Wood, Ypres, 1917 by Frank Hurley James Francis Frank Hurley (1885 - 1962) was an official photographer with the Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Hurley travelled on a number of expedititions to the Antarctic including Douglas Mawsons 1911 expedition. ... Siegfried Sassoon, 1916 Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, CBE, MC (September 8, 1886 – September 1, 1967) was an English poet and author. ... Ludendorff in 1918 Erich Ludendorff (sometimes given incorrectly as Erich von Ludendorff) (April 9, 1865 – December 20, 1937, Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany) was a German Army officer, noted as a general during World War I. Ludendorff was born in Kruszewnia near Posen, Prussia (now Poznań, Poland). ...

Music

Edward Elgar's Cello concerto was written in 1919 at his home in Sussex from where he had earlier heard the artillery of the war in Flanders, possibly from the Battle of Passchendaele. Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 â€“ 23 February 1934) was an English composer. ... Edward Elgars Cello Concerto is a dark and heartbreaking work by this most English of composers, reckoned to be the most popular of all concertos for the cello. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Sussex is a traditional county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ...

Heavy metal band Iron Maiden wrote the homage song "Paschendale" for their 2003 album Dance of Death. The song vividly describes a soldier's vision of the battle: "Laying low in a blood filled trench, killing time until my very own death. On my face I can feel the falling rain, never see my friends again. In the smoke, in the mud and lead, smell of fear and feeling of dread. Soon be time to go over the wall, rapid fire and the end of us all." Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that emerged as a defined musical style in the 1970s, having its roots in hard rock bands which, between 1967 and 1974, mixed blues and rock to create a hybrid with a thick, heavy, guitar-and-drums-centered sound, characterised by the... Iron Maiden is a New Wave of British Heavy Metal band from East London. ... // Events January - following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. ... Dance of Death is Iron Maidens 13th studio album, released on September 8, 2003. ...

British rock-pop band The Men They Couldn't Hang included "The Crest" on its album Waiting for Bonaparte. The lyrics describe a military family in which the grandfather survived Passchendaele but went insane, and ends with advice by the father to the son to discard the old medals, "sacrifice tradition and save your family." The Men They Couldnt Hang (TMTCH) are a British rock band whose mixture of folk and punk is not dissimilar to that of The Pogues (in fact founder member Shanne Bradley was a member of Shane MacGowans first band The Nipple Erectors), although they have not enjoyed the...

British singer Chris de Burgh wrote the song "This Song for You", which describes a British soldier in Passchendaele who writes a letter to his 'darling' the night before the attack. It appears on the album "Spanish Train and Other Stories". Chris de Burgh (born October 15th, 1948) is an Irish musician and songwriter. ...

Indie band GoodBooks wrote "Passchendaele", a song which tells of a man "born at the end of the 19th Century" who goes off to fight, and die, at Passchendaele, "fighting for the cause, in the war to end all wars". In popular music, indie music (from independent) is any of a number of genres, scenes, subcultures and stylistic and cultural attributes, characterised by perceived independence from commercial pop music and mainstream culture and an autonomous, do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... World War I (then known as The Great War) was at the time and in the years just after described as the war to end all wars (or, in the jargon of the French Poilus: la der des der, i. ...

New Zealand celtic band Wild Geese included the song "Ridge of Messines" on the 2002 CD "Promises to keep". It tells of the New Zealand Division's part in the 1917 Battle of Messines in which this unit captured the village of Messines. Bass player Neil Frances wrote the song in memory of his grandfather who took part in the battle. This redirect page has been listed on Wikipedia:Redirects for deletion. ...

See also

• Trench warfare
• Hedd Wyn

Trench Warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. ... Hedd Wyn (1887–31 July 1917) was a Merionethshire shepherd-poet of World War I. Born Ellis Humphrey Evans, he used the Bardic name Hedd Wyn, Welsh for white peace or blessed peace. Evans spent most of his life on a hill farm near Trawsfynydd. ...

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Third Battle of Ypres

• Leon Wolff, In Flanders Fields (Viking, New York, 1958) is the standard modern history, highly praised by both B. H. Liddell Hart and J. F. C. Fuller
• Philip Warner "Passchendaele" Pen and Sword military classics, Barnsley 1987, 2005 is a very fine history, very critical of General Haig, written by a Senior Lecturer at Sandhurst Academy. Generally a well-balanced and harrowing story, with many quotations from the memoirs of soldiers who were there.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... The military historian Basil Liddell Hart. ... J.F.C. Fuller (September 1, 1878 – February 10, 1966), full name John Frederick Charles Fuller, was a British Major General, military historian and strategist, notable as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising principles of warfare. ...

Dramatizations

• Passchendaele, a film by Paul Gross depicting the experiences of his grandfather, who fought with the 10th Battalion, CEF in the battle.

Actor-Director Paul Gross with a movie poster for Passchendaele at the news conference announcing the release of the film in November 2005. ... Paul Gross (born April 30th, 1959) is a Canadian actor, producer, director, singer, and writer born in Calgary, Alberta. ... The Calgary Highlanders are a Land Force Reserve Infantry Regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armoury in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ...

External links

• Sanctuary Wood Museum
• The Battle of Messines
• Zonnebeke Tourist Information, including the location of cemeteries and memorials.
• Battles: The Third Battle of Ypres, 1917
• In Flanders Fields museum - Ypres
• Westhoek -, The great war in Flanders Fields - A war and peace experience