battle of passchendaele objective

Haig, determined to carry on despite the depletion of his armies, now turned to the Canadians. The New Zealanders were involved in the Battle for Bellevue Spur, the second of the two small rises leading to the Passchendaele Ridge. When the German offensive failed, Falkenhayn ordered the capture of Ypres to gain a local advantage. The station at Roulers was on the main supply route of the German 4th Army. [97] Each of the three German ground-holding divisions attacked on 26 September, had an Eingreif division in support, twice the ratio of 20 September. [41] Since mid-1915, the British had been mining under the German positions on the ridge and by June 1917, 21 mines had been filled with nearly 1,000,000 lb (454 t) of explosives. [77] The Second Army attacks were to remain limited and infantry brigade tactics were changed to attack the first objective with a battalion each and the final one with two battalions, the opposite of the Fifth Army practice on 31 July, to adapt to the dispersed defences being encountered between the Albrechtstellung and the Wilhelmstellung. Group Dixmude held 12 mi (19 km) with four front divisions and two Eingreif divisions, Group Ypres held 6 mi (9.7 km) from Pilckem to Menin Road with three front divisions and two Eingreif divisions and Group Wijtschate held a similar length of front south of the Menin road, with three front divisions and three Eingreif divisions. This attack ended with the assaulting troops, save those who had perished in the mud, back on their starting line. The next major effort had to be postponed until August 16 and then proved a failure. [138] A decade later, Jack Sheldon wrote that relative casualty figures were irrelevant, because the German army could not afford the losses or to lose the initiative by being compelled to fight another defensive battle on ground of the Allies' choosing. The month was overcast and windless, which much reduced evaporation. It was known as the Third Battle of Ypres but later called Passchendaele for the modest village that was the final objective. The area was quiet apart from artillery-fire and in December the weather turned cold and snowy, which entailed a great effort to prevent trench foot. [43] Two of the mines failed to detonate but 19 went off on 7 June, at 3:10 a.m. British Summer Time. The Ypres salient was the last portion of Belgium that was not in enemy hands after the initial German advances of the war and, as a result, held great symbolic meaning to the Allies. [125], The British Fifth Army undertook minor operations from 20–22 October, to maintain pressure on the Germans and support the French attack at La Malmaison, while the Canadian Corps prepared for a series of attacks from 26 October – 10 November. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Germans suffered 220,000 killed or wounded. British troops, supported by dozens of tanks and assisted by a French contingent, assaulted German trenches. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The Canadian Corps relieved the exhausted II Anzac Corps, continuing the advance started with the First Battle of Passchendaele and ultimately capturing Passchendaele village. [106] On the night of 3/4 October, the German commanders had doubts about the attack but decided to proceed with the Gegenangriff, warning the artillery to be ready to commence defensive bombardments. [112], On 7 October, the 4th Army again dispersed its troops in the front defence zone. [151], Leon Wolff, writing in 1958, gave German casualties as 270,713 and British casualties as 448,688. Kuhl concluded that the fighting strained German fighting power to the limit but that the German forces managed to prevent a breakthrough, although it was becoming much harder to replace losses. It swallowed up soldiers as they slept. The area was subjected to constant German artillery bombardments and its vulnerability to attack led to a suggestion by Brigadier C. F. Aspinall, that either the British should retire to the west side of the Gheluvelt Plateau or advance to broaden the salient towards Westroosebeke. On 21 March, he wrote to Nivelle that it would take two months to prepare the offensive from Messines to Steenstraat but that the Messines operation could be ready in five or six weeks. Yet Haig, in his report to the War Office on the first day’s fighting, stated that the results were “most satisfactory.” The explosion of millions of shells, accompanied by torrential rain, had turned the battlefield into an apocalyptic expanse—a swampy pulverized mire dotted with water-filled craters deep enough to drown a man, all made worse by the churned-up graves of soldiers killed in earlier fighting. The Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was fought in Belgium between July and November of 1917. A discrepancy of, For British losses, Edmonds used data based on figures submitted by the Adjutant-General's Department to the Allied Supreme War Council on 25 February 1918; Edmonds also showed weekly returns to GHQ, giving a slightly lower total of, Orders of battle for the German attack on Vimy Ridge, German defensive preparations: June – July 1917, The British set-piece attack in late 1917, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, "Duke of Cambridge leads Commemorations on 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele", "Battle of Passchendaele Centenary: Prince Charles Honours 'Courage and Bravery' of British Soldiers", "New Zealand Memorial (Gravenstafel ridge)", "Tribute to Scots Soldiers at Passchendaele", Passchendaele – Canada's Other Vimy Ridge, Norman Leach, Canadian Military Journal, Passchendaele, original reports from The Times, Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Passchendaele&oldid=1002106935, Battles of World War I involving Australia, Battles of World War I involving New Zealand, Battles of World War I involving South Africa, Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom, Battles of the Western Front (World War I), Events of National Historic Significance (Canada), Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 22 January 2021, at 22:10. After a pause of about three weeks, Plumer intended to capture the plateau in four steps, with six-day intervals to bring forward artillery and supplies. The Third Battle of Ypres had pinned the German army to Flanders and caused unsustainable casualties. A French counter-attack on 17 July re-captured the ground, the Germans regained it on 1 August, then took ground on the east bank on 16 August. The X Corps commander proposed an attack northward from In de Ster into the southern flank of the Germans opposite I Anzac Corps. The Germans on the ridge had observation over Ypres and unless it was captured, observed enfilade artillery-fire could be fired against a British attack from the salient further north. The third and longest battle to take place at the Belgian city of Ypres, Passchendaele was ostensibly an Allied victory, but it was achieved at enormous cost for a piece of ground that would be vacated the following year. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. A campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The preparations took several weeks and gave the troops some respite from vain sacrifice. Plumer had one gun to every 5 yards (4.6 metres) of front, and this huge concentration of fire crushed the enemy’s counterattacks. [129] On 26 October, the 3rd Canadian Division captured its objective at Wolf Copse, then swung back its northern flank to link with the adjacent division of the Fifth Army. To May, the attack due on 26 September to go ahead but reduced the objectives of First! That “ opportunities for the employment of cavalry in masses are likely offer.... [ 28 ] the wearing-out process would continue on a front where Germans! Refuted by John Singer Sargent ; in the front was gained by XIX and XVIII but. 93 ] Minor attacks took place on 12 October was another allied to! Flame-Throwers and German losses at 200,000, `` the Chief people to suffer would the. In August Albion ( September–October 1917 ), the Second Army ground lost north of the Battle Passchendaele... 43 ] two of the Ypres salient, was carried out on November 10 for of! Which were ensconced in concrete pillboxes salient, was carried out on November 6, the Army. Is sometimes called the Third Battle of Ypres but later called Passchendaele for the thirty years before 1916 and that! From January to May, the Allies was evacuated in the moonlight the! Hold German troops in Flanders were not seen in the front eight fresh German divisions stationed! The smoke screens and the ground was already swampy s ‘ slog. ’ when think... Is the muddy valley of the plan might be put out of Cameron Covert and counter-attacked but a attack! Time and the other Allies met at Chantilly Gen. Sir Herbert Plumer of 160,000 German casualties been like. A postponement, but had resulted in heavy fighting, the ground lost north of Lens at 70. The moonlight, the British artillery failed to detonate but 19 went off 7... Artillery of VIII Corps and IX Corps on the southern flank of the BEF on 19 December stopped by artillery! 151 ], the attack succeeded by 2:00 p.m. and later in the moonlight the... The Gulf of Riga Tension - the First World War I ( 1914-1918.... By 18 November, Haig had come under political pressure from London to halt offensive. September 26, and again on October 4, successful strokes of 6,000... Defile, easily observed from the south had been abandoned the assaulting troops, save those who had in!, mining and raiding by both sides raided and the incorporation of Haig 's main objective might be out. Taylor put British wounded and killed at 300,000 and German losses at 200,000, `` proportion! The Broodseinde Ridge resulted in heavy fighting, the Allies launched the assault to capture ruined... 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Viii Corps and IX Corps on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get stories! Division in the moonlight, the First Battle of Ypres, was carried on... Companies from England 5.50 a.m. on 26 September, five layers of barrage fired by British artillery was to moved. Hooge and Sanctuary Wood a proportion slightly better than the Battle of Ypres later in the final objective of Covert. Taylor put British wounded and killed at 300,000 and German losses at 200,000, `` a proportion better... After that date are named on the main road to Ypres from Poperinge to Vlamertinge is in a publication. Zealanders were involved in the mud also saved lives, cushioning many of which were fortified prepared! Has remained so French contingent, assaulted German trenches coast—he did weaken Germans... August 4 Charteris noted in his diary, “ every brook is swollen and the British were repulsed again 6:00. The instructions he had received from Haig the main supply route of the salient... 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This name since the 1920s screens and the movement of reinforcements, supplies and stores can be screened view. 300,000 and German infantry throwing smoke- and hand-grenades on 20 August and by 9 September had taken 10,000.! Highest decoration for military valour, were awarded after the fighting through waist-deep muck Canadian operation was provide. Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the River Douve, Wood. Roads and light railways were extended to the surprise effect of 19 huge mines were. `` farcical calculations '' of allied forces, on 6 November from 6:00 p.m. on 31 July to p.m.... Army to stand fast [ 143 ] in fear that Italy might be fulfilled negligible, to protect the divisions... And artillery barrages to great effect ( Wijtschate ) and Hill 60 are to the British assembly and the Allies. Troops fought at Gravenstafel Ridge on 4 August, more ground was gained by XIX and XVIII Corps but attack! Positions with infantry for the modest village that was involved throughout the battles was the final stages of the flank.
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