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Actions Of The Bluff, 1916
The Actions of the Bluff were local operations in 1916 carried out in Flanders during the First World War by the German 4th Army and the British Second Army. The Bluff is a mound near St Eloi, south-east of Ypres in Belgium, created from a spoil heap during the digging of the Ypres– Comines Canal before the war. From 14 to 15 February and on 2 March 1916, the Germans and the British fought for control of the Bluff, the Germans capturing the mound and defeating counter-attacks only for the British to recapture it and a stretch of German front line, after pausing to prepare a set-piece attack. The fighting at the Bluff was one of nine sudden attacks for local gains made by the Germans or the British between the appointment of Sir Douglas Haig as commander in chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. The BEF was at a tactical disadvantage, on low boggy ground, easily observed from German positions. A retirement to more defens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wijtschate
Heuvelland () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly populated rural municipality, located between the small urban centres of Ypres and Poperinge and the metropolitan area of Kortrijk-Lille along the E17. On 1 January 2006 Heuvelland had a total population of 8,217. The total area is 94.24 km2 which gives a population density of 87 inhabitants per km2. The name ''heuvelland'' is Dutch meaning "hill country", as the municipality is characterized by the different hills on its territory. Geography Landscape The municipality is located in an area known as the West-Flemish Hills. The highest hill in Heuvelland is the Kemmelberg (156 m); followed by the Vidaigneberg (136 m), the Rodeberg (129 m), the Scherpenberg (125 m) and a lower hill in Wijtschate (82 m). On the border with France is the Zwartebe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ypres Region 1915
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote. Together, they are home to about 34,900 inhabitants. During the First World War, Ypres (or "Wipers" as it was commonly known by the British troops) was the centre of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces. History Origins before First World War Ypres is an ancient town, known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC. It is first mentioned by name in 1066 and is probably named after the river Ieperlee on the banks of which it was founded. During the Middle Ages, Ypres was a prosperous Flemish city with a population of 40,000 in 1200 AD, renow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vlamertinge
Vlamertinge is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders and a borough of the city of Ypres. The village center of Vlamertinge lies just outside the city center of Ypres, along the main road N38 to the nearby town of Poperinge. In addition to the city center of Ypres itself, Vlamertinge is the largest borough of Ypres. In the west of Vlamertinge, along the road to Poperinge, is the hamlet of Brandhoek. History The earliest data about Vlamertinge date from the Middle Ages. In 857 a chapel was built in Vlamertinge. In 970 Ypres was destroyed and the chapel of Vlamertinge burned down. The oldest document, known to date, which includes the name Flambertenges, is a deed of the year 1066. Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, his wife Adela and their son Baldwin, in this deed gave goods to the church and the Chapter (religion) from Sint-Pieters by Lille. These goods were, among others, a tenth located in Elverdinge and also a tenth located in Vlamertinge - "In territorio Furnensi, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poperinge
Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge proper and surrounding villages. The area is famous for its hops and lace. The town Poperinge is situated about 13 km (8 miles) to the west of Ypres (Ieper). The region is famous for growing hops and furnishes 80% of Belgian production. The town is home to the national hop museum and is called "hops city", ''hoppe stad'' in Dutch, a play on ''hoofd stad'', the word for capital. A triennial hop festival and parade is held in the month of September. The local brew is known as Hommel (which means hops in the West Flanders dialect). The carillon in the tower of the town's oldest church, Sint-Bertinuskerk, was noted as one of the most beautiful in Flanders in mediaeval times. It was destroyed during wartime in 1677 and restored in 1781. Poper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hill 62 Memorial
The Canadian Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood) Memorial is a war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in defending the southern stretches of the Ypres Salient between April and August 1916 including actions in battle at the St Eloi Craters, Hill 62, Mount Sorrel and Sanctuary Wood. These battles marked the first occasion in which Canadian divisions engaged in planned offensive operations during World War I. In those actions the Canadians reconquered vital high-ground positions that denied the Germans a commanding view of the town of Ypres itself. Historical Background Actions of St Eloi Craters On April 3, 1916, the Canadian Corps, including the newly formed and inexperienced 2nd & 3rd Canadian Divisions was dispatched to a stretch of the front south of Ypres at the St. Eloi Craters. There they found themselves in a wasteland, in places waist-deep in water and mud, with six large mine craters and few trench defenses under the full view of the German forces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enfilade And Defilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in defilade" if it uses natural or artificial obstacles to shield or conceal itself from enfilade and hostile fire. The strategies, named by the English during the Hundred Years' War, use the French '' enfiler'' ("to put on a string or sling") and ''défiler'' ("to slip away or off") spoken by English nobility of the time. Enfilade fire—gunfire directed against an enfiladed formation or position—is also commonly known as "flanking fire". Raking fire is the equivalent term in naval warfare. Strafing, firing on targets from a flying platform, is often done with enfilade fire. It is a very advantageous, and much sought for, position for the attacking force. Enfilade A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be dire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spanbroekmolen
Spanbroekmolen is a small group of farms in Heuvelland, a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The hamlet is sited on one of the highest points of the Messines Ridge, in between the villages of Kemmel, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. History Spanbroekmolen was named after a windmill that stood on the site for three centuries until it was ruined by the Germans on 1 November 1914. In World War I, the area was the site of intense and sustained fighting between German and British forces. Between 1914 and 1917, the Western Front ran through the area, and the original buildings were completely destroyed. Because of its strategic position on the Messines Ridge south of the Ypres Salient, the Germans used the site for a front-line fortification. As the Allied attacks along the Western Front became more formidable, the Germans added further defences and trench positions at Spanbroekmolen and connected their original lines with the neighbouring strongpoints, which were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ploegsteert Wood
Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient. It is located around the Belgian village of Ploegsteert, Wallonia. After fierce fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, Ploegsteert Wood became a quiet sector where no major action took place. Units were sent here to recuperate and retrain after tougher fighting elsewhere and before returning to take part in more active operations. British Tommies referred to Ploegsteert Wood as "''Plugstreet Wood''". From January to May 1916, Winston Churchill served in the area as Commanding Officer (Lieutenant-Colonel) of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. There are numerous Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemeteries and memorials around the wood, including the Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) CWGC Cemetery and the Berks CWGC Cemetery Extension with the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing. The Ploegsteert Memorial commemorates more than 11,000 British and Empire ser ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesen
Mesen (; french: Messines, , historically used in English) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. On January 1, 2006, Mesen had a total population of 988. The total area is 3.58 km2 which gives a population density of 276 inhabitants per km2. The municipality comprises only one main settlement, the town of Mesen proper. An exclave to the west of the main territory is surrounded by the municipalities of Heuvelland and Comines-Warneton. Villages neighbouring the municipality: * a. Wijtschate (in the municipality of Heuvelland) * b. Warneton (in the municipality of Comines-Warneton) * c. Ploegsteert (in the municipality of Comines-Warneton) Mesen is the smallest city in Belgium. It is a municipality with language facilities. Mesen is twinned with Featherston in New Zealand in part due to the location of the New Zealand World War I Memorial, which has annual Anzac Day commemorations on 25 April. History In 1062, Adela, wife of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zonnebeke
Zonnebeke (; vls, Zunnebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of , , Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population of 11,758. The total area is 67.57 km2 which gives a population density of 174 inhabitants per km2. History The villages of Zonnebeke congregated around a large Augustinian abbey and its associated Benedictine convent in Nonnebosschen. Both were destroyed during the iconoclastic outbreak in 1580. Only the abbey was rebuilt, but was looted during the French occupation the abbey was confiscated. Passendale played a role in the Battle of Westrozebeke in 1382. Situated in the centre of the Ypres Salient, World War I destroyed the whole area. Left abandoned until the early 1920s, people slowly returned and rebuilt the villages. In 1932, the locals opened a cheese making facility, which to this day is the only source of Passendale cheese. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hollebeke
Hollebeke is a Flemish village in the Belgian province of West Vlaanderen, now part of Ypres city. History In World War I, it was the site of allied heroism (like other neighbouring parts of Ypres, such as Klein Zillebeke) that won Khudadad Khan the first Victoria Cross ever awarded to a native Indian. In 1970 it was incorporated in Zillebeke, which in turn merged with the city of Ieper (Ypres, at five miles' distance) in 1976. Homonyms To commemorate the Canadian troops fighting at Hollebeke, in 1917 the Hollebeke Mountain (49° 23' 30" North, 114° 34' 10" West), on the continental divide at the head of Pincher Creek; southeast buttress of North Kootenay Pass. Park, bordering Alberta and British Columbia, was named after the village. Major headwaters are Oldman River and Flathead River. It also gave its name to the families Hollebeke and Van Hollebeke (''van'' is Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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