Hill 60 is a
World War I
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 fightin ...
battlefield memorial site and park in the
Zwarteleen area of
Zillebeke
Zillebeke (also known as Zellebeck) is a village in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium. It is a former municipality which is now part of Ypres.
History
On 3 March 1914 the then municipality was granted the arms of the last Lords o ...
south of
Ypres
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 co ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. It is located about from the centre of Ypres and directly on the railway line to Comines. Before the
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 fightin ...
the hill was known locally as (Lover's Knoll). The site comprises two areas of raised land separated by the railway line; the northern area was known by soldiers as ''Hill 60'' while the southern part was known as ''The Caterpillar''.
Background
Origin
The high ground of Hill 60, south of
Zillebeke
Zillebeke (also known as Zellebeck) is a village in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium. It is a former municipality which is now part of Ypres.
History
On 3 March 1914 the then municipality was granted the arms of the last Lords o ...
, was created in the 1850s by spoil dumped from the cutting for the railway line between Ypres and
Comines. The line opened in March 1854 and formed part of the La Madeleine–Comines
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
from the French
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cala ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
into
Belgian Flanders
The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and t ...
.
The earth excavated during the building of the railway was dumped on either side of the embankment and formed hillocks. On the west side, a long irregular mound atop the ridge was called ''The Caterpillar'' and a smaller mound down the slope towards Zillebeke, was known as ''The Dump''. On the east side of the cutting, at the highest point of the ridge, was a third mound known as ''Hill 60'', about above sea level, from which First World War artillery observers had an excellent view of the ground around Zillebeke and Ypres. Artillery-fire and mine explosions during the war changed the shape of the hill and flattened it considerably. Today the peak of Hill 60 is only about higher than the land in the vicinity.
The ground south of Zillebeke rises for about to a ridge between
Zwarteleen and
Zandvoorde. Roads run north-west to south-east through the area, from Ypres to Verbrandenmoelen and
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 t ...
as well as from Zillebeke to Zwartelen and Zandvoorde. The Ypres–Comines railway ran roughly parallel to the roads from Ypres and outside Zillebeke, was a cutting deep, which extended beyond the crest of the ridge, the earth from which had formed Hill 60. About further south is
The Bluff and some south-west is
St. Eloi.
First World War
1914
November
During the
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 fightin ...
, Hill 60 was a small
promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...
on the edge of the
Ypres Salient
The Ypres Salient around Ypres in Belgium was the scene of several battles and an extremely important part of the Western front during the First World War.
Ypres district
Ypres lies at the junction of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the Ieperlee. ...
, with good views for the Germans across the British lines into Ypres, which gave it great tactical significance. During the
First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...
in late 1914, Hill 60 was held by the Moussy Detachment (General Vidal), which had been depleted by the transfer of three battalions to Langemarck. On 11 November, during the Battle of Nonne Bosschen, the detachment repulsed German attacks until noon, when the left flank units of the German
30th Division forced the French back to Hill 60 and Verbrandenmolen. No French or British reserves or reinforcements were available until the French 7th Hussars dismounted at Zillebeke and counter-attacked, carrying the remaining infantry of the detachment along in the rush. The French line was re-established from a bridge near Voormezeele to Verbrandenmolen and Zwarteleen, which was still only from Ypres. The German account recorded that Hill 60 had been captured but Lieutenant-General Dubois (the commander) and other witnesses denied this. When British troops relieved the French in the area on the night of 1915, the hill was certainly held by the Germans.
1915
Second Battle of Ypres
On 17 February 1915, British sappers blew a small mine at Hill 60 which they had taken over from the French, but without great effect. The Germans retaliated with a small mine at Zwarteleen but were driven out of the British positions. On 21 February, however, they blew a large mine nearby, killing forty-seven men and ten officers of the
16th Lancers. In mid-March the Germans blew another large mine at Zwarteleen, creating a deep crater and damaging their own lines in the process. In the spring of 1915, there was constant underground fighting in the Ypres Salient at
Hooge, Hill 60,
Railway Wood,
Sanctuary Wood
Sanctuary Wood is an area east of Ypres, Belgium which was the site of fighting on the Ypres Salient in World War I.
Memorials
* Hill 62 Memorial
* Sanctuary Wood Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
* Sanctuary Wood Museum Hill 62
See al ...
, St Eloi and The Bluff which required the deployment of new drafts of tunnellers for several months after the formation of the first eight
tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineer tunnelling companies were specialist units of the Corps of Royal Engineers within the British Army, formed to dig attacking tunnels under enemy lines during the First World War.
The stalemate situation in the early part of the war ...
.
After the Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge the British planned a local withdrawal to less exposed positions, roughly distant from Ypres. The new line was to run from Hill 60 northwards to Hooge on the Ypres–Menin road, thence to Frezenberg Ridge, Mouset rap Farm and then back to the Ypres–Yser canal. Large working parties from the
28th Division and the
50th (Northumbrian) Division began to dig the new line under cover of darkness and the retirement from the eastern side of the salient took place on the night of during the Battle of St. Julien The
27th Division took over the area from just west of Hill 60, to about short of the Ypres–Roulers railway. The Germans followed up their success by attacking again at the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge which gained Frezenberg, Verlorenhoek and the vicinity but attacks south of the Menin road gained very little ground.
Capture of Hill 60
In spring 1915, earlier French preparations to raid the hill were continued by the British 28th Division, which took over the line in February 1915 and then by the
5th Division (Major-General
Thomas Morland
General Sir Thomas Lethbridge Napier Morland, (9 August 1865 – 21 May 1925) was a senior British Army officer during the First World War.
Early life
Born in Montreal, Canada East, Morland was the son of Thomas Morland and Helen Servante. Ed ...
). The Allied plan to attack Hill 60 was expanded into an ambitious attempt to capture the hill, despite advice that Hill 60 could not be held unless ''The Caterpillar'' nearby was also occupied. A French mine gallery under the hill was extended by experienced miners from Northumberland and Wales, after it was found that Hill 60 was the only place in the area not waterlogged.
In the first attack of the newly formed Royal Engineer tunnelling companies in the Ypres Salient, the
173rd Tunnelling Company
The 173rd Tunnelling Company was one of the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers created by the British Army during World War I. The tunnelling units were occupied in offensive and defensive mining involving the placing and maintaining of ...
laid six
mines by 10 April 1915, an operation planned by Major-General
Edward Bulfin
Sir Edward Stanislaus Bulfin (6 November 1862 − 20 August 1939) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British General officer, general during World War I, where he established a reputation as an excellent commander at the brigade, ...
, commander of the 28th Division and continued by the 5th Division after the 28th Division was relieved. The 173rd Tunnelling Company began work early in March and three tunnels were begun towards the German line about away, a pit first having been dug some deep; the tunnels were more than long. Two more mines in the north were charged with of explosives each, two mines in the centre had charges and in the south, one mine was packed with of
guncotton
Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
, although work on it had been stopped when it ran close to a German tunnel. The attack began on 17 April and the 5th Division captured the area quickly with only seven casualties but found that the new
salient made permanent occupation of the hill very costly.
Loss of Hill 60
On 1 May, after a bombardment by heavy artillery, the Germans released
chlorine
Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...
gas at from positions fewer than away from Hill 60, on a front of . The gas arrived so quickly that most of the British were unable to put on their improvised respirators. As soon the gas arrived, the Germans attacked from the flanks with bombing parties and artillery laid a barrage on the British approaches to the hill. Some of the British returned fire and reinforcements arrived by rushing through the gas cloud and bombing parties forced the Germans back. The original garrison lost many casualties in standing their ground, including many gas casualties.
The 5th Division held the hill on a front with the
15th Brigade on 5 May, when the Germans discharged gas from two places opposite the hill at The wind blew the gas along, rather than across, the British defences and only one sentry was able to sound the gas alarm. The British defence plan required troops under gas attack to move to the flanks but the course of the gas cloud made this impossible. The gas hung so thick that it was impossible to remain in the trenches and troops who stood their ground were overcome. The German 30th Division advanced fifteen minutes after the gas cloud and occupied nearly all of the front line on the lower slope of the hill. British reinforcements bombed up a communication trench and two more battalions were sent forward but before they arrived, the Germans released another gas cloud at to the north-east of the hill.
The right flank of the Zwarteleen Salient was overrun, which increased the gap left by the first discharge; a few men on the left delayed the German infantry until when a battalion advanced through the gas cloud and an artillery barrage. Constant counter-attacks forced some of the Germans back and regained several lost trenches. The Germans held on to the crest and released more gas at which had little effect and an infantry attack which followed was repulsed by rifle-fire. At the
13th Brigade arrived and attacked at after a short bombardment the darkness, state of the ground and alert German infantry repulsed the attack, except for a party which reached the top of the hill, then withdrew at under enfilade-fire from the Caterpillar and Zwarteleen, which made the hill untenable. Both sides were exhausted and spent the next day digging-in. At dawn on 7 May, the British attacked with two companies of infantry and attached "bombers" using hand grenades, all of whom were killed or captured. From 1915, the British had in the Second Battle of Ypres and the fighting for Hill 60.
December
On 19 December 1915, the 50th Division was due to relieve the
9th (Scottish) Division
The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War.
A ...
from Hill 60 to near the Menin Road, an area where skirmishing, raiding and mining by both sides never stopped. At a German artillery and gas bombardment began on the north side of the Ypres salient and the gas reached the 50th Division positions behind the 9th Division, which forced the men to don their eye protectors but not gas helmets. German artillery-fire fell all round the salient and at noon the 50th Division received an order to stand down, as the attack had been limited to the areas of the 6th Division and 49th Division further north. The German bombardment continued all day but the relief took place in the evening, with the 149th Brigade taking over on the right, just west of Hill 60 with the 5th and 6th battalions,
Northumberland Fusiliers
The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...
, in positions only a few feet from German advanced posts; Christmas Day was spent in cold, mud and under showers of rain.
1916
February–March
Maintaining field fortifications in the Ypres Salient over the winter of 1915–1916 was an endless task, as trenches flooded and collapsed, dugouts were swamped and communications were cut. Immediate repairs were necessary but had to be done at night, under constant harassing fire. Artillery and snipers from both sides were always active and patrols went out each night. Mining and counter-mining was constant, which kept trench garrisons under permanent strain, in fear of explosions which could occur anywhere without warning. Aircraft of both sides were overhead, except in the foulest weather, flying contact-patrol, photographic reconnaissance and artillery-observation sorties. On 12 February, two German raids were made on the 50th Division north of Hill 60 and on 14 February, the Germans attacked at Hooge against the
24th Division, on the left flank, which included a bombardment of trenches and Hill 60.
Late in the afternoon the Germans sprung two mines near and which left two craters, one deep and wide but with no effect. An explosion at near the end of blew up a bombing sap, killed and wounded another four; small raiding parties appeared but were shot down in no man's land. In the area of the
17th (Northern) Division on the right flank at The Bluff, the Germans took the front line held by the 51st Brigade, which fell back to the support line and made a counter-attack 15 February, which failed. For the rest of February the area around Hill 60 returned to "normal" siege warfare but preparations were made secretly to recapture The Bluff. The 50th Division participated in artillery-bombardments, grenade attacks and trench mortaring to convince the Germans that an attack was being prepared against Hill 60, demonstrations which continued into March.
April
After a month in reserve, the
23rd Division returned to the front line at Hill 60 to relieve the
47th (1/2nd London) Division and part of the
39th Division between from Henry Street to the railway cutting south-east of Verbrandenmolen, along the west slope of Hill 60 just below the crest, for to the north before turning east to Mount Sorrel and then north-east to St. Peter's Street on Observatory Ridge, a frontage of about . At on 9 April, German artillery began a bombardment until obliterated most of the front line, isolated the right flank battalions and blew in the entrances to the tunnel leading to the British mining system.
At the German artillery opened fire again and the British infantry sent up SOS flares for artillery support, which began immediately but not swiftly enough to prevent German troops dashing forward and getting into the trenches of the left-hand company of the 8th Battalion
York and Lancaster Regiment
The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...
(8th York and Lancs), which had been reduced from by the bombardment. The survivors counter-attacked and then chased the raiding party into no man's land assisted by the right-hand company. Other German troops broke into the positions of the 11th Battalion
Sherwood Foresters
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...
and reached the Deep Support Line further back. In the mêlée one of the tunnel entrances was cleared but troops posted to guard it were killed by a shell and German troops threw gas bombs into the gallery until some of the troops inside burst out and drove the Germans back with hand grenades. On the right flank raiders ran up Marshall Lane, parallel to the railway, bombed the entrances to subways and got close to the main mine shafts, just as reinforcements arrived from Battersea Farm and recaptured the lane.
May
From the 50th Division returned to the front line from reserve and resumed the struggle for fire supremacy. The British gradually suppressed the German artillery but found that German trench mortar crews were much harder to defeat, particularly those manning a trench howitzer who fired bursts, which were unusually destructive and then took cover. The divisional artillery retaliated immediately but never managed to destroy the gun. By frequent night patrols and raids the division gained control of no man's land but German mining continued with intermittent success and a gas attack was carried out by the Germans on the night of
1917
April–May
At the end of April the
19th (Western) Division received orders for the 57th Brigade to relieve the 70th Brigade of the 23rd Division at Hill 60 and for the 58th Brigade to take over at Hooge. On the night of the 57th Brigade took over with the 10th Royal Warwicks (10th Warwicks) on the right, 10th Worcesters in the centre, 8th North Staffs on the left and the 8th Gloucesters in reserve at the Railway Dugouts. The night of was quiet but in the morning a German trench mortar bombardment fell on the 10th Warwicks and in the afternoon observers reported that preparations for a raid could be seen. The Warwicks reported that much movement was seen in the German lines and that two officers on the Caterpillar with maps and sheets of paper, were thought to be sketching the British lines at In front of the Caterpillar, sandbags and two trees with white painted blobs could be seen facing the British lines. British units on the flanks were alerted and at a German artillery and machine-gun bombardment began.
No raiders appeared and at the British stood down. At on 10 May another bombardment fell on the 10th Warwicks and telephone communication with the battalion was lost. Scouts went forward and saw that the supporting positions were secure and the divisional artillery responded promptly to an SOS flare as rifle and machine-gun fire was opened by the British infantry. After the end of the German bombardment, the six man Lewis-gun squad in number 2 post of D Company, were found to be missing. The rest of the D Company posts were badly damaged and those of C Company were found undamaged. The C Company support line had been blown in, with several casualties. The British concluded that the vigilance of the 57th Brigade had prevented a big raid on the 8th Gloucesters who had taken over from the 10th Worcesters in the centre on the night of
June: Battle of Messines
After the Battle of Hill 60 (April–May 1915), Tunnelling companies of the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
(RE) took up mining operations under the hill and the neighbouring ground on a much more ambitious scale. Deep mining under the German galleries beneath Hill 60 began in late August 1915, with the
175th Tunnelling Company, which began a gallery behind the British front line and passed beneath the German positions. The British underground works consisted of an access gallery (Berlin Tunnel) leading to two mine chambers, ''Hill 60 A'' (beneath Hill 60) and ''Hill 60 B'' (beneath The Caterpillar), to be loaded with explosives and detonated at the appointed time. The
3rd Canadian Tunnelling Company took over in April 1916 and completed the galleries, the Hill 60 mine being charged with explosives in July 1916 and the branch gallery under The Caterpillar in October.
By October 1916, the mine under Hill 60 held of explosives and that under The Caterpillar , despite water-logging and the demolition by a
camouflet
A camouflet, in military science, is an artificial cavern created by an explosion. If the explosion reaches the surface then it is called a crater.
The term was originally defined as a countermine dug by defenders to prevent the undermining of a ...
of of a German gallery above the British diggings, which endangered the British deep galleries. The
1st Australian Tunnelling Company took over in November 1916 and maintained the mines beneath Hill 60 and The Caterpillar over the winter and months of underground fighting until June 1917, when they were fired along with the rest of the mines under
Messines Ridge
The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of Messines (now Mesen) in West Flanders, Belgium, during the First World War. The Nivell ...
at the beginning of the
Battle of Messines (). When the mines were detonated at on 7 June 1917, of explosives went off under the German positions, demolishing a large part of Hill 60 and killing soldiers between Ypres and
Ploegsteert
Ploegsteert ( pcd, Ploster) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Comines-Warneton, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
It is the most westerly settlement of Wallonia. It is approximately north of the French bo ...
.
The Battle of Messines was conducted by the
British Second Army
The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. During the Second World War the army ...
(General Herbert Plumer) and forced the German army to move reserves to Flanders from the Arras and Aisne fronts, which relieved pressure on the French. The objective of the attack was to capture the German defences on the ridge, which ran from Ploegsteert Wood in the south through Messines and Wytschaete to Mount Sorrel and deprive the 4th Army of the high ground south of Ypres. The ridge commanded the British defences and back areas further north, from which the British intended to conduct the "Northern Operation", an advance to Passchendaele Ridge, then capture the Belgian coast up to the Dutch frontier.
1918
Battle of the Lys
During the German Spring Offensive, the 9th (Scottish) Division lost of its infantry and was transferred to Flanders, to hold a quiet front while recovering from its losses and incorporating fresh drafts from Britain. The South African Brigade was down to about with few replacements and went into reserve around Ridge Wood. The division came under the command of
IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to:
France
* 9th Army Corps (France)
* IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial Germ ...
(Lieutenant-General
Alexander Hamilton-Gordon) of the Second Army and began to relieve part of the 1st Australian Division on the night of on a front, from Hollebeke, over the Ypres–Comines Canal, to Bulgar Wood. (Hill 60 was well behind the front line, having been captured during the Battle of Messines in June 1917.)
The ground north of the canal was considered the most vulnerable to attack, since it was the southern flank of the Passchendaele Salient and Zandvoorde Ridge provided cover for troops concentrating to attack Klein Zillibeke Spur and Hill 60. South of the canal was a reserve line of well-wired posts towards The Stables to the south-west, backed by the White Château on a commanding rise, which had been fortified. From The Stables, two thick belts of barbed wire ran south-east and south-west, behind which were some posts with scratch garrisons, due to the need adequately to garrison Hill 60, The Bluff and White Château.
Fifth Battle of Ypres
The
35th Division came into line opposite the hill in early September and commenced patrols and raids into the German lines opposite on 4 September. On 13 September, there was an increase in German artillery-fire and on 15 September, the division advanced closer to the hill in a night attack, against variable opposition from the
40th Saxon Division On 28 September, the Second Army attacked with the Belgian Army to the north and the 35th Division met little opposition from the Germans opposite, whom surrendered. The 104th Brigade advanced in the centre of the division and met only slight opposition in its advance east of Hill 60 and The Caterpillar. By the Brigade had reached a line from Klein Zillebeke to Canada Tunnels. Patrols pushed on and captured Jehovah Trench, then three field guns about east of Klein Zillebeke.
Post-war
In 1920, Hill 60 was bought by Lieutenant-Colonel Cawston who later sold a half share in it to John J Calder a prominent Scottish brewer whose son Capt. James Calder (Lovat Scouts) was awarded the Military Cross for action there. In 1930, Calder donated his share of Hill 60 to the Imperial War Graves Commission (now
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
), which maintains it as a battlefield memorial park.
World War II
1940
Twenty-two years after the end of World War I, the area at Hill 60 was fought over again when the 17th Brigade of the British
5th Infantry Division stopped the advance of three German divisions from 1940, which saved the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. On 27 May 1940, part of A Company of the 2nd Battalion
Royal Scots Fusiliers (2nd RSF) were dug in on the hill. The hill was subjected to a tremendous mortar and artillery barrage (Coy HQ in and around the concrete bunker near the top of the hill) and there was hand-to-hand fighting on the nearby Zwarteleen crossroads, when a fighting patrol from 2nd RSF set off to destroy German machine gun and mortar positions there. The patrol enabled the evacuation of the defences on the railway, a withdrawal to the canal line and a general withdrawal towards St Eloi,
Kemmel
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 rur ...
and
Dikkebus
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official ...
. Other companies of the 2nd RSF held the railway line between Hill 60 and the canal bridge. The
2nd Inniskillings were to their right and rear, on the main road, D Company of the 2nd RSF was in reserve and the 6th
Seaforths held "the Dump". Constant attacks by three German divisions were repulsed during 28 May, which reduced the two 5th Division brigades to each and exhausted the artillery ammunition of I Corps. The division held the "Dunkirk corridor" open for another day, which saved II Corps and the rest of the BEF. Thousands more troops were able to withdraw into the Dunkirk perimeter and the 5th Division then moved to the Yser with the 42nd Division, to fill the gap left when the Belgian army capitulated.
During this action the large WW1 constructed observation bunker was also badly damaged by German PAK anti tank gun munitions and the Queen Victoria's Rifles Memorial was so badly damaged it later required reconstruction.
1944
Pierre Marchant and Lucien Olivier, members of the
French resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
from
La Madeleine (now a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
), were shot by German soldiers near Hill 60 on 2 September 1944, after trying to escape from a prisoner transport train. Marchant and Olivier had been driving a lorry loaded with munitions for the Resistance in their home town when they were arrested by the SS and put on a train to Belgium. When their train stopped between Zillebeke and Hollebeke to await the arrival of an extra engine from Ypres, to haul the train over the
incline
Incline, inclined, inclining, or inclination may refer to:
*Grade (slope), the tilt, steepness, or angle from horizontal of a topographic feature (hillside, meadow, etc.) or constructed element (road, railway, field, etc.)
*Slope, the tilt, steepn ...
, Marchant and Olivier were killed by the Germans and their bodies thrown off the train. Their mortal remains were found by locals about from Hill 60. Marchant and Olivier were buried temporarily at Zillebeke and repatriated to France after the war. A memorial was erected near the railway line at Hill 60 in 1969, which was refurbished and rededicated in the presence of their family members in 2004.
Later history
Hill 60 and The Caterpillar are designated a battlefield memorial site and open to the public. The area was merged into the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of Zillebeke in 1970 and into the city of
Ypres
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 co ...
in 1976. In spring 2015, extensive repairs were carried out at the memorial park.
Memorials
There are several memorials on Hill 60, that to the Australian Tunnelling Companies, that to
Queen Victoria's Rifles
The 9th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles) was a Territorial Army infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantr ...
, that to the
14th (Light) Division, and to French resistance fighters killed here during the Second World War. It is also known that at least one veteran of World War I, Mr P. G. Arnold from Birmingham, had asked his widow to scatter his ashes here after his death in 1931.
Hill 60 Battlefield Memorial Park
In the collapsed tunnels beneath Hill 60, many British and German dead are buried. The Belgian government made the hill and the surrounding enclosure a battlefield memorial site and to preserve it, far as nature permits, in the state in which it was left after World War I. The park at the memorial site is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). The memorial park also has the remains of several bunkers and craters from the fighting from 1915–1917. A large concrete bunker in the centre of the site is preserved almost as it was found at the end of the war. This bunker was originally German, but modified by the Australians in 1918.
Also on Hill 60 is a stone plaque which gives the following summary,
Queen Victoria's Rifles Memorial
The memorial to the Queen Victoria's Rifles (9th Battalion The London Regiment) is located within the Hill 60 Battlefield Memorial Park. It was replaced after the original was damaged during the Second World War. On the night of 20–21 April 1915, Second Lieutenant
Geoffrey Harold Woolley
Geoffrey Harold Woolley, (14 May 1892 – 10 December 1968) was a British Army infantry officer, Church of England priest, and Second World War military chaplain. He was the first British Territorial Army officer to be awarded the Victoria Cros ...
and a handful of men were the only defenders on the hill and continually repelled attacks on their position. He encouraged the men to hold the line against heavy enemy machine gun fire and shellfire. For a time he was the only officer on the hill. When he and his men were relieved on the morning of 21 April only 14 out of a company of 150 had survived. For his gallantry he was awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, the first to be awarded to a
Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...
officer.
The Queen Victoria's Rifles (QVR) had arrived in Le Havre on 5 November 1914 and were one of the first Territorial battalions to serve in France; they were attached to the 5th Division. On 17 April 1915, an attack was mounted on Hill 60 by the 13th Infantry Brigade which included the 2nd King’s Own Scottish Borderers, the 2nd Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, the 1st Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment, the 2nd King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and the Queen Victoria's Rifles (9th London Regiment). Prior to the attack, the hill had been undermined with five galleries being driven under the German positions. The plan was to detonate the mines under the hill to destroy the enemy and their positions, after which the 13th Infantry Brigade would occupy the area. Hill 60 was captured on 17 April 1915 and on 20 April, two and a half companies of the QVRs were ordered up to the front line as the enemy made a counter-attack. At dawn on 21 April 1915, the Germans began bombarding the QVRs with hand grenades. Casualties were heavy, including two officers, Major Lees and Lieutenant Summerhays, who were killed. It was then that Woolley left a position of safety to take command of the soldiers on Hill 60. The QVRs remained in France for the rest of the war and their losses are remembered at Hill 60 by the QVR memorial and at the nearby QVR café and museum.
1st Australian Tunnelling Company Memorial
This memorial commemorates the men of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company who gave their lives in the tunnelling and defensive operations in this area from 1915–1918. The memorial is located next to the entrance gate of the Hill 60 Battlefield Memorial Park. The inscription reads
14th (Light) Division Memorial
This memorial commemorates the men of the 14th (Light) Division who gave their lives in fighting in this area from 1915–1918. The memorial is located outside the Hill 60 Battlefield Memorial Park, between the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company Memorial and the French Resistance Memorial.
French Resistance Memorial
This memorial commemorates Pierre Marchant and Lucien Olivier, two members of the French resistance from La Madeleine (now a suburb of Lille) who were killed here by Germans on 2 September 1944. A memorial to Marchant and Olivier was erected in 1969. It was refurbished and rededicated in the presence of their family members in 2004. The memorial is located outside the Hill 60 Battlefield Memorial Park, in between the 14th (Light) Division Memorial and the bridge over the railway tracks between Hill 60 and The Caterpillar.
Popular culture
* ''
Beneath Hill 60
''Beneath Hill 60'' is a 2010 Australian war film directed by Jeremy Sims (credited as Jeremy Hartley Sims) and written by David Roach.
Set during World War I, the film tells the story of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company's efforts in minin ...
'': a
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Australian
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
, directed by
Jeremy Sims
Jeremy Hartley Sims (born 10 January 1966) is an Australian actor and director.
Career
Jeremy Sims was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1966, and was educated at Wesley College 1977–83.
His first appearance on the big screen was as 'boy on ...
and written by
David Roach David Roach may refer to:
*David Roach (American football) (born 1985), American football safety
*David Roach (saxophonist) (born 1955), British classical saxophonist
*David Roach (comics), British comics artist
* David Roach (athletic director) (b ...
, tells the story of the
1st Australian Tunnelling Company. The screenplay is based on an account written by Captain
Oliver Woodward
Oliver Holmes Woodward, (8 October 1885 – 24 August 1966) was an Australian metallurgist, mine manager, and soldier noted for his tunnelling activities at the Ypres Salient during the First World War.
Early life
Woodward was born in Tenterfi ...
, who is portrayed by
Brendan Cowell
Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor, playwright, and director.
Early life and education
Cowell was born in Sydney and grew up in the beachside suburb of Cronulla. He credits his mother and high school drama teacher with encouraging him to e ...
.
* The standing area on the railway end of
Croke Park
Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland was formerly a mound of earth known as "Hill 60." It was later decided inappropriate to have a stand named after a British Army battleground, so it was renamed "
Hill 16
Hill 16 – officially called Dineen Hill 16 and sometimes referred to as The Hill – is a terrace at the Railway End of Croke Park, the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is located on the North ...
" after the
1916 Rising.
Gallery
Landscape
Hill 60, 1915a.png, Map of Hill 60 as part of the Flanders front in 1915
File:The Landscape, Hill 60 Art.IWMART1155.jpg, Paul Nash, ''The Landscape, Hill 60'' painted in 1918
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 07.JPG, Within Hill 60 battlefield park
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 10.JPG, Within Hill 60 battlefield park
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 15 - 1917 deep mine crater Hill 60.JPG, Deep mine crater from 1917
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 32.JPG, Area near top of Hill 60
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 16.JPG, View from Hill 60 towards the Zwarteleen area of Zillebeke
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 19.JPG, View from Hill 60 towards the Zwarteleen area of Zillebeke
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 21.JPG, View from Hill 60 towards the railway
Fortifications
File:Woerner Eugen (herr) Collection Q45247.jpg, German soldiers outside a shelter on Hill 60 in June 1916
File:World War I soldiers in dugout.JPG, Australian soldiers in a dugout on Hill 60
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 25 bunker A1.JPG, Entrance to a dugout
Bunkerhill60.JPG, Remains of pillbox
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 24.JPG, Destroyed shelter
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 27 bunker B1.JPG, German concrete bunker modified by the Australians in 1918
Hill 60 and the British pillbox.jpg, German concrete bunker modified by the Australians in 1918
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium 29 bunker B1.JPG, Roof of the German bunker modified by the Australians in 1918
File:Hill 60 Ypres Belgium bunker at Caterpillar.JPG, Bunker at Caterpillar
See also
*
Mines in the Battle of Messines (1917)
At the start of the Battle of Messines during the First World War, underground explosive charges were detonated by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer) beneath the forward position of the German 4th Army near the village of ...
*
List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in Flanders
Several war memorials and war graves have been erected in the Belgian region Flanders to memorialize the events that took place there during World War I. By the end of 1914 the Western Front ran from Nieuwpoort on the North Sea Coast to t ...
Notes
Footnotes
References
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Further reading
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External links
Photo essayTunnels at Hill 60New York Times, 21 April 1915*
ttp://www.firstworldwar.com/features/hill60_1915.htm First World War.com – Feature Articles – The Capture of Hill 60 in 1915Beneath Hill 60, filmUpclose: The man that went Beneath Hill 60Australian Official History, Appendix No. 1, The Mines at Hill 60
{{World War II
Military history of Belgium during World War I
History of Flanders
World War I memorials in Belgium
Ypres Salient