The Second Battle of Passchendaele was the culminating attack during the
Third Battle of Ypres
The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...
of 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 battle took place in 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. ...
area of the
Western Front, in and around the Belgian village of
Passchendaele, between 26 October and 10 November 1917. The
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...
relieved the exhausted
II Anzac Corps
The II ANZAC Corps (Second Anzac Corps) was an Australian and New Zealand First World War army corps. Formed in early 1916 in Egypt in the wake of the failed Gallipoli campaign, it initially consisted of two Australian divisions, and was sent t ...
, continuing the advance started with the
First Battle of Passchendaele
The First Battle of Passchendaele took place on 12 October 1917 during the First World War, in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front. The attack was part of the Third Battle of Ypres and was fought west of Passchendaele village. T ...
and ultimately capturing the village. Beyond gaining favourable observation positions, the battle was intended to gain drier winter positions on higher ground.
The assault position was directly south of the boundary between the British
Fifth and
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
Armies. The Canadian Corps was to attack with support of formations from the British Fifth Army to the north and the
I Anzac Corps
The I ANZAC Corps (First Anzac Corps) was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I.
It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and ...
and
X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to:
France
* 10th Army Corps (France)
* X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army
* ...
to the south. The offensive was executed in a series of attacks with limited objectives, delivered at intervals of three or more days. The dates of the phases were tentatively given as 26 October, 30 October and 6 November with a final smaller action on 10 November. To permit time for divisional reliefs, there was a seven-day pause planned between the second and third stages, during which the Second Army took over the XVIII Corps area, north of the Canadian Corps, from the Fifth Army with the II Corps on 2 November, to assure unity of command over the central part of the attack front.
The attacks captured the German-held high ground along the Passchendaele–
Westrozebeke
Westrozebeke is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. It is located 6 miles (10 km) west of Roeselare and 9.5 miles (15 km) north-east of Ypres. It's a typical agricultural village ...
ridge but the campaign ended just short of Westrozebeke. The victory of the Austro-German forces against the
Italian Army
"The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law"
, colors =
, colors_labels =
, march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...
at the
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I.
The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...
and the forthcoming
Battle of Cambrai forced the British into a parallel diversion of resources from the Ypres Salient. II Corps asked for a delay until 19 November to move artillery forward; five British divisions were transferred to Italy and four British divisions on the coast were sent to take over French positions south of the Somme. On 20 November, Haig ended the offensive, except for local attacks in December for better defensive positions.
Background
In July 1917,
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Douglas Haig
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionar ...
began the
Third Battle of Ypres
The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...
, to break down the resistance of the German
4th Army (General
Sixt von Armin Sixt von Armin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Friedrich Sixt von Armin (1851–1936), German general
*Hans-Heinrich Sixt von Armin __NOTOC__
Hans-Heinrich Sixt von Armin (6 November 1890 – 1 April 1952) was a German ...
) and advance out 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. ...
. The
Battle of Messines in June and the
Battle of Pilckem Ridge
The Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August 1917) was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The British Fifth Army, supported by the Second Army on the southern flank and the French (First Army) on the n ...
which began on 31 July had captured ground but left the Germans in possession of the most important positions on the Gheluvelt Plateau. Torrential rain in August interrupted the tempo of the British advance and at the
Battle of Langemarck the Germans lost ground in the north but again held most of the ground on the Plateau. In view of the failure of the Fifth Army to make much headway in August, Haig decided to transfer more offensive weight towards the south-east, along the southern half of Passchendaele Ridge. The main command was switched from the Fifth Army (General
Hubert Gough
General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough ( ; 12 August 1870 – 18 March 1963) was a senior officer in the British Army in the First World War. A favourite of the British Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, he experienced a meteoric ...
) to the Second Army (General
Herbert Plumer
Field Marshal Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, (13 March 1857 – 16 July 1932) was a senior British Army officer of the First World War. After commanding V Corps at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, he took command o ...
) on the southern flank. Rather than continue with optimistic, semi-open warfare tactics, Plumer planned a series of limited attacks, taking advantage of recent experience. Less ambitious infantry advances at the
Battle of Menin Road
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
,
Battle of Polygon Wood
The Battle of Polygon Wood took place from 26 September to 3 October 1917, during the second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, in the area from the Menin road to Polygon Wood a ...
,
Battle of Broodseinde
The Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in Belgium, at the east end of the Gheluvelt plateau, by the British Second and Fifth armies against the German 4th Army. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of th ...
and Battle of Gravenstafel Ridge produced a advance in two weeks. The 4th Army suffered many casualties, especially at Broodseinde and the German command began preparations for a general withdrawal as a precaution.
![Second Battle of Passchendaele - Field of Mud](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Second_Battle_of_Passchendaele_-_Field_of_Mud.jpg)
In the low ground west of the Passchendaele Ridge, three months of constant shelling had blocked the watercourses that normally provided drainage. When rain began falling on the night of 4 October—which continued intermittently for the next three days—the battlefield once again became a
quagmire
A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...
, making movement extremely difficult. Gough and Plumer told Haig that they favoured ending the campaign on account of the change in the weather and general state of the battlefield but the decision was made to continue the offensive for winter positions on higher ground. The
Battle of Poelcappelle
The Battle of Poelcappelle was fought in Flanders, Belgium, on 9 October 1917 by the British Second Army and Fifth Army against the German 4th Army, during the First World War. The battle marked the end of the string of highly successful Briti ...
(9 October) and
First Battle of Passchendaele
The First Battle of Passchendaele took place on 12 October 1917 during the First World War, in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front. The attack was part of the Third Battle of Ypres and was fought west of Passchendaele village. T ...
(12 October) were costly for both sides and failed to achieve any appreciable advance opposite Passchendaele, although they did provide a slightly better starting line for another attack. The four divisions of the
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...
were transferred from the
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
sector to the Ypres Salient to capture Passchendaele. The Canadian Corps relieved the
II Anzac Corps
The II ANZAC Corps (Second Anzac Corps) was an Australian and New Zealand First World War army corps. Formed in early 1916 in Egypt in the wake of the failed Gallipoli campaign, it initially consisted of two Australian divisions, and was sent t ...
on 18 October, along the valley between Gravenstafel Ridge and the high ground at Passchendaele and began planning the offensive. It was virtually the same front as had been occupied by the
1st Canadian Division
The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...
back in April 1915.
Prelude
Plans and preparations
![Second Battle of Passchendaele - laying trench mats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Second_Battle_of_Passchendaele_-_laying_trench_mats.jpg)
The Canadian Corps operation was to be executed in a series of three attacks, each with limited objectives, delivered at intervals of three or more days. As the Canadian Corps position was directly south of the boundary between British Fifth and Second armies, the Fifth Army would mount subsidiary operations on the left flank of the Canadian Corps, while the
I Anzac Corps
The I ANZAC Corps (First Anzac Corps) was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I.
It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and ...
would advance to protect the right flank and X Corps attack
Gheluvelt
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 ...
to improve the local tactical position and as a diversion from the main attack in the north. The Canadian Corps commander,
Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Arthur Currie
General Sir Arthur William Currie, (5 December 187530 November 1933) was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who fought during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war ...
, submitted his provisional operational plan on 16 October and recommended the attack not be executed until 29 October, to move sufficient artillery forward. Haig was anxious to avoid delay, particularly given that he wished to assist the French attack on Malmaison, which was due to start on 23 October. Currie and Plumer, re-examined the situation and finally set the attack for 26 October. The dates for the subsequent phases were tentatively given as 30 October and 6 November.
Extensive preparations were needed before any advance could be made. A number of problems were found with the artillery and positions transferred from the Australians. Of the nominal howitzers, only be found and out of action. Of
18-pounder
The Ordnance QF 18-pounder,British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War ...
field guns
A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...
, fewer than half were in action. Lack of mobility caused by the mud left the Australian artillery badly bunched in two main clusters, making easy targets for German gunners. The Australians could not send damaged guns back for repair, because the
Provost Marshal
Provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of Military Police (MP). The title originated with an older term for MPs, '' provosts'', from the Old French ''prévost'' (Modern French ''prévôt''). While a provost marshal i ...
had ordered guns off the roads, for fear of blocking traffic. The welcome arrival of the Canadian divisional artillery placed another two-hundred-and-ten 18-pounder field guns, and guns at the disposal of the Canadian Corps.
![Second Battle of Passchendaele - German Trench Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Second_Battle_of_Passchendaele_-_German_Trench_Map.jpg)
As early as 17 October, assaulting units were given details about the German defences in their sectors, to begin planning. Intelligence officers and artillery observers worked jointly in observation posts, recording new German fortifications as well as those that had escaped notice, permitting the artillery to bombard them before the offensive. To improve the transport of artillery and supplies, an extensive program of road building was started. Ten field companies, seven
Royal Engineer tunnelling companies
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 ...
, four army troop companies and nine infantry battalions were put to work repairing or extending plank roads. From the middle of October until the end of the offensive, a total of of double plank road and more than of heavy tram line were laid in the Canadian Corps area.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Edward Morrison, commander of the artillery, also secured permission to use the roads to send guns back for repair.
Moving troops to the front ahead of the attack was still extremely difficult, as the only means of approaching the front line were narrow boardwalks made of planks, which wound between the shell-holes. Slipping off duckboards could often be deadly with unfortunate soldiers frequently drowning in mud under the weight of their equipment.
Because of the exhausting nature of the journey, the leading assault units entered the support line four days before the battle to ensure that the soldiers would be as fresh as possible for the attack.
Action of 22 October
On 22 October the British
18th (Eastern) Division
The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England u ...
of
XVIII Corps attacked the east end of
Poelcappelle
Langemark-Poelkapelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders.
Geography
Other places in the municipality include Bikschote, Langemark and Poelkapelle. On January 1, 2006, Langemark-Poelkapelle had a total populati ...
. XIV Corps on the left attacked with the
34th Division between the Watervlietbeek and Broenbeek streams and the
35th Division northwards into
Houthulst Forest, supported by a regiment of the 1st Division of the French
First Army on the left. Poelcappelle was captured but the attack at the junction between the 34th and 35th divisions was repulsed. German counterattacks also pushed back the 35th Division in the centre as the French regiment was capturing all its objectives. Attacking on ground cut up by bombardments, soaked by rain and churned into deep mud, the British had struggled to advance in places and could not move quickly to outflank pillboxes. Troops of the 35th Division reached the edge of Houthulst Forest but were repulsed in several places. German counterattacks after 22 October were costly failures for the same reasons. The 4th Army was prevented from transferring troops away from the Fifth Army or from concentrating its artillery on the Canadians as they prepared to attack Passchendaele Ridge.
Opposing forces
The Canadian Corps was the principal attacking formation. Immediately to the north, the Canadians were supported by XVIII Corps and after an army boundary shift,
II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to:
France
* 2nd Army Corps (France)
* II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...
of the Second Army. On the northern flank of the offensive, the advance was supported by diversionary attacks by the British XIV Corps and the 1st and 133rd Divisions of the French First Army. To the south, the right flank of the Canadian advance was supported by I Anzac Corps and on the southern flank of the offensive,
X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to:
France
* 10th Army Corps (France)
* X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army
* ...
supported the operation with a diversionary attack on Gheluvelt, to secure Tower Hamlets ridge, east of the Bassevillebeek.
Passchendaele Ridge and the area surrounding the village was defended by organized under Guard Corps commander
General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...
Alfred Graf zu Dohna-Schlobitten. Defending German units changed throughout the battle and at various times, consisted of the
4th,
7th
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
,
11th,
11th Bavarian,
27th,
39th,
44th Reserve, 185th, 199th, 238th and 239th Divisions.
Battle
First stage
Constant shelling had blocked the Ravebeek stream, creating an impassable swamp directly between the boundary of the
3rd Canadian and the
4th Canadian Division
The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infantr ...
s, necessitating a two-pronged attack. The 3rd Canadian Division was assigned the wider advance on the left, which included the sharply rising ground of the Bellevue spur. In the more restricted ground south of the Ravebeek stream, the 4th Canadian Division would occupy advanced positions in
no man's land
No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
before the start of the offensive and take Decline Copse, which straddled the Ypres–Roulers railway. Currie planned the attack with extensive depth in resources. The remaining units of the 8th, 9th and 10th Canadian Infantry Brigades were placed in support, while the 7th, 11th and 12th Canadian Infantry Brigades were held in divisional and corps reserve. The 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions were in army reserve.
![Second Battle of Passchendaele - Bunker Survey (colour)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Second_Battle_of_Passchendaele_-_Bunker_Survey_%28colour%29.jpg)
The assault began at on the morning of 26 October. The troops were preceded by a
rolling barrage
In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across tha ...
, edging forward in lifts of every four minutes, permitting the infantry to keep up while negotiating the mud. On the left flank, the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade captured Wolf Copse and secured its objective line but was ultimately forced to drop a defensive flank back to link up with the
63rd (Royal Naval) Division
The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...
, the flanking division of the Fifth Army. In the centre, the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade found the German barbed wire to be well cut by the preliminary artillery bombardment and within an hour captured the Bellevue pillboxes.
The Germans brought down heavy artillery fire on their abandoned positions and by the brigade's right flank had retreated towards its start line. On the far right, the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade captured all its objectives as did the
1st Australian Division on its southern flank. As the day wore on, the positions in Decline Copse, a Canadian–Australian objective on the southern flank of the Canadian Corps were gradually abandoned due to German counterattacks and misunderstandings between the Canadian and Australian units.
The 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade's right flank had consolidated its position and by the morning on 27 October, had outposts only short of its first objective. The 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade captured Decline Copse again on the night of 27 October. The German 238th Division attacked and briefly recaptured the copse the following night, only to be quickly expelled by a Canadian counterattack. When the first stage ended on 28 October, the Canadian Corps had suffered . Although the first stage was not completely successful, the operation had placed the Canadians on higher ground and in a good tactical position for the second stage.
North of the Canadians, the supporting attack by XVIII Corps involved the 188th Brigade, 63rd (Royal Naval) Division and a brigade of the
58th (2/1st London) Division
The 58th (2/1st London) Division was an infantry division created in 1915 as part of the massive expansion of the British Army during the First World War. It was a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 56th (1/1st Lo ...
. The 188th Brigade quickly captured Varlet Farm and Banff House. The centre of the attack was held up on the road between Bray Farm and the village of Wallemolen and dug-in near Source Trench. As dark fell, Banff House was abandoned and the line reformed at Berks House, leaving Banff House and Source Trench the only part of the first objective not captured. Further north, the 58th Division brigade took three pillboxes at Cameron House, before being stopped at Spider crossroads by German machine-gun fire and exhaustion due to the muddy conditions. From to German counterattacks from the north cut off the foremost troops and then advanced from a sunken road between Papa Farm and Whitechapel, which pushed the rest of the brigade back to the start line, where the Germans were also caught in the mud and pushed back by British reinforcements.
On the northern flank of the Fifth Army, XIV Corps conducted diversions employing one brigade each from the
57th (2nd West Lancashire) and the
50th (Northumbrian) divisions. The 57th Division brigade advanced into a marsh, which bogged the attack close to the start line but its troops established advanced posts at Rubens and Memlings Farms forward. The right battalion of the 149th Brigade, 50th Division, got to within of the objective, before fire from German machine-guns and snipers forced a withdrawal to the start line. Further north up to the Ypres–Staden railway, a battalion reached Hill 23, Aden House and Tourenne Crossing but was back at the start line by . The left flank battalion advanced before machine-gun fire forced it back to the start line. All of the Fifth Army attacks encountered deep mud, which slowed progress to a crawl, caused the barrage to be lost and clogged weapons, in the face of German counterattacks, which forced most attacks back to their start lines.
To the south of the Canadian Corps, in the X Corps area, two brigades of the British
5th and one of the
7th Division conducted diversionary attacks. The 7th Division commander only acquiesced in the attack because it was intended to pin German reserves and stop them moving north against the main attack. The 7th Division attacked Gheluvelt with the 20th and 91st Brigades, while the 5th Division attacked Polderhoek and the Scherriabeek valley, immediately to the north, with the 13th Brigade. The right flank battalion of the 91st Brigade advanced rapidly, protected by a rise which hid them from most of the German machine-gunners nearer to the Menin road. A fortified mound near Hamp Farm was overrun after hand-to-hand fighting. The other two battalions had to advance along the forward slope of the spur running south-east from Tower Hamlets ridge. The area was dominated by machine-guns in a group of pillboxes at Lewis House; the centre battalion could not keep pace with the barrage and it was stopped well short of the pillboxes. Troops began to converge on the area near Lewis House, which caused crowding and gaps in the line. An attempt to outflank the pillboxes failed and the brigade fell back to its assembly positions.
The 20th Brigade attacked astride the Menin Road, the right battalion crossing marshy ground that deepened into waist-high mud towards the Kroomebeek creek. Some troops tried to get round the right flank but machine-gun fire from Lewis House and crossfire from the pillboxes on the Menin road and Swagger Farm ended the attempt. Other parties found the condition of the ground so poor that they moved left, towards the Menin road, only to be pinned down by fire from the pillboxes there but the advance captured one pillbox and advanced to within of Gheluvelt Church at the west end of the village. The two battalions advancing north of the Menin road managed to keep up with the barrage and reached its junction with the railway tracks just outside Gheluvelt. The battalions bunched and entered Gheluvelt at the same time; some of the troops cleared several pillboxes along Johnson Trench and one party tried to rush Gheluvelt Château. At , the Germans counterattacked and the British retreated, many of their weapons being jammed with mud. The remaining troops formed a defensive flank south of the road towards Tower Hamlets and reoccupied the original front line. Once the retreat was complete, British artillery fired a protective barrage and no further German counterattack developed.
The 13th Brigade, 5th Division, attacked with three battalions through the Scherriabeek valley, which were raked by fire from Gheluvelt and found the valley to be impassable. Polderhoek Château was captured but then relinquished because many weapons were clogged by mud and the position made an awkward salient. The Germans reoccupied the château, swept the area to the west with massed machine-gun fire and counterattacked, which pushed the brigade back to the start line. The attacks on the flanks of the Canadian Corps had not gone well. To the south, the X Corps diversion resulted in , in the 7th Division. In the Fifth Army to the north, XVIII Corps suffered , the 63rd Division losing approximately in the 188th Brigade and XIV Corps Next day, the 63rd Division retook Banff House and repulsed a German counterattack. Two reserve battalions reinforced the 4th Canadian Division and reached the previous day's objective by Next day patrols from the 3rd Canadian Division scouted Meetchele and Furst Farms. On 29 October, the 1st Australian Division established a post in Decoy Wood.
Franco-Belgian operations
![Front line 22 October - 6 November](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Front_line_22_October_-_6_November.jpg)
The French First Army, with the 1st and 133rd divisions and a division of the Belgian Army planned to occupy the Merckem peninsula in stages, with an attack beginning on the south-east of the peninsula and extending to the north. On 26 October, after an intense bombardment, French troops crossed the lower Steenbeek and advanced into Papegoed (butterfly) Wood, Lucannes Farm and the pillboxes between. The French then forced the Germans from the remaining pillboxes to the west of the woods and forded the Corverbeek, which in places was shoulder-high, soon capturing the pillboxes opposite and occupying the Steenstraate–Dixmude road round Langewaede. In the evening, the Germans rushed the
8th Bavarian Reserve Division
The 8th Bavarian Reserve Division (''8. Bayerische Reserve-Division'') was a unit of the Imperial German Army in World War I. The division was formed at the end of December 1914 and organized over the next month, arriving in the line in late Janu ...
into the Merckem peninsula as a reinforcement.
During the night, French engineers, in water up to their armpits, built
pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...
s over the lower Steenbeek, west of Langewaede. At about on 27 October, French troops on the right bank were joined by those on the left bank of the Steenbeek and a column advanced from the bridgehead at Drei Grachten (Three Canals) to attack the German defences on the causeway to Luyghem. The French on the extreme right, in front of Draaibank, formed a flank guard facing east, near the troops in Papegoed Wood, which also protected the troops moving up from Steenstraate through Langewaede to Dixmude. The fortified villages of Verbrandesmis and Kippe blocked the road further on and north-east of Verbrandesmis near Houthulst Forest, Jesiutengoed Farm near the hamlet of Kloostermolen and the village of Aschhoop to the north, also obstructed an advance.
From Verbrandesmis a road runs north-west, parallel with the lower Steenbeek through Merckem to Luyghem, slightly above the level of the surrounding marshes. Machine-gun nests in the villages commanded the causeway from Drei Grachten; the ground everywhere in the peninsula was soaked and dotted with large numbers of blockhouses and pillboxes. The French artillery destroyed Verbrandesmis and it was quickly captured but the garrisons at Jesiutengoed Farm and Kloostermolen held out for some time, before being forced back to Kippe and Aschhoop. German artillery bombarded the banks of the Steenbeek in front of Merckem and French troops rushed across on pontoon bridges, struggled through the mud to the objectives and then attacked towards Kippe and Luyghem. Kippe and Aschhoop were captured quickly but Luyghem and the causeway from Drei Grachten held out until the afternoon.
The French and Belgian advance on Luyghem began as soon as the causeway was captured, Belgian troops employing
flat-bottomed boat
A flat-bottomed boat is a boat with a shallow draft, two-chined hull, which allows it to be used in shallow bodies of water, such as rivers, because it is less likely to ground.
The flat hull also makes the boat more stable in calm water, wh ...
s to move to the north of the village. The Belgians secured the southern edge of Blanckaart Lake and then attacked Luyghem from the north, taking the German pillboxes and blockhouses systematically. By the morning of 28 October, the French and Belgians had completed the capture of the Merckem peninsula, taken about and inflicted many casualties on the Germans, who had defended with great determination. The skill of the French artillery had obtained success with few infantry casualties; the Belgians had managed to hide their boats despite German vigilance and row to their objectives through the floods against German artillery and small-arms fire.
Second stage
![Second Battle of Passchendaele - Canadian Pioneers and German prisoners](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Second_Battle_of_Passchendaele_-_Canadian_Pioneers_and_German_prisoners.jpg)
The second stage on 30 October was intended to complete the capture of the positions the Canadian Corps had attacked on 26 October and gain a base for the final assault on Passchendaele. The objective (Blue Line) was approximately east of the objective of the previous stage. The advance was meant to capture the strongly held Crest Farm at the southern flank and in the northern sector, the hamlet of Meetcheele and the Goudberg area near the northern Corps boundary. In the north, the Canadian Corps advance was to link up outside Goudberg at Vapour Farm with the Fifth Army, which would be advancing with the 190th Brigade, 63rd (Royal Naval) Division and the 58th Division either side of the swamped Lekkerboterbeek. In the south, the advance was to link with the I Anzac Corps along the Ypres–Roulers railway line south of Vienna Cottage. The southern flank of the main assault would once again be the responsibility of the 4th Canadian Division, which planned to attack with the 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade. The northern flank remained the responsibility of the 3rd Canadian Division, which would advance with the 7th and 8th Canadian Infantry Brigades.
The night before the attack, a battalion assault by the Canadians captured a particularly troublesome German pillbox on the northern bank of Ravebeek creek, which had held up the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade during the first stage. The action advanced the southern edge of the 3rd Canadian Division parallel with the line of the 4th Canadian Division to the south. The main attack began at on 30 October, preceded by a rolling barrage and a preliminary artillery bombardment directed largely at pillboxes. The southern attack quickly captured Crest Farm and Canadian patrols pushed beyond the objective into Passchendaele, which they found the Germans evacuating. By the 4th Canadian Division commander, Major-General
David Watson, reported that all objectives between the Ypres–Roulers railway and the Ravebeek creek had been taken. Northwest of Crest Farm, the ground was so badly flooded that consolidation had to be carried out short of the objective.
![Second Battle of Passchendaele - 16th Canadian Machine Gun Company](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Second_Battle_of_Passchendaele_-_16th_Canadian_Machine_Gun_Company.jpg)
In the north, the 3rd Canadian Division was again met with exceptional German resistance. The 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade managed to capture Source Farm and later Vapour Farm at the corps boundary, just short of the objective. The brigade had difficulty getting through the swampy ground in the Woodland Plantation, resulting in a division in the line. The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division and the 58th Division troops were caught by German artillery fire at their jumping-off line and made only slight progress, in deep mud, against German machine-gun fire, leaving the Canadian flank open at Source Farm and Vapour Farm. Two Royal Naval companies later advanced through the Canadian sector to capture Source Trench but were only able to reinforce the Canadian outpost at Source Farm and form a defensive flank to Vapour Farm. In the centre, the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade advanced between Ravebeek creek and the roadway to Meetcheele; one section of the brigade captured its intermediate objective, a pillbox known as Duck Lodge, by To the west of the roadway and Meetcheele, the advance captured Furst Farm, albeit with heavy casualties. Later in the afternoon, the brigade overcame several pillboxes and captured the crossroads at Meetcheele. The Germans held on at a strong position at Graf House along the bank of the Ravebeek creek, producing a salient in the Canadian line between the two Canadian divisions.
The advance appeared to have reached its limit by late afternoon and reports of a large number of Germans concentrating north of Mosselmarkt indicated a possible counterattack. The 3rd Canadian Division (although short of some objectives) was ordered to consolidate and patrol, rather than occupy the Woodland Plantation swamp between the 7th and 8th Canadian Infantry Brigades. There was some question as to whether the positions at Source Farm and Vapour Farm could be maintained without the support of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division. Currie and Plumer ultimately decided that every effort should be made to hold the line in the hope of not having to retake the positions before the assault on Passchendaele. The night passed without serious counterattack, permitting the Canadians to dig in. By the end of 30 October, the Canadian Corps had suffered , consisting of , and eight taken prisoner. Further north the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division had from 26 to 31 October.
Tactical pause
![Douglas W](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Douglas_W._Culham_-_Mud_Road_to_Passchendaele.jpg)
There was a seven-day pause between the second and third stages for divisional reliefs. The Second Army took over a section of the Fifth Army front adjoining the Canadian Corps, so that the central portion of the assault would have unity of command. On 2 November, Plumer relieved the XVIII Corps of the Fifth Army with II Corps. II Corps would provide the Canadian Corps with artillery support. Immediately north of the Canadian Corps, the 63rd Division was able to close up to the Paddebeek by attacking at night between 1 November and the night of 4/5 November, a method which took more ground than its attacks in October for a loss of and .
No rain fell from 3 to 5 November, which aided preparations and reorganization of the troops for the next stage. Hundreds of pack animals were used to move supplies, including gun ammunition. The 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions moved forward by rail from their reserve area east of
Cassel Cassel may refer to:
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* Cassel, Nord, a town and commune in northern France
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and took over from the 3rd and 4th Canadian Divisions respectively, by the morning of 5 November. South of the Canadian Corps, the I Anzac, IX and VIII Corps were to simulate attacks along a front extending south to
Zandvoorde. During the night of 5 November, the assault units moved to their jumping off positions and were ready by on 6 November. The Germans also took advantage of the lull to relieve exhausted units. The 11th Division had arrived from the Champagne sector on 3 November to relieve the 39th Division between the Ypres–Roulers railway and the Mosselmarkt road.
Third stage
![Second Battle of Passchendaele - Third Stage (Nov 6) Brigade Planning Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Second_Battle_of_Passchendaele_-_Third_Stage_%28Nov_6%29_Brigade_Planning_Map.jpg)
The Corps objectives for 6 November lay along the Green Line, a rough semicircle that ran from Graf House, the centre of the salient in the Canadian line and enclosed Passchendaele and the hamlets of Mosselmarkt and Goudberg to the north-west. The
2nd Canadian Division
The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; french: 2e Division du Canada) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed ...
would send the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade to attack Passchendaele from the north and a battalion of the 5th Canadian Infantry Brigade to attack from the south. In the 1st Canadian Division sector, the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade would advance on either side of the Meetcheele–Mosselmarkt road and along the northern corps boundary, one battalion to execute a subsidiary operation against Vine Cottages, a strong-point which the Germans were holding south-east of Vapour Farm. The third stage began at on 6 November, with a preliminary bombardment under largely clear skies; the German counter-bombardment fell mainly behind the advancing troops. Almost everywhere the attack went well for the Canadians. The 2nd Canadian Division encountered most opposition from pillboxes at the north end of Passchendaele but in less than three hours, the village had been secured. The 1st Canadian Division encountered stiff resistance from the defenders of Vine Cottages but by the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade had reached and consolidated the Green Line.
Final attack
A final action to gain a nearby crossroad and the remaining high ground north of the village near Hill 52 was set for 10 November. The road junction was north of Passchendaele along the
Westrozebeke
Westrozebeke is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. It is located 6 miles (10 km) west of Roeselare and 9.5 miles (15 km) north-east of Ypres. It's a typical agricultural village ...
road. Hill 52, the highest point on the northern end of the Passchendaele Ridge, was beyond the crossroads. Possession of the features would permit observation over German positions to the north-east. The 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade was to attack with support from one battalion of the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade. The Germans had used the lull to move up regiments from the 4th Division and 44th Reserve Division to replace the 11th Division on 9 November. The assault was launched from the Green Line, north and north-east of Mosselmarkt, on the morning of 10 November and made good initial progress, capturing the crossroads, over-running Venture Farm and capturing four field guns. North of the Canadian Corps boundary, the supporting advance by the British
1st Division ran into trouble, when a German counterattack got into a gap between the 1st Battalion,
South Wales Borderers
The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years.
It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. In ...
and the 2nd Battalion,
Royal Munster Fusiliers
The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...
. The Germans engaged the British inner flanks with small-arms fire, causing many casualties and forcing back the survivors. Troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade filled the gap and threw back a defensive flank along the corps boundary, stopping the German advance. Though Haig had hoped to have the entire Passchendaele–Westrozebeke ridge as a winter position, the line was still short of the village; attempts to reach Westrozebeke in late November and early December also failed.
Aftermath
Analysis
![Passchendaele aerial view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Passchendaele_aerial_view.jpg)
On 24 October, The Austro-German 14th Army (
Otto von Below
Otto Ernst Vinzent Leo von Below (18 January 1857 – 15 March 1944) served as a Prussian general officer in the Imperial German Army during the First World War (1914–1918). He arguably became most notable for his command, along with the Aust ...
) inflicted a great defeat on the Italian Army at the
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I.
The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...
. In fear that Italy might be put out of the war, the French and British Governments promised to send six divisions each to the
Italian Front. The troops were rapidly and efficiently transferred between 10 November and 12 December, due to good administrative preparations made by the French Chief of Staff
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...
, who had been sent to Italy in April 1917 to plan for such an emergency. The Third Battle of Ypres came to an unsatisfactory close as a result of the diversion of British forces, with Haig being forced to end his advance just short of Westroosebeke. On 14 November, a gradual relief of the Canadian divisions by VIII Corps began and on 20 November, Currie resumed command along the Lens–Vimy front.
Casualties
The Fifth Army suffered casualties from 26 October to 9 November, Second Army casualties from 26 October to 10 November were which the Canadian Corps suffered In the German Official History (, 1942) the historians recorded casualties from 21 to 31 October and from 1 to 10 November. From 11 November to 31 December another were recorded.
Subsequent operations
On the night of two battalions of the 8th Division advanced the line to the ridge crest and a German counterattack on 30 November was a costly failure. VIII Corps and II Corps conducted a larger operation on the night of and the British tried to cross no man's land without artillery support to forestall the German artillery. Because of the moonlight, the infantry had to form up well behind their outpost line, many of the troops got stuck in the mud and some were caught by German machine-gun fire. The slow advance left some troops in the German barrage zone when the German artillery opened fire a minute after the start of the British barrage. The German outpost zone was overrun and the main line of defence breached at one point. After a local truce to recover wounded, a German counterattack forced the 32nd Division back to the start line, with the 8th Division dug-in about forward on the left and on the right. More British attacks were easily stopped by the Germans and at a German counterattack was easily repulsed by the British. The attack failed to gain much ground but the German 25th Division had to be relieved on 3 December.
On 3 December, two battalions of the
New Zealand Division
The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...
attacked the Polderhoek Spur to shield the area north of the Reutelbeek stream from German observers at Gheluvelt further south. The attack was made in daylight as a ruse, in the hope that the unusual time would surprise the German defenders, who would be under cover sheltering from the bombardments being fired at the same time each day. The ruse failed, some British artillery-fire dropped short on the New Zealanders, the Germans engaged the attackers with small-arms fire from Polderhoek Spur and Gheluvelt ridge; winds ruined a smoke screen. The New Zealanders suffered many casualties and were forced under cover short of the first objective; another attempt after dark was cancelled because of the full moon and sight of German reinforcements reaching Polderhoek Château. German counterattacks were repulsed over the next few days and the New Zealanders handed over to troops of IX Corps. The Germans used an observation balloon accurately to direct artillery-fire and on 14 December, the ground was re-captured by a German counterattack.
Victoria Cross
Nine
Victoria Crosses
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 highest military decoration for valour awarded to British and
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
forces, were awarded for actions during the battle.
* Acting Captain
Christopher O'Kelly
Christopher Patrick John O'Kelly (18 November 1895 – 15 November 1922) was a Canadian First World War officer and prospector. O'Kelly was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of ...
of the 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion.
* Sergeant
Robert Shankland
Robert Shankland (10 October 1887 – 20 January 1968) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
...
of the 43rd (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) Battalion.
* Private
Thomas William Holmes
Thomas William Holmes VC (14 October 1898 – 4 January 1950) was a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy ...
of the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion.
* Private
Cecil John Kinross
Cecil John Kinross VC (17 February 1896 – 21 June 1957) was a Canadian soldier in World War I. Kinross was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded ...
of the
49th (Edmonton) Battalion.
* Sergeant
George Mullin of
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...
.
* Acting Major
George Pearkes
Major-general#Canada, Major-General George Randolph Pearkes, (February 28, 1888 – May 30, 1984) was a Canadian politician and soldier. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded ...
of the
5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion.
* Lieutenant
Hugh McKenzie of the 7th Canadian Machine Gun Company.
* Corporal
Colin Fraser Barron
Colin Fraser Barron (20 September 1893 – 15 August 1958) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
He w ...
of the
3rd (Toronto) Battalion.
* Private
James Peter Robertson
James Peter Robertson (26 October 1883 – 6 November 1917) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
D ...
of the
27th (City of Winnipeg) Battalion.
Commemoration
For the Canadian Corps, participation in the Second Battle of Passchendaele is commemorated with the
Passchendaele Memorial
The Passchendaele Canadian Memorial (''also known as Crest Farm Canadian Memorial'') is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Passchendaele of World War I. The memorial is located on th ...
located at the former site of the Crest Farm on the southwest fringe of Passchendaele village.
Notes
Footnotes
References
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Further reading
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External links
Order of Battle for the Second Battle of PasschendaeleThe Experiences of Lieutenant Tom Rutherford, 4th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles
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Passchendaele
1917 in Belgium
Passchendaele
Passchendaele, 2
Ypres Salient
Passchendaele
Passchendaele
Passchendaele
October 1917 events
November 1917 events