Polygon Wood ( nl, Polygoonbos, french: Bois du Polygone) is a forest located between

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 ...

and

Zonnebeke Zonnebeke (; vls, Zunnebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of , , Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population ...

West Flanders West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West Vloandern; french: (Province de) Flandre-Occidentale ; german: Westflandern ) is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the No ...

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 ...

. It was the scene for several battles during the First World War and there are at least two cemeteries of the

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 m ...

in the immediate vicinity of the wood.

History

Polygon Wood In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two to ...

, near the village of

, was the location of a number of battles during the First World War, beginning in late 1914. It took its name from its shape on maps of the area. The wood had been held by the Germans since April 1915 but was captured by the Australian 5th Division in the Battle of Polygon Wood, which took place in the period from September to October 1917. Abandoned during the German spring offensive in March–April 1918, the area was the scene of further fighting in September 1918 when it was seized by 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 ...

. The

maintains two cemeteries in or next to Polygon Wood. The first is the

Polygon Wood Cemetery Polygon Wood Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War. It is located in Belgium, in what was the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. History Polygon Wood, near the village of Zonnebeke, ...

, located on Lange Streve, which runs along the north-east side of Polygon Wood, while the second is

Buttes New British Cemetery Buttes New British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front. History Many of the men buried in the cemetery died as a result o ...

, which is in the wood itself along with a memorial to the Australian 5th Division, located on top of an old butte.

Gallery

File:Polygon Wood, September 1917.png, A map of Polygon Wood clearly showing the shape that gave the wood its name Image:006_-_Polygon_Woods,_Zonnebeeke,_Belgium.JPG, Entrance to Polygon Wood Cemetery Image:007_-_Polygon_Woods,_Zonnebeeke,_Belgium.JPG, Cross of Sacrifice in the Polygon Wood Cemetery File:Battle of Polygon Wood.jpg, The battlefield at Polygon Wood, painted by

George Edmund Butler George Edmund Butler ( – ) was a landscape and portrait painter specialising in oils and watercolours. Born in England, his family emigrated to New Zealand when he was 11 years old. After completing his schooling, he studied art at the Welli ...

in 1918

Notes

References

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External links

{{commons category, Polygon Wood
Polygon Wood

YouTube video of Polygon Wood
Military history of Canada World War I memorials in Belgium Battle of Passchendaele Forests of Belgium World War I sites in Belgium Geography of West Flanders Cemeteries and memorials in West Flanders