Polygon Wood (, ) is a forest located between

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

and

Zonnebeke Zonnebeke (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of , , Passendale, Zandvoorde (Zonnebeke), Zandvoorde and Zonnebek ...

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. 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 mil ...

in the immediate vicinity of the wood.

History

Polygon Wood, 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 The 5th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army which served during the First and Second World Wars. The division was formed in February 1916 as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force infantry brigades. In add ...

in the

Battle of Polygon Wood The Battle of Polygon Wood (26 September to 3 October 1917) was fought during the second part of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, from the Menin road to Polygon Wood and thence north, ...

, which took place in the period from September to October 1917. Abandoned during the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

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, w ...

, located on Lange Streve, which runs along the north-east side of Polygon Wood, while the second is Buttes New British Cemetery, which is in the wood itself along with a memorial to the

, located on top of an old butte.

Gallery

File:Polygon Wood, September 1917.png, A map of Polygon Wood 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 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