THE BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE (THIRD BATTLE OF YPRES)
The third major battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, took place between July and November, 1917. General Sir Douglas Haig, the British Commander in Chief in France, was encouraged by the gains made at the offensive at Messines in June 1917. Haig was convinced that the German army was now close to collapse and once again made plans for a major offensive to obtain the necessary breakthrough. He also hoped that the attack might allow him to capture the Belgian ports, where the German submarine fleet was based. In 1917, German U boats were doing inestimable damage to British shipping.
After a 10 day preliminary bombardment, with 3,000 guns firing 4.25 million shells (mostly high explosives, to destroy the German trenches), the British offensive started at 3:50 am on 31st July.
The German Fourth Army held off the main British advance and restricted the British to small gains on the left of the line. Allied attacks on the German front-line continued despite very heavy rain that turned the Ypres lowlands into a swamp. (In fact, the rains were the heaviest in thirty years.) The situation was made worse by the fact that the British bombardment had destroyed the drainage system in the area. The mud thus created caused terrible problems for the infantry, and the use of tanks became impossible. Eventually Haig called off the attacks and did not resume the offensive until late September.
Attacks on 26th September and 4th October enabled the British forces to take possession of the ridge east of Ypres. Despite the return of heavy rain, Haig ordered further attacks towards the Passchendaele Ridge. Attacks on the 9th and 12th October were unsuccessful. As well as the heavy mud, the advancing British soldiers had to endure mustard gas attacks.
Three more attacks took place in October and on the 6th November the village of Passchendaele was finally taken by British and Canadian forces. The offensive cost the British Army about 310,000 casualties. Haig was severely criticised for persevering with the attack long after the operation had lost any real strategic value.
SUMMARY
· Battle to be carried out by mainly British and Commonwealth troops.
· Timing of the battle: July to November, 1917.
· Reasons for the campaign: Haig was convinced the Germans were exhausted, after the gains the Allies had made at Messines in June. He hoped Passchendaele would achieve the decisive breakthrough.
· The plan of attack: Similar to the Somme, only using high explosive shells for the artillery bombardment (over 4 million shells).
· Casualties: 310,000 British killed and wounded.
· Reasons for the failure of the campaign: the heavy bombardment destroyed the drainage system, so when it rained, it became almost impossible to move in the mud. This gave the Germans the advantage.