Battle Of Passchendaele

The Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, is remembered for its large number of casualties as well as the pervasive mud. This combat took place in Ypres, a town on the British side of the line. Following a warning that a German blockade would hamper British war efforts, Field Marshal Douglas Haig yearned for a British offensive in Flanders. He planned to reach the Belgian shore and destroy the German submarines that were stationed there. The British were bolstered by the success of an offensive on the conquest of the Messiness Ridge in June 1917. On the 31st of July, the British infantry launched an offensive on Ypres. The continual shelling dissolved the clay into the soil, causing drainage systems to collapse. Unlike the right wing, the attack's left wing was successful. In the days that followed, the greatest rains in 30 years converted loose soil into mud, clogging weapons and halting tank operations. Many men and animals perished as a result of the mud.

British attacks began on August 16th, but with no success. For a month, there was a stalemate, but attacks began on September 20th when the weather improved. The British captured the ridge east of Ypres in the battles of Menin, Road Ridge, and Polygon Wood on September 26th, as well as the Battle of Broodseinde on October 4th. The British and Canadian soldiers took control of what was left of Passchendaele hamlet on November 6. This provided Haig with an excuse to call a halt to the offensive and declare victory. Despite the fact that Passchendaele was only five miles from the start of the Haig-led onslaught. The three-month fight of Passchendaele claimed the lives of 325,000 British and allied troops and 260,000 Germans.

When: 1917