Battles & Incidents

July to November 1917

Also known as the Third Battle of Ypres (or ‘Third Ypres’), the Battle of Passchendaele was really a series of battles which had the aim of capturing the Passchendaele ridge, an area of high ground which allowed the Germans to overlook the British and Commonwealth forces in and around Ypres in Belgium. The British forces in this area, which was known as the Ypres Salient, were regularly shelled by German artillery, and the town of Ypres was almost completely obliterated as a result. Movement by day became extremely dangerous, and so driving the Germans off the Passchendaele ridge became a high priority. The attack on Passchendaele was also part of a larger strategy to break through the German lines and press on to the Belgian coast.

Unusually wet weather turned the whole area into a morass, and ‘Passchendaele’ became synonymous with the very worst mud encountered on the Western Front. The combined Allied and German casualties amounted to 475,000.

Herbert Westlake from Beer (see separate panel) was killed at the opening of the Battle of Broodseinde on 4^th October 1917, and Leonard Harding was wounded. The British attack on that day, on a front of 14,000 yards, aimed to capture the Broodseinde Ridge. It coincided with a German attack, and in some places the two forces met in no man’s land, as the two armies advanced simultaneously.

Australian and New Zealand troops (ANZACs) were involved in large numbers, and suffered heavy casualties. The British troops were largely used in support of the ANZAC units. Overall, the Allied forces suffered just over 20,000 casualties and advanced the line by 1,000 yards in a single day. This was a huge advance by the standards of the Western Front, and the battle was regarded as a great Allied success.