On 31 July-6 November 1917, the Battle of Passchendaele was fought in Belgium between the Allies under Douglas Haig and the Germans under Erich Ludendorff during the First World War.
Why did it happen?
The British victory at the Battle of Messines on 14 June 1917 had captured a part of the long ridge stretching to the south and east of Ypres while the north was still in German hands. Field Marshal Douglas Haig had intended to launch a major attack in Belgium because the success at Messines had convinced him that the German army was on the point of collapse. Haig also believed that a breakthrough at Ypres, followed by an advance through Belgium, would capture the ports from where German submarines were decimating Britain’s maritime trade.
Who was involved?
The Allied army at Passchendaele consisted of 560,000 infantry, 3,000 artillery and 22 tanks. The 18-kilometre-long front was occupied by three field armies: The French First Army under Francois Anthoine to the north; the British Second Army under Herbert Plumer to the south; and the British Fifth Army under Hubert Gough in the centre. The Allied plan at Passchendaele was to soften up German defences by conducting a ten-day artillery bombardment before sending forth the infantry to break through the German line. The German army at Passchendaele numbered 770,000 infantry. All along the 18-kilometre line, the Germans had set up a series of interlocking strongpoints and reinforced concrete pillboxes which were able to survive most artillery fire. The Germans also relied upon the concept of flexible or elastic defence which involved the forward line being lightly held while the main body of troops was held back in relative safety ready to counterattack at the right time.
What happened?
At 3.50 am on 31 July, after a ten-day preliminary bombardment from their artillery, the Allies began the battle by capturing the villages of Bixschoote, Pilckem and St. Julien. After a halt in the fighting, between 11-22 August, the Allies launched an offensive against Langemarck and Gheluvelt. Langemarck was captured while the British Fifth Army was halted on the Menin Road. Between 20-26 September, the Allies renewed their offensive against Gheluvelt and the Menin Road with the attack securing half of Polygon Wood. At the same time, the British Fifth Army advanced toward Zonnebeke. Between 4-9 October, the Allies attacked and captured the ridge and village of Broodseinde while an attack on Poelcappelle was unsuccessful due to bad weather and muddy conditions. On 12 October, the Allies launched an attack on the village of Passchendaele. While the first attempt was unsuccessful, a second assault was launched on 26 October and Passchendaele was captured on 6 November. Throughout the whole battle, the Allies suffered 253,000 casualties while the Germans lost an estimated 260,000 men.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Passchendaele was an Allied victory. Despite his victory, however, Douglas Haig’s dream of a decisive victory on the Western Front was unfulfilled. Indeed, the ground that had been won at Passchendaele was vacated the following year in the face of a renewed German assault. The true legacy of the Battle of Passchendaele was that it would come to symbolize, “the worst horrors of the First World War, the sheer futility of much of the fighting, and the reckless disregard by some of the war’s senior leaders for the lives of the men under their command” (Foot, 2022).
Bibliography
Foot, Richard. “Battle of Passchendaele.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed May 7, 2022. www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Passchendaele
Grant, R.G. 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2011.
Westwell, Ian. The Complete Illustrated History of World War I. Wigston, Hermes House, 2012.
Willmott, H.P. World War I. New York, Dorling Kindersley, 2007.