The Battle of Passchendaele, 1917 (AQA GCSE History)

The Battle of Passchendaele, 1917 - Timeline & Summary

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The Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, is remembered as the muddiest battle of the First World War. Lasting 98 days from 31st July to 6th November 1917, it was a British-led offensive under General Sir Douglas Haig. British forces were joined by soldiers from across the Empire, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, South Rhodesia, and the Caribbean, as well as French troops, to fight against the German Army.

The battle took place near Ypres in north-west Belgium. Since 1914, the German Army had occupied most of Belgium, except for the Ypres region. Holding the high ground around the Ypres Salient, the Germans posed a significant challenge. The British aimed to break through their defences and secure this area.

Despite Haig’s confidence, the offensive failed to achieve its goals. By November 1917, the battlefield was a swamp of deep mud, causing countless deaths as soldiers and horses drowned. Fighting was called off and Haig faced criticism for the enormous loss of life and the battle’s limited gains. The horrors of Passchendaele remain a symbol of the challenges of trench warfare.

Causes of the Battle of Passchendaele

The British aims at Passchendaele

• Haig wanted to break out of the Ypres Salient by:

  • capturing the high ground around Ypres

  • advancing on the German-occupied ports on the Belgium coast

    • They were very important to the German U-Boat campaign against British shipping

The British plan at Passchendaele

• The British Army planned to:

  • capture significant areas around the Ypres Salient through a series of small battles

    • These include Pilkelm and Passchendaele Ridge

  • send soldiers north and have other soldiers land on the coast to attack the German ports on the Belgium coast

  • other soldiers would push the Germans back towards the Netherlands

• This battle plan was very ambitious

  • The British army's resources were strained after the Battle of Arras earlier in 1917

• General Haig was very confident that the British forces would be successful and have a quick breakthrough

Events of the Battle of Passchendaele

July- September, 1917

• The Battle of Passchendaele was preceded by an artillery bombardment

  • This lasted for ten days

    • More than 4.5 million shells were fired from 3,000 guns

• During the artillery bombardment, the area was witness to the heaviest rainfall in 30 years

  • When the shells exploded, they created craters which were instantly filled with thick mud

• At 3:50 am on the 31st of July 1917, the British and Empire troops began their offensive

  • As the soldiers advanced, they had to place wooden boards down to cross the muddy landscape

    • If they fell off the boards, they drowned in the mud

    • Many did fall because of their heavy equipment

• On the first day, the British and French made some advances but had high casualties

• However, within a week the British had lost 30,000 soldiers

  • The artillery bombardment had failed

    • Soldiers operating the artillery were unable to see the advancing troops in the heavy rain to support them when the Germans counter-attacked

    • Artillery failed to destroy the German positions

• By August 2nd, the rain made it impossible for either side to advance and fighting was postponed for a few days

  • When fighting resumed, each side made counter-attacks where Britain and France gained some of the land occupied by the German Army

• Britain and its empire were able to make gains as they used a new strategy called the 'bite and hold'

  • The 'bite and hold' strategy, created by General Herbert Plumer, focused on shelling small parts of the German front line

  • Once they broke through, they would dig new trenches and allow another wave of soldiers to attack the next place along the line

October- November, 1917

• By October, the British had pushed the Germans back and reached the village of Passchendaele

  • This was only eight kilometres from the front line at the start of the Battle of Passchendaele

• In November, the village of Passchendaele had been captured

• Due to the poor weather conditions, the fighting was called off for the winter months

  • The ground had been devastated by shelling, heavy rainfall and burst water pipes

  • These conditions resulted in soldiers and horses drowning in the mud

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Significance of the Battle of Passchendaele

• By the end of the Battle of Passchendaele, Britain and its Empire soldiers had suffered 400,000 casualties

  • Germany had over 300,000 casualties

• Haig had failed to achieve his objective

  • Britain had gained land in Ypres

    • However, Britain did not take control of the area

  • Soldiers were unable to break through the lines and attack the German ports on the coast of Belgium

• Haig's reputation declined

  • The high casualties at both the Battle of the Somme and Passchendaele discredited his reputation

  • The failure of the artillery bombardment showed that Haig had not learnt from the Battle of the Somme