The fourth and penultimate battle that we will talk about is the Third Battle of Ypres. This battle, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, comes after a French offensive on Chemin des Dames. This offensive was led by French commander Robert Nivelle using his plan, the “Nivelle Offensive”. In July, Haig attempted a plan to take control of German submarine bases and occupy important rail heads near the Belgian coast. Due to the Nivelle offensive being a failure, Sir Douglas Haig commanded that the British shall proceed with another attack. The Third Battle of Ypres took place between July 31, 1917-November 6, 1917. This battle is unique from the other two battles, instead of the Germans being on the offensive, the Allies were. This offense was led by the British commander-in-chief, Sir Douglas Haig. Following a barrage of approximately 3,000 guns, Haig commanded nine British divisions led by Sir Hubert Gough’s 5th army to proceed to the German lines adjacent to the Belgian village, Passchendaele. This attack, although suffering a large number of casualties, was successful. The Allies gained a lot of ground and even pushed back the German army more than a mile. The Allies took close to 5,000 German prisoners. This attack began anew in mid-August but was extreme rain and terrible mud hindered the Allied soldiers and their artillery. This restricted the Allies from gaining any more ground over the summer and early fall. Disappointed by the army’s progress in August, Haig exchanged Gough for Herbert Plumer. With the Germans having a strategic advantage and British soldiers being almost incapacitated, Haig wasn’t ready to give up. In early October, the Canadian Corps were called to action. They were ordered to relieve the killed Anzac forces and brace themselves for the capture of Passchendaele. Lieutenant-General Currie advised against the attack after observing over the battlefield, claiming it would be impossible without many losses. Ultimately, Currie was overruled. Currie decided against fighting alongside the Fifth army, but ended up with the Second Army. He began cautiously planning an attack on Passchendaele. On October 26, 1917, 20,000 soldiers barraged by bullets, advanced from shell-crater to shell-crater. On October 30th, alongside two British divisions, Canadians started the battle at Passchendaele. The Canadians took the destroyed perimeter of the village during powerful rain and stood their ground for five days. These men were subject to a large amount of mud and a maelstrom of German shells. This battle ended with Passchendaele becoming a Canadian Cavalry. The casualties of this battle are disputed. |