Battle Of Passchendaele
BY:Emily
Battle of Passchendaele
The Battle of Passchendaele was fought on July 31,1917, in Belgium.
During the battle there was a lot of heavy rain and snow. The holes in the ground were filled with water. The mud was up to the men's and horses' waists making it a very hard place to fight.
The purpose of this battle was to capture the village of Passchendaele. Now Passchendaele is part of Belgium. The battle started on July 31st, 1917, and ended November 6th, 1917. The British launched an attack on the Germans holding the plateau at Ypres. Canadians entered on October 26th. 15,600 Canadians fought in that battle. General Haig wanted to capture Ypres to open up the English ports on the English channel.
The previous battles in this area left gun shells all over and had destroyed the drainage system. That summer it rained a lot leaving the fields wet and muddy. The shell holes were filled with water and the mud was difficult to walk through. Before the Canadians attacked their commander tried to rebuild routes so it was easier to travel. The rain made it hard to continue, and they only gained a few hundred meters every day. It was very difficult to determine at times where the front lines were because of the rain and barren landscape. The mud sometimes got into their guns which made it hard to shoot.
Sometimes the men sunk into mud while they were sleeping. The ground was so soft that sometimes the mud stopped bombs from exploding. On November 6th, Canadians launched their 3rd attack. They were able to capture Passchendaele from the Germans. The rest of the area around Passchendaele was taken over on November 10th.