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Passchendaele, Battle of
Passchendaele, Battle of (31 July–10 Nov. 1917d) The third Battle of Ypres, named after a village which became the furthest point of advance in this Allied offensive during World War I. Despite the disastrous casualties suffered at the Somme, General Haig continued to believe that frontal assaults in superior numbers must succeed if sufficient troops were thrown at the enemy. Hence, he planned to seize the Passchendaele ridge and then sweep into Belgium. Constant shelling and torrential rain reduced Flanders to a sea of mud, which made advance all but impossible. The ruined village of Passchendaele itself was only reached after several attacks on 9 November. By then, it was too late to continue the offensive further. For a most marginal territorial gain, the Allies had suffered some 300,000 casualties and had been exposed, for the first time, to the German use of mustard gas. Passchendaele itself was surrendered in the retreat before Ludendorff's final offensive five months later. In Canadian and British popular memory, the battle became one of the major symbols of the futility and human cost of the war.
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Passchendaele, Battle of." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "Passchendaele, Battle of." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-PasschendaeleBattleof.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "Passchendaele, Battle of." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-PasschendaeleBattleof.html |
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Passchendaele, battle of
Passchendaele, battle of, 1917. The British army tried to advance from the Ypres salient in southern Belgium towards the Belgian ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge for several reasons. Haig believed that he could defeat the German army and win the war in 1917. The navy supported him because they wanted to drive the Germans away from the Channel ports where they menaced Britain's communications with the continent. Lloyd George allowed Haig to continue because he feared that, if the British were not seen to be actively fighting, the French might go the way of tsarist Russia and collapse. The battle began on 31 July 1917, but fierce German resistance, heavy rain, and the destruction of the drainage system of the Flanders plain by the artillery meant that the advance literally bogged down in the mud. Haig continued the operation until mid-November, at a cost of some 260,000 British casualties, but failed to reach the coast.
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JOHN CANNON. "Passchendaele, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Passchendaele, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Passchendaelebattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "Passchendaele, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Passchendaelebattleof.html |
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Passchendaele, Battle of
Passchendaele, Battle of (or The Third Battle of Ypres) (31 July–10 November 1917) A battle fought on the WESTERN FRONT in World War I. The name of this Belgian village has become notorious for the worst horrors of TRENCH WARFARE and failure to achieve any strategic gain for over 300,000 British casualties. HAIG, the British commander-in-chief, without French help, remained convinced, despite the SOMME, that frontal assaults in superior numbers must succeed. Torrential rain and preliminary bombardment reduced Flanders to a sea of mud, making advance impossible. Only on the final day did Canadians reach the ruined village of Passchendaele. Even this nominal gain was surrendered in the retreat before LUDENDORFF's final offensive (April 1918).
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Cite this article
"Passchendaele, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Passchendaele, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-PasschendaeleBattleof.html "Passchendaele, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-PasschendaeleBattleof.html |
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Passchendaele, battle of
Passchendaele, battle of, 1917. The British army tried to advance from Ypres in southern Belgium towards the Belgian ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge for several reasons. Haig believed that he could win the war in 1917. The navy supported him because they wanted to drive the Germans away from the Channel ports. Lloyd George allowed Haig to continue because he feared that, if the British were not seen to be actively fighting, the French might go the way of tsarist Russia and collapse. The battle began on 31 July 1917, but fierce German resistance, heavy rain, and the destruction of the drainage system of the Flanders plain by the artillery meant that the advance literally bogged down in the mud, at a cost of some 260,000 British casualties.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Passchendaele, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Passchendaele, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Passchendaelebattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "Passchendaele, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Passchendaelebattleof.html |
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Passchendaele, Battle of
Passchendaele, Battle of a prolonged episode of trench warfare involving appalling loss of life during the First World War in 1917, near the village of Passchendaele in western Belgium. It is also known as the third Battle of Ypres.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Passchendaele, Battle of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Passchendaele, Battle of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-PasschendaeleBattleof.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Passchendaele, Battle of." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-PasschendaeleBattleof.html |
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Passchendaele, Battle of
Passchendaele, Battle of see Ypres, Battles of.
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Cite this article
"Passchendaele, Battle of." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Passchendaele, Battle of." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-PasschendaeleBattleof.html "Passchendaele, Battle of." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-PasschendaeleBattleof.html |
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