The Battle of Passchendaele PDF

Week 9 Discovery Lesson: The Battle of Passchendaele Passchendaele: The Muddiest Battle Officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres, Passchendaele became infamous not only for the scale of casualties, but also for the mud. It took place between July and November 1917...

Week 9 Discovery Lesson: The Battle of Passchendaele Passchendaele: The Muddiest Battle Officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres, Passchendaele became infamous not only for the scale of casualties, but also for the mud. It took place between July and November 1917 around the town of Ypres in Belgium Why Passchendaele? Haig needed to take the pressure off the French and prevent their military collapse. Some of the French troops has mutinied in April and May 1917 after the failed Nivelle Offensive. The Russians were suffering badly and were about to leave the war, potentially leaving the Germans free to transfer troops to the Western Front. He still believed in attrition. He was convinced that the Germans had been greatly weakened by the offensives of 1916 and were on the verge of collapse. He was also personally committed to a ‘war-winning’ offensive in Flanders. He was convinced that he could achieve a quick breakthrough at Ypres. The British could then advance north and capture the Belgian ports of Zeebrugge and Ostende, which were being used by the Germans as U-boat bases. The start of the battle The main attack was preceded by an attack on Messines Ridge, south of Ypres on 7th June where 19 huge mines were detonated, destroying the ridge but alerting the entire German army. An initial bombardment of over 4.5 million shells from 3000 guns was launched on 18th July 1917. It lasted for two weeks. Therefore, the German army in the area fully expected a major Allied attack - so any vague hope of surprise was lost. The artillery bombardment had turned the clay soil into thick mud, becoming almost important to traverse. 24  Despite over 4.5 million shells being fired, German artillery positions remained intact. Guns became clogged and tanks sent to support got stuck and became inoperable Troops now marched slowly into German machine gun and artillery fire, almost identical to what happened at the Somme The weather turns… A few days into the battle the weather turned worse and over the next 30 days the worst rainfall hit the area in over 30 years. The artillery bombardment had destroyed the drainage systems of the region which greatly added to the problem. The surrounding countryside was turned into a swamp of mud and water. Tanks, sent forward to help the infantry, simply got stuck. Infantry soldiers found movement very difficult. The troops had to carry boards to lay down in front of them. If soldiers slipped off, they could drown in the mud. Over the month of July and into August, little to no progress was made due to the weather. At this point, many military commanders argued to Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig that the offensive should have been called off. Revision: Check your understanding so far! Question When and where did the Battle of Passchendaele 1 take place? 2 What were the objectives at the Battle of Passchendaele? 25  3 Give two reasons why the battle did not go to plan 4 Give two reasons why the terrain had turned into this swamp of mud by August 1917 The battle continues… The battle continued from August into October with little to no real gains being made, despite heavy casualties. The awful weather and conditions continued to hamper any progress and tormented the soldiers. The Germans used mustard gas to assist them and the attempted Allied breakthrough to Passchendaele Ridge failed to materialise. However, Haig would not concede that the attack had not succeeded. The battle ends… On November 6th, 1917, Passchendaele village was taken, and Haig used this success as the reason for calling off the attack, proclaiming it a successful operation despite failing to achieve any of its initial goals. However, the Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele had been a very costly battle. For the sake of a few kilometres, the British had lost approx. 240, 000 men (killed or wounded) and the Germans approx. 220,000. Haig was heavily criticised for the attack and for failing to modify his plans as the attack clearly was not going to be a success. 26  After the battle was over, Haig sent one of his officers to the battlefield he said ‘My god, did we really send men to battle in that?’ An aerial view of Passchendaele before and after the battle Why was the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) a disaster? Failing Artillery bombardment failed to destroy the German defences. Technology Tanks and cavalry couldn’t move in the thick mud of the terrain Poor The German positions were on ridges above the town of Ypres that overlooked the Leadership British positions. The Germans knew the British were planning a major attack and Planning Initially bombardment on the 18th July gave away the element of surprise. Shelling churned the soil and destroyed the drainage system, flooding the terrain which made it impossible to advance. Main attack should have been at the Messines Ridge. Why did Haig wait a month? 27 Factors Heaviest rain for 30 years turned the soil into a quagmire and prevented further outside advances. British Mud clogged the rifles and immobilised tanks. Men and horses drowned in their Control hundreds. Shell holes just filled with rainwater and provided no cover for advancing troops who couldn’t keep up with the creeping barrage and were gunned down in their thousands. Heavy rain meant planes could not spot artillery targets for the British. The Germans used mustard gas for the first time which totally confused the British troops. Passchendaele: An Analysis Yet again, Sir Douglas Haig had ordered an offensive which proved to be disastrous. He failed to acknowledge the strength of the German positions and their fighting spirit. His artillery bombardment failed, and he continued to send troops on the offensive despite it clearly not working. Countless lives were thrown away in doing so. And, yet again, he failed to achieve his initial goals. Much like the Somme, morally the battle appeared pointless, poorly thought out and an example of “lions led by donkeys”. Despite this, the rationale behind Passchendaele was sound. The Germans could not afford such casualties and though they lost less, it put a huge burden on a nation already struggling with the staggering losses of WWI. The Allies, on the other hand, had the arrival of United States forces, fresh off the boat, to look forward to. In military terms, though hardly a success, it did exactly what a war of attrition aims to do which is to drain your enemy of their resources and fighting capacity. Passchendaele did that. 28 Lions Led by Donkeys? V There are those have criticised Haig and the other generals of WW1 portraying them as ‘donkeys’. incompetent generals, responsible for thousands of their men’s deaths through sheer callousness. Many popular books, films and television programmes echo this belief. Whilst it would be wrong to suggest that the generals were blameless or that mistakes weren’t made, the ‘Lions led by Donkey’s interpretation’ should be challenged 29 Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig: An Analysis A successful military leader A military failure Haig’s leadership in 1914 was crucial to the BEF. Was often extremely stubborn in His decisive action and resilience ensured that the face of clear tactical errors. Germany failed with the Schlieffen Plan. A Often did not call off offensives major success at the Battle of Mons. when it was clear they had failed, Battle of the Somme relieved the pressure on such as at the Somme and the French at Verdun and had a devastating Passchendaele. impact on the German army Tens of thousands of lives were lost Haig passionately supported the use of new due to his poor decision making. technology such as the tank. Many more He rarely changed his tactics, even traditional officers had shunned its use, but it when it was clear they were not eventually proved pivotal to overall success. The working. Battle of Cambrai was a great example. He was often overconfident and Led the successful defence against the German failed to recognise the strength of Ludendorff Offensive in early 1918 German positions. He often believed Helped to lead the Hundred Days Offensive that persistent artillery which made use of the ‘All Arms’ strategy he bombardments would be effective, had developed of using troops, air support, despite not realising the bunkers tanks and artillery all on combination. These which the German had built in their tactics broke the Germans and ended the war in trenches. 100 days in 1918. Often appeared to disregard the He should also be seen in the context of his regular soldier, though his work times. None of the military leaders had any establishing the British Legion and experience of trench warfare on this scale nor the Poppy Appeal after the war had any other ideas of how to break the suggests this wasn’t true. stalemate without suffering mass casualties 30