Flanders Battlefields

Battle of Messines-Wytschaete
Battle of Passchendaele 1917

Zonnebeke, Heuvelland and Messines are three communities situated on the West Flemish ridge. Together they cover an area of 16,579 hectares, spread over fourteen smaller villages, totaling 20.820 inhabitants. For centuries these were small agricultural communities until they were abruptly set on the world map in 1917.

From 1915 to 1917 the front line acquired the shape of an inverted S, with in the north the Ypres Salient and in the south Messines Ridge. In 1917 the British Commander in Chief Douglas Haig intended to break out of the Salient towards Passchendaele and subsequently to Torhout and Oostende. But first the front line south of Ypres had to be straightened. This was done on 7 June 1917 in a spectacular way when 19 giant deep mines were detonated under the German positions. One week later all the objectives were reached, which made the operation one of the most successful campaigns of the entire war.

On 16 July 1917 the bombardment of the German defence lines in the salient was started. Here no mines were used, and on 31 July the attack began in the pouring rain. The Germans had developed a murderous defence system with bunkers and machine guns. The day-by-day progress was a matter of a few hundred metres. When the best British troops in September were used up, the Anzacs were brought in, and eventually by the end of October, the Canadians. What should have taken a mere three weeks, finally took more than three months to capture the ruins of the village of Passchendaele on 10 November 1917. Half a million of British and Germans were killed, wounded or missing. Passchendaele 1917 had entered history as the biggest slaughter of the First World War.

The Battle of Messines-Wytschaete and that of Passchendaele are inseparably linked because the first was the prologue to the latter. Both battles were fought by the same troops (British, Anzacs, Irish...) under the same commanders (Haig, Plumer and Rupprecht von Bayern). But also today Zonnebeke, Heuvelland and Messines have much in common: the fairly well preserved battlefields and the incessant efforts made to make the legacy of the war further accessible.

Flanders 1917
1917: AN OFFENSIVE IN FLANDERS

In the summer of 1917 the British are resolved to break the deadlock in Flanders. They intend to push forward to the German U-boat bases on the Belgian coast. At the same time they hope with this attack to relieve the pressure on the French troops in the south.

The French face widespread mutiny and urgently need time and rest to set things right. After the disastrous failures of Verdun and the Somme in 1916, the Germans resolutely opt for a defensive approach. The British however keep believing in a final break through. In Flanders the Germans bring their fourth and sixth armies under the commandership of Crown Prince Rupprecht von Bayern. As chief of staff of the fourth army he gets the best German defence expert, Colonel von Lossberg, who prepares the big 'Abwehrschlacht'. They opt for a defence in depth with bunkers and machine guns, and a flexible relief system between front line troops, reserves and special 'Eingreifdivisionen', waiting to recover the lost territory in case the enemy breaks through. On the Messines-Wytschaete ridge three lines in depth are developed and in the Ypres Salient six. At Messines-Wytschaete the Germans concentrate their defence on the first line, while towards Zonnebeke-Passchendaele they do so on the third (Wilhelm) and the fourth (Flandern I) line.

The offensives in the Wytschaete and Ypres Salient result in totally different successes for the British. Messines 1917 becomes one of the most important gains of territory of the whole war. Passchendaele 1917 is undoubtedly the biggest catastrophe.

MESSINES-WYTSCHAETE 1917

To break through the Ypres Salient, first the front line in the south, the Wytschaete Salient (better known as Messines ridge) has to be straightened. Between 1915 and 1917 the British had tried dozens of times to force their way through the high positioned German defences. From 1916 on they start one of their most important pieces of work: undermining the salient in 24 places with powerful deep mines. But the Germans are informed about it and try to counter attack with even deeper mine charges. A bizarre cat-and-mouse game develops, a game of mining and countermining, a particular type of warfare deep below the salient. Near La Petite Douve the British lose one mine charge to the Germans, and also in other places the charges' locations are almost detected.

Nevertheless, by the summer of 1917, everything is set for 'Zero Hour'. At dawn of 7 June 1917 nineteen mines are detonated simultaneously. It is the most powerful man-made explosion until then, triggering off a powerful earthquake. The desperation among the Germans is complete.

The first lines are abandoned with high casualties, and a few hours later they even have to give up their second line. The New Zealanders take Messines and both Irish divisions capture the ruins of Wytschaete. It's not before the third line, near Oosttaverne, that the Germans can hold their ground. The underground work of the Tunnellers, and the brilliantly conceived strategic plan by Plumer's second army bring about an unmatched success. A week later the whole Wytschaete Salient has collapsed and Commander in Chief Haig can focus on the 'Flanders Offensive', better known as Third Ypres or the Battle of Passchendaele.

PASSCHENDAELE 1917

For Third Ypres, Commander in Chief Douglas Haig deploys General Gough's fifth army. South of it Plumer's second army is deployed. Haig and Gough have a major offensive in mind along a broad front. First the British artillery is to destroy the German defence lines, followed by a massive attack of the infantry. They are supposed to push forward as far as the Wilhelm Stellung, and if possible even to Flandern I.

On 12 July 1917 the Germans pound the first British lines with mustard gas, better known as Yperite. A bad start for the British artillery barrage scheduled to begin four days later. In two weeks' time the British fire over 4 million shells on the German lines, which is two and a half times more than earlier the year before at the Somme.

On the eve of the battle, near Polygon Wood, one of the biggest dogfights of the war takes place. No fewer than 94 planes are involved.

At the end of July the rain starts pouring down. The area, churned by shells, quickly turns into a swamp. After several delays, the nine divisions of the British fifth army finally set off. But the tank brigades soon get bogged down in the mud; the attempt gets stuck on the Wilhelm Stellung and has to be abandoned.

In the space of three days the British have gained three kilometres of territory, only a bit more than half the amount they had hoped for.

The German bunkers have to be taken one by one. This is achieved most often by volunteers: they work their way round the bunker and overpower the defenders with hand grenades, clubs and knives. Such attacks require a lot of prowess. Nowhere else were more Victoria Crosses - the highest military distinction - awarded than in this area.

On 4 October the British reach the Flandern I Stellung. The Germans are determined to defend the line at all costs. For this reason they abandon usual tactics, and deploy all their troops in the front line. The outcome is a bloody disaster: 4 October turns out to be Germany's blackest day. The New Zealanders take Graventafel and the 3rd Australian division breaks through the Flandern 1 position near what was to become Tyne Cot Cemetery.

On 10 August the British launch an attack on the heights surrounding Gheluvelt. To the Germans these are of utmost strategic importance: from there indeed they can hit the whole British right flank. However the attack fails: only the hamlet of Westhoek is taken.

Mid August the action switches to Langemarck. After a few warm days a dry crust has formed on the mud. As a result tanks can be deployed again. But still they get bogged down. The break through seems further away than ever.

At the end of August, the British Commander in Chief Haig understands that with General Gough he has made the wrong choice, and he passes the initiative to General Plumer again. The latter decides to fight the German Eingreifdivisionen applying their own tactics. He develops a step-by-step approach: limited but well aimed attacks instead of a massive offensive over a broad front. Plumer can now also dispose of two new corps: the first and second Anzac, Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The combination of the new troops and the adapted tactics turn out to be very effective.

On 20 September fighting along the Menin Road is successful, and on 26 September the 5th Australian division takes Polygon Wood.

On 12 October the allies try to take Passchendaele but the Germans repel the attack with machine gun fire from their bunkers. Next day Haig gives the order to stop the attack. He has the depleted Anzacs largely relieved by Canadians.

On 26 October the Canadians set out for their 'Road to Passiondale' in the pouring rain. Five days later General Plumer gets even more troops at his disposal. Meanwhile the name of the village has acquired mythical proportions: 'Passion-dale', 'the valley of suffering'.

On 6 November the Canadians manage to occupy the village, or what is left of it. They can make no further progress and on 10 November the offensive peters out on top of the ridge. October 1917 is one of the wettest months of the century. Plumer and Gough demand the offensive to be called off, but Haig badly needs a victory. He also wants to prevent the Germans from attacking the exhausted French troops further to the south. What was initially the objective of the first phase, now becomes the ultimate target of the whole campaign: to capture the ruins of the village on top of the ridge - Passchendaele.

In a few days' time, the unremitting heavy rains turn the landscape into a quagmire in which humans, animals and machines sink. On 9 October it takes the British troops eleven hours from Ypres to reach their jumping off lines along narrow duckboard tracks.

Getting the artillery forward is impossible and so the German positions cannot be shelled as usual. The Battle of Poelcapelle has a bloody end.

The result of Haig's 'Flanders Offensive' is distressing: after 100 days the allies have advanced hardly eight kilometres. The human toll is enormous. 250,000 British killed, injured or missing, a quarter of the troops deployed.

On the German side losses are just a bit lower. After all, a British victory was simply not feasible. The British attacked with 57 divisions, the Germans defended with 88 divisions, a one to one and a half ratio.

Nevertheless the Battle of Passchendaele determines the end of the war. Because the Germans are kept busy in the north by the British, they cannot take on the defenceless French in the south. During the Battle of Passchendaele they lose a considerable amount of equipment which the German industry cannot make up. Haig never got to Zeebrugge, but by means of his war of attrition he has deprived the Germans of the reserves which they will lack in 1918 to win the war. This 'Materialschlacht' of 1917 will finally finish them off one year later.