Second Battle of Passchendaele

Second Battle of Passchendaele
Part of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War
Canadian troops carry a wounded man to the aid post.
Date 26 October – 10 November 1917 Location Passchendaele (Passendale), Belgium 50°54′1″N 3°1′16″E / 50.90028°N 3.02111°E / 50.90028; 3.02111 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
British Empire  Australia  Canada  United Kingdom  France Belgium	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Herbert Plumer Hubert Gough Arthur Currie François Anthoine Louis Ruquoy	Friedrich Sixt von Armin
Strength
4 Canadian divisions 6 British divisions 1 Australian division 2 French divisions 1 Belgian division	6 divisions
Casualties and losses
15,654 Canadian[1] c. 15,000 other[2]	21–31 October: 20,500 1–10 November: 9,500
German casualties from 11 November – 31 December: 15,000

The Second Battle of Passchendaele was the culminating attack during the Third Battle of Ypres of the First World War. The battle took place in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, in and around the Belgian village of Passchendaele, between 26 October and 10 November 1917. The Canadian Corps relieved the exhausted II Anzac Corps, continuing the advance started with the First Battle of Passchendaele and ultimately capturing the village.^[3] Beyond gaining favourable observation positions, the battle was intended to gain drier winter positions on higher ground.^[4]

The assault position was directly south of the boundary between the British Fifth and Second Armies. The Canadian Corps was to attack with support of formations from the British Fifth Army to the north and the I Anzac Corps and X Corps to the south. The offensive was executed in a series of attacks with limited objectives, delivered at intervals of three or more days. The dates of the phases were tentatively given as 26 October, 30 October and 6 November with a final smaller action on 10 November.^[5] To permit time for divisional reliefs, there was a seven-day pause planned between the second and third stages, during which the Second Army took over the XVIII Corps area, north of the Canadian Corps, from the Fifth Army with the II Corps on 2 November, to assure unity of command over the central part of the attack front.^[6]

The attacks captured the German-held high ground along the Passchendaele–Westrozebeke ridge but the campaign ended just short of Westrozebeke. The victory of the Austro-German forces against the Italian Army at the Battle of Caporetto and the forthcoming Battle of Cambrai forced the British into a parallel diversion of resources from the Ypres Salient. II Corps asked for a delay until 19 November to move artillery forward; five British divisions were transferred to Italy and four British divisions on the coast were sent to take over French positions south of the Somme. On 20 November, Haig ended the offensive, except for local attacks in December for better defensive positions.