Passchendaele

In the autumn of 1917, after years of stalemate at Ypres, the British and French armies launched a massive offensive to take Passchendaele Ridge. Following an extensive bombardment the Allies began their attack, but the low ground between the lines had been churned into a quagmire, and the attack was literally bogged down. All surprise had been lost, and the German defence in depth was well organized. For the first time the Germans used mustard gas, while German planes flew low to strafe the British infantry with machine guns. After two and a half months, the British finally took the ridge, at the cost of 300,000 Allied lives. German losses in the offensive were estimated at 260,000. Based on the archival holdings, this work covers material about this horrific offensive.