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Passchendaele: Passchendaele Ridge
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Since 1917 Passchendaele has been a byword for the horror of the Great War. The name conjures images of a shattered landscape of mud, shell craters and barbed wire, and of helpless soldiers mown down by machine-guns and artillery. The capture of the Belgian village of Passchendaele (Passendale), near Ypres (Ieper) in Flanders, became an objective that cost the lives of thousands of people, including many New Zealanders. The ridge leading to the village was the site of the worst disaster, in terms of lives lost, in New Zealand’s history since 1840.
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Passchendaele was a tiny village on the crest of the highest ridge in the region, some eight kilometres east of Ypres. One of the most serious disadvantages fighting in the Ypres salient was that the Germans held the vital high ground, especially the main Passchendaele Ridge which dominated the landscape. The ruins of Passchendaele village provided the best observation post in the salient, and because of this, German pillbox fortresses dominated every slope and enfiladed every approach.
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There was little more significant activity on this front until 1917 when, in the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), it fell to the British to divert German attention away from a weakened French front. A first offensive was launched, to dislodge the Germans from the Messines Ridge, and the attack was a complete success. A few weeks later the main assault began and after a long and dogged struggle, often in appalling wet weather, Passchendaele Ridge and village were taken.
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The Canadian plan in taking Passchendaele was simple: they would attack in a series of battles, each with a limited objective. Step by step, they would take the village, the overall objective being to secure a defensible position on the Passchendaele Ridge. If successful, they would drive a thin wedge into the German positions, leaving them exposed to enemy fire from all directions.
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Passchendaele was known for its atrocious conditions and it is a tribute to those who fought at this place. This is one of the reasons why it has been declared the finest feat of the war. Passchendaele was broken up into eight smaller actions. All five Australian divisions were involved in the attacks at Menin Road, Polygon Wood and Broodseinde. The aim was to capture Paschendale which meant numerous fortified ridges along the way need to be taken .... These ridges were strewn with concrete pill-boxes, had a 100 meter wide strip of barbed wire and trenches.
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As the ground rose gradually towards Passchendaele, the Germans built three main lines of defence to a depth of several miles, anchored on the ridges that rose gradually towards the village of Passchendaele. Hundreds of pillboxes and shelters were scattered throughout the area making it an exceptionally strong defensive system. Well behind these pillbox lines waited the German counterattack troops and the massed German artillery in support. The defences ... incorporated fortified farmyards and in some cases pillboxes were built inside existing houses. The positions were cleverly sited to provide mutually supporting crossfire, backed up by separate concreted machine gun posts set in the open.
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