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Passchendaele. DATE AND LOCATION. July 3 1917 -November 10, 1917 Took four months Strategic town in Flanders Near town of Ypres Lots of rain causing muddy battlefield. Ground was clay, thus water couldn’t drain making it a sea of mud
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July 3 1917-November 10, 1917 Took four months Strategic town in Flanders Near town of Ypres Lots of rain causing muddy battlefield
Ground was clay, thus water couldn’t drain making it a sea of mud • Drainage systems destroyed by shell fire (making more mud) • Horses, guns, tanks and wounded men fell in and sunk under the mud
Important because Passchendaele was claimed by the Triple Entente • Important to remember and respect all the lives lost there. • Characterizes WW1 (mud, rain, horridness)
What was Being Protected? • Offensive • Passchendaele was to be captured • Once German line broken there they could get German operated ports of Osten and Zeebruge (60 km from Ypres)
16,000 Canadian men dead • 300,000 British men.
Quote Drowning in the mud “From the darkness and on all sides came the groans and wails of wounded men; faint, long, sobbing moans of agony, and despairing shrieks. It was too obvious that dozens of men with serious injuries must have crawled for safety into new shell holes, and now the water was rising about them, and powerless to move, they were slowly drowning.” • From the diary of Edward Campion Vaughan, a British officer, August 27, 1917
Allies Plan: • break through German defenses, seize highlands of Passchendaele Ridge and then capture German occupied Belgium channel ports • The channel ports important to Germans because deadly submarines operated from them • The high ground could be used to attack on the Germans
Canadian Plan: • attack in series of battles, with limited objective, take the village of Passchendale • The allies' objective was to attack, but the Canada’s idea was to be in a secure and defensible position. • Purpose of battle was to gain control of the village of Passchendaele near the town of Ypres in West Flanders (now Belgium)
Sir Douglas Haig was British field marshal, commander in chief of the British forces in France during most of World War I. Throughout July-November 1916, Haig committed great masses of troops to an unsuccessful offensive on the Somme River. Although he failed to reach his goals, he weakened the Germans and helped prepare the way for their defeat at Passchendaele by the Canadians. Sir Douglas Haig
Sir Arthur Currie Sir Arthur Currie was the first Canadian commander of Canada's overseas forces in World War I. Was looked upon as one of best Canadian Commanders After Vimy Ridge he became lieutenant general and commander of the four divisions of the Canadian Corps He lead Canadians in Passchendaele battle After the war he served as inspector general of the Canadian militia and became the first general in the Canadian Army. In 1920 he accepted the position of principal and vice chancellor of McGill University, Montreal, and retained this post until his death.
Significance of Battle for Canada
thought was that brave soldiers with bayonets would make the enemy flee in fear • line of strategy was to create an exposure in the German lines, continue to the Belgian coast and capture the German submarine bases on the coastline
When campaign was completed, the combined allied wounded reached approximately a quarter of a million men, with around the same number lost by the Germans • showed the futility of sending waves of men against machine guns and artillery
First time in history, Canadian forces fought as a distinct unit under a Canadian-born commander
How was Canada perceived Brave/weak? • Considered brave • Canada's sacrifices and assistance to the war changed history and became more independent, while opening a deep crevice between the French and English populations
Trench warfare was used primarily in the Civil war & WW1. Soldiers would dig trenches and get into them to avoid enemy fire. Many soldiers died from diseases, because of the poor weather conditions & the rat’s.
Mustard Gas Mustard Gas was used for the first time in Passchendaele battle by the German army. This gas would blind and kill a person who wasn’t wearing the gas mask.
Ross Rifle It was seen as unsuitable for the "trench-and-charge" tactics employed during that war because of its weight, 9 lbs 14 ozs (c 4.5 kg), its overall length, 60½ inches (c 1.5 m) with bayonet fixed, and the continual jamming problem plus the occasional "blowback." The cause of the jamming was eventually corrected but came too late for the rifle to maintain its use.
Tanks Tanks were first invented in the 1770s and it was suggested in the 1890s and in the early 1900s it was recommended by the British forces. They attached heavy armor along with Maxim guns or Lewis guns.
Other Challenges Didn’t have gas masks for chlorine The battle field was too muddy & that made the tanks sink in the soil Trenches were full of water and most of the soldiers had trench foot Trenches used to contain many diseases, because of the dead bodies, & rat’s Soldiers weren’t prepared and trained enough for the battle Germans were up on higher ground so they didn’t have as much mud. Also, they had concrete walls protecting them.
Movie clip • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyNPzxrhi-w&feature=player_detailpage
Was Passchendaele Worth it? • The battle slogged on for months with neither side making progress due to the inhospitable conditions. In the face of these horrible circumstances Canadian soldiers performed outstandingly and, in the end, were victorious • Through the 3 months of fighting the Canadians established themselves as an elite fighting Corp and received honors reflecting that. In the end, 9 soldiers received the Victoria Cross in recognition of their outstanding effort at Passchendaele.
Bibliography • Passchendaele. Digital image. Canada at War. 14 Sept. 2007. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://wwii.ca/photos/passchendaele/pdale_mud.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wwii.ca/content-12/wwi-passchendaele/&usg=__lytFbAICdbLkgF1TTJbqdnoOJBU=&h=597&w=760&sz=122&hl=en&start=3&sig2=1DpO2aF2DTk8kcDf_ydI7w&zoom=1&tbnid=3Q07wH7Rs_oq5M:&tbnh=112&tbnw=142&ei=bx6OTvyeG47MsQL1jPG9AQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3DPasschendaele%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1>. • Livesey, Robert. The Great War. Markham: Fitzhenry and Witeside, 2006. Book. • Wilson, John. Desperate Glory; The story of World War 1. Toronto: Napolean Publishing, 2008. Book. • Dowswell, Paul. Weapons and Technology of World War 1. Chicago: Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, 2002. Book. • Taylor, David. Key Battles of World War 1. Chicago: Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, 2001. Book.
