Mind’s On – Quote Analysis Think/Share What do you think is meant by the following quote? “You will not be called upon to advance until everything has been done that can be done to clear the way for you. After that it is up to you.” Sir Arthur Currie to his men before the Battle of Passchendaele

Passchendaele Summer/Fall 1917

The Details… Passchendaele is located in the Ypres area, and the battle is also referred to as The Third Battle of Ypres British General Douglas Haig’s plan was to make a general breakout along the entire front that summer to once again try to end the war.

Haig knew that the massive casualties the Allies had suffered in the pre-battles would be wasted if Passchendaele itself was not captured. Thus, he turned to the Canadians to take Passchendaele. Sir Arthur Currie strongly objected on the basis of the horrible conditions.

Battlefield at Passchendaele

Preparing for Battle Prior to the Canadians entering the battle the British, Australian and New Zealand forces had exhausted themselves trying to take the town It was very difficult to repair transport and communication systems to aid the forces once the attack began Training similar to Vimy (replicas, re-enactments) also helped prepare the troops

“I could see the barrage on our left going further ahead of those men, and it was quite impossible for them to keep up. You could hardly distinguish them; if they had not been moving you could not tell them from the ground. I don’t believe they had been going ten minutes before they were all soaked and covered with mud, head to foot.”

The Attack The Canadian effort began Oct 26, 1917 It began with massive artillery, so intense it could be heard from London (150 km away) Currie’s strategy for this battle was to “bite and hold.” Make small advances before moving to the next objective Slowed by the mud, the Canadians advanced, survived shelling, and engaged in intense hand to hand combat

The Aftermath and Legacy After just 16 days of combat, they had driven the German army out of Passchendaele and off the ridge. Currie predicted there would be 16,000 casualties to take Passchendaele –the final total was 15,654 either dead or wounded. One thousand Canadian bodies were never recovered, trapped forever in the mud After the Canadians left the British continued, only to retreat from German counterattack by Dec 3

Summary: Conditions were terrible and many lives were lost in this victory. The land had little significance, but the victory there was once again a Canadian victory. It also brings about the question – Is war ever worth it? The answer to many historians is no.