The 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was one of the major battles of World War I, in which British, Canadian, South African, and ANZAC units engaged the Imperial German Army. The battle was fought for control of the village of Passchendaele near the town of Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.
The basic plan of the offensive was to capture the high ground to the south and east of Ypres. Despite spells of good weather during the battle lasting long enough to dry out the land, Passchendaele has become known for the misery of fighting in thick mud. Preparatory bombardment and rainy periods produced an impassable terrain of deep liquid mud, into which an unknown number of soldiers drowned.
The Germans were well-entrenched, with mutually-supporting pillboxes and after five months of fierce fighting, the Canadian Corps took Passchendaele on November 6, 1917, ending the battle. In the course of the conflict, the Allied Powers had sustained almost half a million casualties and the Germans just over a quarter of a million dead and seriously wounded. In March 1918 – four months later – the Allies abandoned to the Germans every inch of territory gained in order to free several divisions to cover more strategically valuable terrain.
