The Battle of Passchendaele—also known as the Third Battle of Ypres—was fought at the Belgian city of Ypres. The majority of the battle was fought on the eastern ridge of Ypres, in an area known as Passchendaele on the Western Front. It was so close that it was only an 8 kilometer walk from Ypres! The exact co-ordinates for the Battle of Passchendaele were from 50° 54′ 1″ N, 3° 1′ 16″ E (DMS) and 50.900278, 3.021111 (Decimal). The Battle of Passchendaele was fought from the 31st of July to the 10th of November in 1917. The main commander that oversaw these three months of bloody fighting was Sir Douglas Haig. After a major French-led offensive failed in the previous May, Sir Douglas Haig decided that his troops—which was a portion of the
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Due to the violent weather, both the Allies’ and the Central Powers’ advances/retreats were slowed; because the soil got heavy and marshy, and the onslaught of rain caused miniature pools to form. This bad weather signaled the beginning of the winter season. By the end of September the British had managed to control a slim ridge of land which was east of Ypres. The second they established themselves as the dominant party, Sir Douglas Haig pushed his armies even further for he wanted to edge his way to the Passchendaele ridge—which was about 10 kilometers away. As the battle stretched out into its—final—third month, the Allies were completely worn out and felt they could not advance; on the contrary, the Germans were invigorated, because they were able to reinforce their position with troops pulled from the Eastern Front—where Russia’s army was experiencing chaos the likes of which they had never seen before. However, Haig was a stubborn man and he would not accept defeat so easily, so he ordered three desperate final attacks on Passchendaele in the later part of October. On the final day of October (30th of October) the Allies resigned themselves to the fact that they would not achieve the decisive victory they hoped for in Passchendaele and they were half-heartedly fighting. For what use is trying to win a battle that cannot be defeated?
Due to the violent weather, both the Allies’ and the Central Powers’ advances/retreats were slowed; because the soil got heavy and marshy, and the onslaught of rain caused miniature pools to form. This bad weather signaled the beginning of the winter season. By the end of September the British had managed to control a slim ridge of land which was east of Ypres. The second they established themselves as the dominant party, Sir Douglas Haig pushed his armies even further for he wanted to edge his way to the Passchendaele ridge—which was about 10 kilometers away. As the battle stretched out into its—final—third month, the Allies were completely worn out and felt they could not advance; on the contrary, the Germans were invigorated, because they were able to reinforce their position with troops pulled from the Eastern Front—where Russia’s army was experiencing chaos the likes of which they had never seen before. However, Haig was a stubborn man and he would not accept defeat so easily, so he ordered three desperate final attacks on Passchendaele in the later part of October. On the final day of October (30th of October) the Allies resigned themselves to the fact that they would not achieve the decisive victory they hoped for in Passchendaele and they were half-heartedly fighting. For what use is trying to win a battle that cannot be defeated?