Topography

Ypres is overlooked by Kemmel Hill in the south-west and from the east by low hills running south-west to north-east, with Wytschaete (Wijtschate) and Hill 60 to the south of Verbrandenmolen, Hooge, Polygon Wood and Passchendaele (Passendale). Wytschaete is 7,000 yd (4.0 mi; 6.4 km) from Ypres, at Hollebeke the ridge is 4,000 yd (2.3 mi; 3.7 km) distant and recedes to 7,000 yd (4.0 mi; 6.4 km) at Polygon Wood. Wytschaete is the highest point, about 150 ft (46 m) above the plain; on the Ypres–Menin road at Hooge, the elevation is about 100 ft (30 m) and 70 ft (21 m) at Passchendaele. The rises are slight, apart from the vicinity of Zonnebeke, which has a gradient of 1:33. From Hooge and to the east, the slope is 1:60 and near Hollebeke, it is 1:75. The heights are subtle and resemble a saucer lip around the city. The main ridge has spurs sloping east and the spur at Wytschaete, runs 2 mi (3.2 km) south-east to Messines, with a gentle slope to the east and a 1:10 decline to the west. Further south is the muddy valley of the Douve river, Ploegsteert Wood (Plugstreet to the British) and Hill 63. West of Messines Ridge is the parallel Wulverghem (Spanbroekmolen) Spur, with the Oosttaverne Spur, also parallel, further to the east. The general aspect south and east of Ypres is one of low ridges and dips, gradually flattening northwards beyond Passchendaele into a featureless plain.^[1]

Possession of the higher ground to the south and east of Ypres gives ample scope for ground observation, enfilade fire and converging artillery bombardments. An occupier also has the advantage that the movement of artillery, reinforcements, supplies and stores can be screened from view. The ridge had woods from Wytschaete to Zonnebeke giving good cover, some being of notable size like Polygon Wood and those later named Battle Wood, Shrewsbury Forest and Sanctuary Wood. In 1914, the woods usually had undergrowth but by 1917, artillery bombardments had reduced the woods to tree stumps, shattered tree trunks and barbed wire, tangled on the ground and a mass of shell-holes; the fields in gaps between the woods were 800–1,000 yd (730–910 m) wide and devoid of cover. Most roads in this area were unpaved, except for the main ones from Ypres, with occasional villages and houses built along them. In 1914, the lowland west of the ridge had been a mixture of meadow and fields, with high hedgerows dotted with trees, cut by streams and ditches emptying into canals. The main road to Ypres from Poperinge to Vlamertinge is in a defile, easily observed from the ridge.^[2]

German defensive preparations

1–9 August

After II Corps reported at 5:43 p.m. that it was close to the second objective, Gough ordered that II Corps was to attack again on 2 August. At 8:45 p.m. the order was altered, to make certain that the second objective had been captured before the four corps further north attacked again. On 1 August, Brigadier-General John Davidson, the Director of Operations at BEF HQ, recommended that the attack by II Corps should not be rushed and that fresh divisions should be used for the attack. Davidson also suggested that attacks should wait for two to three days of clear weather, to exploit the observation points gained on 31 July and two captured maps which showed the positions of camouflaged machine-gun nests. Davidson argued that it was vital for II Corps to secure the Gheluvelt Plateau. The Fifth Army corps commanders agreed that taking the area from Inverness Copse to Westhoek would not be enough.^[16] The priority given to the defence of the plateau by the German 4th Army meant that a big counter-attack to restore the front line must be expected. Rupprecht made a diary entry,

...the results of the day's fighting were all the more satisfactory because the counter-attack divisions of Gruppe Wijtschate behind Gheluvelt Plateau had scarcely been used.

— Rupprecht (Diary 31 July)^[17]

in an order on 5 August, Gruppe Wijtschate announced that

...the enemy cannot continue his intended breakthrough...until he has gained freedom for his right flank by pressing back the 52nd Reserve Division on Gheluvelt Plateau....The next blow may therefore be expected to be delivered with the utmost strength against the 52nd Reserve and 12th Divisions.

— Gruppe Wijtschate^[17]

The rain that began on 31 July continued for three days and turned the ground into a morass about 4,000 yd (2.3 mi; 3.7 km) wide behind the new British front line. The banks of streams became bogs with few crossing-places, easily visible from German positions and frequently bombarded, especially on the Gheluvelt Plateau, which delayed the consolidation of the captured ground. Troops who deviated from the tracks could drown and roads were covered in mud and full of shell craters 3–4 ft (0.91–1.22 m) deep and the conditions exhausted rapidly the British troops in the front line. On 2 August, the Tank Corps recommended that the tanks should be withheld and it was agreed that they would not be used again until a dry spell. On 2 August the resumption of the offensive was postponed and on 4 August, it stopped raining and on 5 August but remained dull and stormy, with no sunshine or a drying wind and more rain expected. The Fifth Army HQ set 9 August for the II Corps attack and the main offensive to begin again on 13 August. The weather remained dull and misty until the evening of 8 August when thunder and heavy rain returned the battlefront to a swamp and the attack on the plateau was postponed until 4:35 a.m. on 10 August.^[18] On the night of 9/10 August, both sides increased the volume of artillery-fire; several soldiers from British patrols were taken prisoner by the Germans and gave away the II Corps attack.^[19]

British attack preparations

The power of the German artillery behind the Gheluvelt Plateau after 31 July was undiminished and a continuous bombardment was maintained on the front line and rear areas of II Corps. The counter-battery artillery of the Fifth Army fired on German artillery positions along the width of the army front, ready for the general attack due after the II Corps operation on the Gheluvelt Plateau. The British guns often bombarded the wrong artillery positions because of a lack of air reconnaissance to track the moves of German artillery from one artillery position to another in the bad weather. The British failed to achieve artillery superiority over the German artillery behind the plateau, which made the completion of new battery positions a long and costly effort that took until 8 August. Casualties in men and guns were so high that on 4 August, many British batteries were reduced to half strength. The state of the ground was so bad that gunners had to live in shell holes. New plank roads to carry ammunition forward could easily be seen by German artillery observers and wagon drivers and carrying parties moved only at night, dodging German bombardments which frequently included mustard gas. Amidst the rain and mud, the delivery of supplies and the passage of troops across the beaten zone extremely dangerous and caused a constant drain of casualties.^[20]

The 7th and 75th brigades of the 25th Division (Major-General Guy Bainbridge) had waited about 2,000 yd (1.1 mi; 1.8 km) behind the front line, ready to pass through the 8th Division to continue the advance. The brigades were not needed as the advance on the Gheluvelt Plateau was held up at the first and second objectives by the German defenders. On 1 August, the 8th Division was replaced by the 7th and 75th brigades of the 25th Division until 4 August, which were then relieved by the 74th Brigade along the Westhoek and Bellewaarde ridges. Because of the continuous rain, troops in the front line being replaced every 48 hours as preparations were made for the next attack.^[21] The 30th Division was relieved by the 55th and 54th brigades of the 18th Eastern Division on 4 August. The 24th Division was not due to attack and remained in the line and took over the front northwards close to Stirling Castle to narrow the attack frontage of the 18th (Eastern) Division.^[22] The fresh divisions had to remain close to the front for more than a week before zero hour and were rapidly exhausted by the conditions.^[20]

British plan of attack

The infantry were to advance behind a creeping barrage at 4:35 a.m., straight through to the second objective (black line) of 31 July, to capture the Albrechtstellung, Inverness Copse and Glencorse Wood across the neck of the plateau. The speed of the barrage gave the 18th (Eastern) Division 46 minutes and the 25th Division 25 minutes to complete the attack. On 8 August, Inverness Copse and Glencorse Wood were each bombarded with 3,000 medium and heavy shells and bombarded again on 9 August, the first bright day since July. The 18th (Eastern) Division attack by the 55th Brigade was to be on a battalion front of about 400 yd (370 m) and the 54th Brigade was to attack with two battalions forward on a front 800 yd (730 m) wide.^[23] The 74th Brigade of the 25th Division was to attack with its four battalions on the left flank, each on a 400 yd (370 m) front, to recapture the Albrechtstellung, Westhoek and the rest of Westhoek Ridge.^[24] By aggressive patrolling, part of the objective on the left centre had already been occupied by 10 August.^[25]

18th (Eastern) Division

25th Division

The four battalions of the 74th Brigade advanced on a 2,000 yd (1,800 m) front at 4:35 a.m. and were quick enough to evade the German counter-barrage. The outposts of Reserve Infantry Regiment 90, 54th Division, in the front line since 3/4 August, were overrun by 5:30 a.m., several pillboxes being captured. On the right flank, a blockhouse garrison held out for some time, until attacked under cover of a Stokes mortar bombardment. The garrison in Westhoek and two blockhouses in the village were taken by surprise and a deep slough of mud, up to 30 yd (27 m) wide, under 1 ft (0.30 m) of water in the Hanebeek Valley, protected the British from counter-attacks. Further north the centre-left battalion attacked in three waves. A pillbox caused a short delay before being surrounded and the battalion lost many casualties to sniper fire from the right flank. German aircraft swooped low and strafed troops caught moving in the open. The left flank battalion captured its objectives along with several machine-guns and many prisoners.^[32] German artillery-fire continued all day but contact with the rear was maintained; the five field artillery brigades responded quickly to calls for covering fire, dispersing German troops assembling for counter-attacks. As German troops reoccupied Glencorse Wood beyond the right flank, German snipers and machine-gunners were able to obstruct consolidation, particularly on the right and it was impossible to dig a continuous front line trench or communication trenches to the rear.^[33]

The 7th Brigade was in reserve with three of its battalions in support of the 74th Brigade. A battalion was sent forward to reinforce the right flank and another closed up to Westhoek Ridge in immediate reserve; the third battalion was not committed but lost many casualties to German shelling. The Germans attempted to make several counter-attacks into the night but all but one were dispersed by artillery-fire. When a SOS rocket went unseen in the smoke and dusk at 7:15 p.m., a German counter-attack on the left flank was defeated by infantry small-arms fire, rifles being found to be particularly effective. Two Vickers machine-guns brought up close to the front line, fired 10,000 rounds during the day, enfilading German counter-attacks and breaking up troop concentrations.^[34] The 75th Brigade took over on the night of 11/12 August and by 14 August, the 56th (1/1st London) Division (Major-General Frederick Dudgeon) and the 8th Division had relieved the 25th Division.^[35]

Gruppe Wijtschate

The 54th Division had a regiment north of the Ypres–Roulers railway and Reserve Infantry Regiment 90 from the railway southwards to Nonne Bosschen, with RIR 27 in support. The 52nd Reserve Division held the line from Nonne Bosschen south to Tower Hamlets, at the head of the Bassevillbeek Spur, with Reserve Infantry Regiment 238, RIR 239 and RIR 240. The infantry of the 52nd Reserve Division had been in the line since 31 July and had become demoralised by the continuous British shelling.^[36] At 4:30 a.m. another British bombardment began and SOS flares were fired at 4:45 a.m. The German artillery responded so accurately that the British advance from the Ypres–Roulers railway south to Villa Hanebeek was held up and machine-gunners north of the line fired at the British as they retreated.^{[37][lower-alpha 2]} To the south, on the right flank of RIR 90, the 5th and 6th companies were exhausted and had suffered many casualties; in the morning mist, thickened by smoke shells, the British achieved tactical surprise. The 5th, 6th and 8th companies were broken through and could not prevent the British from rolling up the II Battalion, which suffered many losses after being surrounded. All the telephone wires had been cut in the bombardment and signal lamps could not be seen in the fog and smoke. Observers and machine-gunners further back could not see either and the British captured the Albrechtstellung. When runners reached the 12th Company in the Wilhemstellung, it began an immediate counter-attack and the HQ of RIR 90 signalled for Reserve Infantry Regiment 27 to move forward. The 12th Company managed to cross to the west side of the Hanebeek, despite the British artillery but could advance no further and took cover in several damaged pillboxes.^[38]

A better-organised counter-attack with troops of the 10th and 11th companies, with four machine-guns attached from RIR 27, took place later in the morning after the fog had burned off; in the sunshine the German infantry struggled through the mud, sometimes needing to be pulled out. As the Germans tried to negotiate the swampy banks of the Hanebeek, they were hit by British machine-gun fire from the positions on higher ground to the left, captured from the 52nd Reserve Division. Every attempt to get across the stream failed and later the British artillery bombarded all of the Hanebeek valley. Divisional reserves had begun to move forward when the British attacked and the German artillery continuously bombarded the captured positions in the Albrechtstellung but the British guns stopped every counter-attack in the valley. At 5:30 p.m. after much longer preparatory fire and a short hurricane bombardment, the counter-attack began again, reinforced by troops from RIR 238 on the right flank of the 52nd Reserve Division; the attack was a costly failure. The muddy ground, lack of cover and the excellent view of the ground gained by the British from their captured positions, made it impossible for the Germans to recapture Westhoek Ridge. A few parties made it across the Hanebeek and a group from the 4th Company, RIR 90, managed to overrun a position in Nonne Bosschen wood. A counter-attack at 8:40 p.m. was another costly failure and the remains of RIR 90 spent the night patrolling to prevent a surprise attack.^[39]

Analysis

The Fifth Army needed to maintain a brisk tempo of attack, to deprive the Germans of time to recover and to create the conditions for Operation Hush on the coast. Hush had to begin during the high tides at the end of August or to be postponed for a month. The Fifth Army had captured ground on the Gheluvelt Plateau on 31 July but the unusually wet and murky weather, the tenacious German defence and determined counter-attacks, left the 4th Army in control of the higher ground around the most vital objectives around Inverness Copse and Glencorse Wood.^[40] In 1920, Malcolm Kincaid-Smith, the divisional historian, called the attack by the 25th Division a great success, the advance being conducted on schedule, supported by "excellent" artillery-fire. Pack-transport was used promptly to deliver ammunition, supplies and engineer stores; carrying-parties from the support battalions kept the front line supplied. The signal arrangements using daylight lamps worked all day, except on the left flank; runners maintained contact with the rear despite the German artillery and small-arms fire. Medical services had been changed after the Battle of Messines in June and worked well.^[33] In 1922, G. H. F. Nichols, the historian of the 18th (Eastern) Division, wrote that it had experienced the new German defensive system for the first time in "appalling conditions" and that there had been a "blend of blunders".^[41]

On 15 August, Rupprecht wrote that General Erich Ludendorff had visited the army group and said that with the French preparing an attack at Verdun, an offensive on the eastern front could only go ahead if Army Group Crown Prince Rupprecht defended the Ypres Salient without reinforcement. Rupprecht considered this to be risky because of a lack of replacements, the 4th Army having suffered 87,528 casualties since 1 June.^[42] In 1931, Hubert Gough wrote that II Corps had gained valuable ground, which gave a view of German lines and removed the last German positions overlooking Ypres. The British were counter-attacked five times during the afternoon and the last attack pushed the 18th (Eastern) Division out of Glencorse Wood.^[43] In 1956, Wolfgang Foerster, the author of this volume of German official history, described the miserable living conditions of the troops in early August, the rise in the number of sickness cases and the casualties caused by the British artillery. The British tried to make piecemeal advances, covered by massed artillery-fire and on 10 August managed to advance up to 0.62 mi (1 km) at the junction between Gruppe Wijtschate and Gruppe Ypern.^[44] Prior and Wilson, writing in 1996, noted that the days of fine weather preceded the attack but the deluge on 8 August flooded the ground again. The British artillery had failed to subdue the German guns in the unusually rainy weather and the British had been severely bombarded before the attack. The German infantry could do little to resist, having spent too long in the front line and become demoralised. The British made good progress but German counter-attacks and machine-gun fire from Inverness Copse forced back the British until the "mere" 450 yd (410 m) advance of the 25th Division, was all that remained. The attack was a costly failure and did not even reach the second objective of 31 July; the only good feature of the attack had been to make it on the Gheluvelt Plateau.^[45]

In 2007, Jack Sheldon wrote that on 10 August, the battlefield was still a bog and the British preliminary bombardment failed to destroy all of the pillboxes and blockhouses west and south-west of Polygon Wood. The Germans forced the British back close to their start lines with the support of the German artillery on the rear slopes of the plateau, directed by observers with a good view of the battlefield; Sheldon called the attack a complete failure.^[46] J. P. Harris wrote in 2008 that although fresh divisions had been used and a strictly limited objective had been selected, the ground was too wet and lack of observation made British counter-battery fire ineffective. The British had suffered about 2,200 casualties for only a small advance.^[47] In 2014, Robert Perry wrote that the result of the attack on 10 August forced Gough to choose between pressing on or pausing the offensive to concentrate troops, who were not easily available. Delaying the Fifth Army attacks to gain artillery superiority was possible but the attempt begun in mid-July had failed. Since 31 July, it had become clear that the 4th Army could replace rapidly its damaged guns and it was not clear that the Fifth Army had the artillery necessary to defeat the firepower of Gruppe Wijtschate. Waiting to attack might improve the readiness of the infantry but could benefit the Germans more by degenerating into an endless artillery duel. Gough chose to continue, after a 24-hour pause for tired troops to be relieved, with a general attack on 15 August but the weather forced another 24-hour postponement; 18.1 mm (0.71 in) of rain fell on 14 August and 8 mm (0.31 in) fell the next day, turning the battlefield back into a swamp. The attack on 16 August began what was possibly the worst period of the war endured by the BEF.^[48]

Casualties

The 25th Division suffered 1,291 casualties, including 158 men killed, 1,033 wounded and 100 troops missing. The 13th Battalion Cheshire Regiment on the right flank suffered 414 of the losses.^[49] The 74th Brigade suffered casualties from 5 to 11 August of 1,318 men from a front line strength of 2,493.^[50] From 31 July to 10 August, the 18th (Eastern) Division suffered casualties of 244 men killed, 1,106 troops wounded and 176 missing; 59 prisoners were taken.^[41] The cost to the Germans of the defence of the Gheluvelt Plateau was such that on 16 August, Brigadier-General Clifford Coffin of the 25th Division reported that the German dead he saw in the Hanebeek Valley lay more thickly than on any previous battlefield.^[35] On 15 August, Rupprecht wrote that the defence of the Ypres Salient by the 4th Army was costly, particularly in the wet and cold weather, which was causing much sickness in the infantry.^[51] German casualties were counted in ten-day periods and for 1 to 10 August the total for the 4th Army was 16,000, some of which were suffered on the Gheluvelt Plateau on 10 August.^[52]

Subsequent operations

At 11:55 p.m. on 10 August, Jacob ordered the front line to be consolidated and for the 53rd Brigade in the 18th (Eastern) Division area to recapture Glencorse Wood as soon as possible. Because of the weather, the condition of the ground and one of the relieving battalions deviating north of the Menin road instead of east, the attack was postponed for 24 hours. The artillery could not be warned in time and opened fire but the infantry advance was cancelled in time and the attack was later called off.^[35] II Corps attacked the plateau again on 16 August, during the general attack during the Battle of Langemarck and in a local operation against Inverness Copse on 22 August. The Germans conducted a methodical counter-attack (Gegenangriff) on 24 August and recaptured the Copse, amidst much confusion on both sides. Haig cancelled a general attack intended for 25 August and altered the Fifth Army–Second Army boundary for the third time. A tank-infantry attack on Inverness Copse on 27 August failed when the tanks bogged down on the Menin road and another attack was cancelled on 31 August because of rain. The Second Army took over the II Corps front on the Gheluvelt Plateau in early September and Plumer was allowed three weeks to prepare the next attack. From 25 June to 31 August, the II Corps artillery had fired 2,766,824 shells, amounting to 85,396 long tons (86,766 t).^[53]