thequeensenglish:

The 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Passchendaele, Flanders Fields.

Today we remember all those who served (animals too) and the sacrifices they made.

Launched on July 31, 1917, the British offensive in Flanders had aimed to eliminate U-Boat bases on the coast and further shatter the German army. But unceasing rain and shellfire reduced the battlefield to a vast bog of corpses, water-filled shell craters, and mud. The attack ground to a halt. The British lost an estimated 275,000 casualties at Passchendaele, while the Germans suffered 220,000.

The Canadian Corps arrived in mid-October to relieve Australian and New Zealand troops, They achieved a series of limited victories, while suffering almost 16,000 killed or wounded.

Passchendaele is remembered as the low point of the British war effort, and remains synonymous with the terrible and costly fighting on the Western Front.

George Metcalf Archival Collection

CWM 19930013-464