Thursday, October 26, 2017

Second Passchendaele, October 26, 1917

Today is the anniversary of the commencement of the Second Battle of Passchendaele.

Canadian stretcher bearers at Passchendaele.



Like the first battle, the second one was plagued by mud, but it did result in British advances (as had the first).  And like the first battle, this one relied heavily on Dominion troops, although in this case the primary burden fell to the Canadian Army (although Australian, British, French and Belgian troops all had a role in the battle).  

Canadian machine gun company holding defensive positions after advancing.

The battle resulted in a British Empire victory, but a limited one, and partially for an odd reason.  The British forces were already stretched to maximum capacity in the war but were forced, due to the Italian defeat at Corporetto on October 24 to transfer men to the Italian front.  Gains had been made, but the transfer of troops brought the battle to a halt short of its original goals.  The gains, as well as the resistance by the Germans, resulted in large casualty figures for all sides.


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