First Battle of Passchendaele

The First Battle of Passchendaele was a World War I battle that took place on 12 October 1917 in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, outside the Belgian town of Passchendaele, during the Third Battle of Ypres. The Allied attack failed to capture and hold the German-held high ground along the Passchendaele-Westrozebeke ridge and resulted in significant Allied casualties.

Background
In July 1917, British Field Marshal Douglas Haig launched a massive offensive, the Third Battle of Ypres, in an attempt to break out of the Ypres Salient. Although initial successes had been achieved at the Messines, complete stalemates occurred in the subsequent Battles of Pilckem Ridge and Langemarck. In view of the failure of the British Fifth Army to make any appreciable headway, Haig decided to transfer the weight of the offensive towards to the south-east along the southern half of Passchendaele Ridge. The main offensive was therefore switched to the British Second Army under command of General Herbert Plumer. Plumer abandoned tactics focused on achieving a major break-through and instead intended to launch a succession of attacks, each with strictly limited objectives, in a strategy known as bite and hold. Successful limited actions at the Battles of Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde and Gravenstafel Ridge produced a 4000 yd advance in two weeks.

In the low ground west of the Passchendaele Ridge, three months of constant shelling had blocked the watercourses that normally provided drainage. When rain began falling on the night of 4 October&mdash;which continued intermittently for the next three days&mdash;the battlefield was once again transformed into a quagmire of mud, making movement extremely difficult. Two army commanders told Haig that they favored ending the campaign on account of the change in the weather and general state of the battlefield, however the decision was made to continue the offensive in order to gain more favorable winter positions on higher ground.

Encouraged by the scale of German casualties during the Battle of Broodseinde and reports of lowered German morale, Haig sought to quickly to renew the Allied offensive and secure Passchendaele Ridge. However, the continued unfavourable weather conditions made the movement of men and armarments extremeley difficult, significantly compromising battle preparations. Nevertheless the Battle of Poelcappelle went forward on 9 October and proved to be a complete failure with the Allies suffuering significant casualties and failing to achieve any appreciable strategic gain.

Tactical plan and preparations
The object of the attack was to renew the offensive started with the Battle of Poelcappelle. The assault would, much like the Battle of Poelcappelle, be a joint effort of the British Second and Fifth Armies. To achieve this aim, the British Second Army would strengthen its hold on the Passchendaele ridge by capturing Passchendaele village and the Goudberg Spur to the north. Since the British Fifth Army was short of fresh troops, it could undertake extensive operations in support of the attack and limited its participation to protecting the flank of the British Second Army. The main portion of the attack on the British Second Army front would be carried out by II Anzac Corps, with their northern flank safeguarded by XVIII Corps and the southern flank by I Anzac Corps. The plan of attack allotted the capture of Passchendaele village to the 3rd Australian Division and that of the Goudberg Spur to the New Zealanders Division. The planned depth of advance was between 2000 and 2500 yards.

Senior military officials had not been made fully aware of the true nature of the battlefield conditions nor the current strategic position when the plans were developed. When replacement formations entered the front line they quickly discovery that the Allies were not holding the front reported, a condition upon which the barrage plan had been based. It was not until 11 October that it was conclusively ascertained that the line held was practically the same as that held before the Battle of Poelcappelle, however it was considered too late to alter the barrage plans and orders for the whole front. The 3rd Australian Division, which was tasked with capturing the town of Passchendaele, was forced to quicken its rate of advance so that it would catch up the general line of the British Second Army's artillery barrage.

Aftermath
The British assault failed to achieve any of its intended objectives and resulted in significant Allied casualties. The only possible benefit was that the marginal territorial gain did provide a slightly better starting line for a subsequent Second Battle of Passchendaele. The Canadian Corps relieved the II Anzac Corps on 18 October from its position along the valley between Gravenstafel Ridge and the heights at Passchendaele. After a period of preparation, the Canadian Corps continued the Allied advance, ultimately capturing the town of Passchendaele itself.

Two Victoria Crosses, the highest military decoration for valour awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, were awarded for actions during the battle:
 * Private Albert Halton of the 1st Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment).
 * Captain Clarence Smith Jeffries of the 34th Australian Battalion.

Commemoration
The New Zealand Memorial to the Missing at Tyne Cot commemorates New Zealanders who were killed during the Battle of Broodseinde and the First Battle of Passchendaele and whose final resting place is unknown.