Ypres, Battle of

I

Introduction

Ypres, Battle of, three major engagements of World War I fought around the town of Ypres (Ieper in Flemish) in western Belgium.

II

First Battle of Ypres

After the allied victory at the Battle of the Marne, fighting conditions and tactics were dominated by the trench warfare that began to develop on the Western Front. This stalemate led to various attempts by the opposing armies to outflank each other’s positions to the north—the so-called “race to the sea”. One such attempt was an advance by the German Fourth Army, under Albrecht Duke of Württemberg, aimed ultimately at cutting off the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from the Channel ports. On October 15, 1914, this thrust ran into the BEF itself, which had been re-deployed in the Ypres area under the command of General Sir John French. A succession of attempts was made to seize the town, but the British, with French support, narrowly prevented a breakthrough. The casualties suffered in this battle (75,000 on the Allied side) effectively destroyed the old British regular army. However, the Germans, reckless in their attacks, suffered 135,000 casualties. The battle ended in mid-November 1914, with the British and French holding a small salient (a wedge driven into the enemy line) to the east of Ypres.

III

Second Battle of Ypres

On April 22, 1915, the German Fourth Army launched a new attack at Ypres. This was a limited offensive and, to a large extent, was an experiment in the use of a new weapon: poisonous chlorine gas. The gas was released against French units on the northern face of the salient. Taken completely by surprise they fled, leaving an 8 km (5 mi) gap in the Allied line. The Germans failed to recognize the extent of their success, and moved slowly to exploit it, allowing troops from the British Second Army, including the First Canadian Division, to form a new line. The German attacks continued until May 25, with the further use of gas. The commander of the Second Army, General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, asked Sir John French for permission to withdraw nearer the town. French replaced him with General Sir Herbert Plumer, but then relented and permitted Plumer to shorten the British line, leaving a shallow salient before Ypres. Allied casualties amounted to 70,000 men, while the Germans suffered 35,000 losses.

IV

Third Battle of Ypres

In 1917, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig (commander of the British Expeditionary Force since 1915) decided to launch a major offensive at Ypres. He hoped to break through the German lines and drive to the Belgian coast, thus depriving the Germans of important submarine bases there. En route he intended to capture the vital rail junction at the town of Roeselare (Roulers in French). On June 7, a preliminary attack was made on German positions on the dominating Messines Ridge, to the south of Ypres. The assault was carried out by Plumer’s Second Army, and was assisted by the explosion of 19 gigantic mines, which British tunnelling companies had prepared under the ridge. The carefully planned attack was a complete success. For logistical reasons, however, it was not possible to launch the main offensive at Ypres until July 31. The Fifth Army, under General Sir Hubert Gough, carried out this attack with support from the French First Army to the north. Some gains were made, but no breakthrough was achieved. Gough tried again with an attack on August 16-18 but failed badly. The over-ambitious objectives set by Gough were partially to blame, but the main problems were caused by the weather. Heavy rain had started falling on July 31, and only three days in August were dry. Repeated bombardments had destroyed the drainage system of the low-lying terrain around Ypres, and the ground quickly became a sea of mud. This made movement extremely difficult, especially for the all-important artillery.

At this point Haig turned control of the battle over to Plumer’s Second Army. Between September 20 and October 4 Plumer launched three successful attacks. The British employed a well-integrated combination of infantry and artillery, which ensured that the Germans were generally powerless to repel a properly supported assault. Fortunately for the latter, the rain returned in October. After a further attack on October 9 had foundered in the mud, it became evident that no breakthrough could be achieved. However, Haig decided to press on in order to deprive the Germans of the high ground, which gave them a view of the whole salient. This resulted in two battles to capture the village of Paschendaele (Passendale in French), whose name is now often employed to refer to the whole campaign. The Canadian Corps finally took Paschendaele on November 10, and the battle drew to a close. While the precise figures are the subject of dispute, it seems likely that both sides suffered around 260,000 casualties. The hoped-for breakthrough had not occurred, although Roulers lay tantalizingly only 10 km (6 mi) from Paschendaele village. During the German offensives in the spring of 1918, the positions captured during the Third Battle of Ypres were found to be a liability, and the British withdrew once more in the direction of the town.