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The Western Offensives of Messines

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The Western Offensives of Messines CHAPTER CCXXIV. THE WESTERN OFFENSIVES OF MESSINES. THE GERMAN RIGHT IN JUNE, 1917-THE BRITISH OnJECTIVE-f'REPARATIONS FROM YPRES TO THE LYS-THE FRONT OF ATTACK-'i\~YTSCHAETE-MESSINER RIDGE- SIXT VON ARMIX-GENERAL PLUMER-MINING OPERATIONS AT THE RIDGE-EXPLOSION OF THE MINES ON JUNE 7- THE ADVANCE-MAJOR W. REDMOND-CAPTTJRE OF THE RIDGE-THE BRITISH VICTORY. N earlier chapters we have seen the bulk of his available. forces north of the Lys sncce~ses gained by the French from and fight a third Battle of Ypres. I eraonne-Reims to MoronviIliers, described Now undoubtedly, from a stra.tegical point of the capture of the Vimy "Ridge, and view, the most favourable direction for the Allie::; observed the reasons why the Messines ridge - to deliver their main stroke was against the was 'to be the next objective of the British extreme German right in Belgium. For this Forces. The more advanced positions which it was a necessary preliminary to improve the had been gained by the French were better British position at Ypres, pushing back the suited for defence than those they had held German trenches from the location they held before, but still wel'e not favourable, fol' a tin1.e which completely dominated our own. at any rate, for a further forward movement The aim of J offre and French in 1914 at the in that region. first Battle of Ypres and at the Battle of the In front of the Vimy Ridge, ' which had Yser had been to move on Ghent, so as to turn resisted the attempts of Foch to take it in the right flank of the German Army. Met by September 1915, but had now been stormed an en01'n1.0U8 superiority of luen and gnns, by the British, Sir Douglas Haig had decided they hacl. been forced to adopt ~he defensive. for the present not to push forward into the Thanks largely to inundations, the Duke of plain of Douai or to fight a second Battle of Wurtemberg's ,army had been baffled on the Loos. N or did he propose to attack the La Y ser and the Germans had been, unable to Bassee salient, which, owing to the gain::; of force their way ~long the coast to Dl.Ulkil'k the British at the Battle of Loos, was, like the and Calai~. salient of St. Mihiel, too narrow for Hindenburg In June 1917 the enemy's outposts were in to use as his base in an offensive westwards. the DUlles, well east of Nieup0l't. Thence~ , From the western environs of La, Bas38e southwards, hy Dixrnude, extended a lagoo'n through N euve Chapelle to Frelinghien on the to the edge of the forest of Houthulst north Lys a b elt of fortifications protected the Brit.ish of Ypres and east of the eanal which connects against an advance westwards of Prince the Y ser with the Lys. As the tongue of dry Rupprecht's Army from the Aubers ridge, the land b etween Nieuport and Ostend was of no northern face of t.he La Bas88e promontory. great w'idth and the enemy's coast batteries RII' Douglas, could, therefore, safely mass the forbade a landing from the sea, the area in Vol. XV.-Part 185. 73 74 THE TIMES HIS TORY OF THE WAR. Scale of One Mile . 9 !4 12 3,4 { Heights in Metres (iOMetres~32 ' 8rt) MAP ILLUSTRATING THE BATTLE OF MESSINES. THE TIMES HIS TORY OF TIlE WAR. 75 bich it was possible in the summer of 1917 even on the western hank. The effect of Ulese to R,ttack the Germans lay between the flooded untoward events was most unfortwlate. The region and Frelinghien on the Lys. This area Ypres salient and Ypres itself had b ecome shell was traversed by the canal known north of traps ,lmch had, it is true, been gallantly chmg Ypres as the Yperlee and south of that city to, but which were intrinsically bad. as tbe Ypres-Comines canal. The Allies, at It ha.s ·been seen that the enemy possessed a the end of the first Battle of Ypres, had r etained footing on the Yser-Lys canal bank north of a considerable salient east of these canals Ypres. South of Ypres. durin.g the first battle from near Steenstraate on the Yperlee, well of that name, he had fought his way up tbe south of the Forest of Honthulst, to a point wide valley between t,he canal and the eastern north-west of Hollebeke, some three miles end of the Mont-des-Cats range, almost up to from Ypres on the canal which frorn Ypres St. Eloi, two and a half miles from Ypres; [Official photograph. A FRENCH SOLDIER CARRYING A WOUNDED BRITISH COMRADE. enters the Lys at Comines. This salient had he had captl.U'ed the woods north and west of been greatly reduced in size during tho second Wytseh aete and the end of the range from Battle of Ypres in April- May 1915, when, vVytschaete to Mesr:;ines. From Messin.es hiR with the aid of poisonous gas, the Germans line went south over the Douve, a tributary had t.emporarily broken Olll' line. Near Holle­ which joins the Lys at '\iVarneton. bekc we had been driven from Hill 60, an Since, apart from the hill of Cassel, south of earth heap formed from the cutting of the D1.mkirk, the eight mile long Mont-des-Cats, a Ypres-Lille railroad; we had had to abandon range of abrupt, isolated elevations, contains the woods, so celehrated in the first battle, the only considerahle eminences in the vast on both sides of the road from Ypres to Menin plain b etween the Lys and the ~ orth Sea, the and, further, to evacuate Broodseinde and also pre:"cnce of the Germans at vVyt:,3chaete and Zonnebeke on the Ypres-Roulers railroad. l\1 essiDes was a .m enace to t,he Allied forces in Pushed back to about three miles from Ypre3 Flanclers. Their communicat,ions with YpreR on the latt.er line, our front and that of the and the salient ea,st of the canal were under French, which had ori.ginally embraced Lange­ observation and, at any moment, the Germans marck and Pilkem on the Ypres-Staden­ rnight take the offensive and ·endeavoLU' to Thoul'out railway, had b een withdrawn west­ deprive us of K ernn'1el, the highest point warcls .t o the immediatA vicinity of Ypres and of the Mont-des-Cats range. Thi::;, an.d the to the Yperlee canal at Boesinghe. At some remainder of tbe range, secured, they would points north of Steenstraate the enemy were render Uil tenable Olu' lines north and south of 185-2 76 THE T I MES HISTORY OF THE TIV AR. [Ofjlciai photograph. THIRSTY SOLDIERS AROUND A W A TER·CART. it and be in :.:t posit.ion again to strike at Army at. the German sali ent s out.h of Ypres, Dlmkirk and Calais. and to expel the enemy frmn the eastern end ( Before, then, it would be safe to break o\1t of the Mont-des-Cats range and the high gronnd. from the Ypres salient, it was necessaI:Y t.o north-east of it between Wyt.sch aete and the expel the enemy from his stronghold3 on the neighbourhQod of " Hill 60," e~s t of the Ypres­ Mont-des-Cats range and also to compel him Comines canal. That b eing accomplished, the to ahandon a large part of the low, hroken British Fifth Army, moved up from the south of grOl.md between it and the Ypres-Comines canal. Ana::;, supported on its left by a French Arrny From Wyti?-chctete undulating but lower gr01.md under General Anthoine, the victor of Moron­ stretches north-eastwards to the Ypres-Menin. villiers, and on its right! by the British Second roact and t.hen northwf'.rcts past Passchendaele Army, was in the autumn to debouc~ from t he t o Staden on the Ypres-Thonrout-Bruges salient east of Ypres and endeav01.u' to gain the railway. If this rising ground could also be high grolUld between " Hill 60" and Staden. captured, it would form, an advantageous step Since November 1916, when the plan of for the advance on Roulers and Ghellt., and campaign for the next year had been sett.lell the position of the Gern~ans towards Lille and at tho conference of military representat.ivos south of it would also he rnenaced. of the Allied Powers, the preparation~ of the Further, the Briti;:;h attack might ultimately British in F landers had been steadily pro­ tuen the German df'fences on the B elgian coast ceerling. The change of p lans describ ed ill so that t.hey ","ould be compelled to abandon it the last chapter had delayed the offensive and give up Ostend and Zeebrugge, those bases north of the Lys, and it was not till the prior for torpedo boats, light cruisers and Sl..1 bmarines demands of t.he opera.tions rOlmd Arras had from which s.o much harm had b een done to been satisfi ed that labour an,d ma.terial in Allied shipping caerying food and raw materials sufficient quantities could b e released. The to Great Britain, ·work of preparation was then swiftly carried The· plan of Sir D ouglas H aig ftnd Genp.raT to complet.ion. At the opening of the wal' Petain was first to throw tne bntir:; h Se<cull,"l the area behind the British front from Ypn:s THE TIMES HIS TORY OF THE WAR: -77 [Officixl photcgraph.
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