Messines 1917: the Zenith of Siege Warfare Free

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Messines 1917: the Zenith of Siege Warfare Free FREE MESSINES 1917: THE ZENITH OF SIEGE WARFARE PDF Alexander Turner,Peter Dennis | 96 pages | 24 Aug 2010 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781846038457 | English | Oxford, England, United Kingdom !Messines | The zenith of siege warfare | OSPREY BOOKS Spanbroekmolen is a small group of farms in Heuvellanda municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The hamlet is sited on one of the highest points of the Messines Ridge, in between the villages of KemmelWijtschate and Wulvergem. Spanbroekmolen was named after a windmill that stood on the site for three centuries until it was ruined by the Germans on 1 November In World War Ithe area was the site of intense and sustained fighting between German and British forces. Between andthe Western Front ran through the area, and the original buildings were completely destroyed. Because of its strategic position on the Messines Ridge south of the Ypres Salientthe Germans used the site for a front-line fortification. As the Allied attacks along the Western Front Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare more formidable, the Germans added further defences and trench positions at Spanbroekmolen and connected their original lines with the neighbouring strongpoints, which were code-named Peckham and Kruisstraat by the British. On 12 MarchLieutenant C. Martin volunteered to lead a small bombing party against a section of the enemy trenches at Spanbroekmolen which was holding up the advance. Before he started he was wounded, but, taking no notice, he carried on with the attack which was completely successful. He and his small party held the trench against all counter-attacks for two and a half hours until a general withdrawal was ordered [1] and Martin was awarded the Victoria Cross. In springthe Germans conducted two gas attacks on Wulverghem from their Spanbroekmolen position. These gas attacks were part of the sporadic fighting which took place between battles in the Ypres Salient. From 21—23 April, British artillery-fire exploded several gas cylinders in the German lines around Spanbroekmolen, which released greenish-yellow clouds of gas. A gas alert was given on 25 April, when the wind began to blow from the north-east and routine work was suspended; on 29 April, two German soldiers deserted and warned that an attack was imminent. The first German attack began just after midnight on 30 April and a cloud of a chlorine Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare phosgene mixture moved on the wind through Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare man's land. A second gas attack was launched on 17 June but the British managed to repulse the German patrols. In the Battle of Messines 7—14 Junea major attack on Spanbroekmolen and the neighbouring strongpoints Peckham and Kruisstraat was planned by the British. It was known that, due to its importance, the Germans intended to hold the hill at Spanbroekmolen at all costs unbedingtes Halten. Other operating changes — including a brief tenure of th Tunnelling Company at Spanbroekmolen in April [3] — occurred until st Tunnelling Company took over and extended the work to the German lines, driving the tunnel forward for seven months [4] until it was beneath the powerful German position. The British decided to abandon the branch gallery because aggressive counter-mining would likely have alerted the Germans to the presence of a deep-mining scheme. The Spanbroekmolen mine exploded 15 seconds late, by which time soldiers of the 36th Ulster Division had already been ordered to go over the tophad left their trenches and begun to move across no-man's land. In addition to obliterating the German fortifications, falling debris from the blast also killed a number of British soldiers, some of whom are buried at Lone Tree CWGC Cemetery nearby. The mine crater was acquired in by the Toc H foundation in Poperinge. Sometimes also called "Lone Tree Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare, it is today recognised as peace memorial [8] [9] [4] and Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare as "Pool of Peace". From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Diagram showing the area affected by the German cloud gas attack on 30 April Green dots: cattle deaths, heavy shading: seriously affected, helmets worn, light shading: lightly affected. Spanbroekmolen crater in November Spanbroekmolen mine crater. View from Spanbroekmolen crater towards the Kruisstraat craters. World War I portal. The London Gazette Supplement. Retrieved 16 February Books Barrie, Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare. War Underground. War in the Twentieth Century Star ed. London: Frederick Muller. Edmonds, J. London: HMSO. Holt, Tonie; Holt, Valmai []. Underground Warfare Lampaert, Roger De Mijnenoorlog in Vlaanderen — in Dutch. Roesbrugge, Belgium: Drukkerij Schoonaert. Passingham, I. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. Messines The Zenith of Siege Warfare. Campaign Series. Oxford: Osprey. Cambridge: Clarendon Press. Retrieved 26 May Journals Cleland, H. Economic Geology. XIII 2 : — The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 February World War I. U-boat Campaign North Atlantic Mediterranean. Civilian impact Atrocities. Category Portal. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare Commons. Add links. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mines in the Battle of Messines Messines The zenith of siege warfare - PDF Free Download Herbert Plumer Lord Plumer Plumer. After commanding V Corps at the Second Battle of Ypres in Aprilhe took command of the Second Army in May and in June won an overwhelming victory over the German Army at the Battle of Messines, which started with the simultaneous explosion of a series of mines placed by the Royal Engineers' tunnelling companies beneath German lines, which created 19 large craters and was described as the loudest explosion in human history. The battle began with the detonation of 19 mines beneath the German front position, which devastated these German defences and left 19 large craters. Passchendaele Third Battle of Ypres Ypres The Battle of Messines was a prelude to the much larger Third Battle of Ypres, the preliminary bombardment for which began on 11 July The time between the Battle of Messines 7—14 June and the first Allied attack the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, 31 Julythe extent to which the internal troubles of the French armies influenced the British, the effect of the exceptional weather, the decision to continue the offensive in October and the human costs of the campaign, are also debated. The Nivelle Offensive in April and May had failed to achieve its Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare ambitious aims, had led to the demoralisation of French troops and dislocated the Anglo-French strategy for When it became apparent that the Second Battle of the Aisne the main part of the Nivelle Offensive 16 April — 9 May had failed to achieve its most ambitious objectives, Haig instructed the Second Army to capture the Messines—Wytschaete Ridge as soon as possible. The British remained on the offensive for the Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare of the year fighting the battles of Messines, 3rd Ypres and Cambrai. The effectiveness of the British mines, barrages and bombardments was improved by advances in artillery survey, flash spotting and centralised control of artillery from the Second Army headquarters. The largest mining operations were conducted in the Battle of Messines, where specialist Royal Engineer tunnelling companies placed 22 mines under German lines. From the spring of the whole war became more mobile, with grand offensives at Arras, Messines and Passchendaele. Chemin des Dames the Aisne Aisne. Western Front France France and Flanders — The offensive began on 7 June, with a British attack on Messines Ridge, south of Ypres, to retake the ground lost in the First and Second battles in The 25th Division made its preparations on a front from the Wulverghem— Messines road to the Wulverghem—Wytschaete road, facing yd of the German front line, which tapered to the final objective yd wide at the near crest of the ridge, yd distant, behind nine German defensive lines. Messines Messines, Belgium Abbey of Messines. In May, the 4th Australian Division, 11th Northern Division and the 24th Division were moved north from Arras, to become reserve divisions for those corps in the Second Army which were preparing to attack Messines Ridge. The next major attack it took part in came in June, when it participated in the Battle of Messines, in Flanders, Belgium. Passchendaele salient Ypres Ypres Salient actions. Several of the mines in the Battle of Messines contained 30, lbs over The 3rd Australian Division on the right, had been disorganised by a German gas bombardment on Ploegsteert Plugstreet to the British Wood around midnight, which caused casualties during the approach march but the attack between St. Yves and the river Douve began on time. Two mines were laid at Hill 60 on the northern flank, one at St Eloi, three at Hollandscheschuur, two at Petit Bois, single mines were laid at Maedelstede Farm, Peckham House and Spanbroekmolen, four at Kruisstraat, one at Ontario Farm and two each at Trenches and on the southern flank. In the Battle of Messines 7—14 Junea major attack on Spanbroekmolen and the neighbouring strongpoints Peckham and Kruisstraat was planned by the British. II Anzac Corps in the south-east was to advance yd, IX Corps Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare the centre was to attack on a yd front, which would taper to yd at the summit and X Corps in the north had an attack front yd wide. The 4. During advances such as at Messines in Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfarethe gun was Messines 1917: The Zenith of Siege Warfare employed in "standing barrages" of HE on the enemy forward positions ahead of the pounders' creeping barrage, and gas shelling following bombardments.
Recommended publications
  • The Night Operation on the Passchendaele Ridge, 2Nd December 1917
    Centre for First World War Studies A Moonlight Massacre: The Night Operation on the Passchendaele Ridge, 2nd December 1917 by Michael Stephen LoCicero Thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of History and Cultures College of Arts & Law June 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract The Third Battle of Ypres was officially terminated by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig with the opening of the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917. Nevertheless, a comparatively unknown set-piece attack – the only large-scale night operation carried out on the Flanders front during the campaign – was launched twelve days later on 2 December. This thesis, a necessary corrective to published campaign narratives of what has become popularly known as „Passchendaele‟, examines the course of events from the mid-November decision to sanction further offensive activity in the vicinity of Passchendaele village to the barren operational outcome that forced British GHQ to halt the attack within ten hours of Zero. A litany of unfortunate decisions and circumstances contributed to the profitless result.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of British Tactical and Operational Tank Doctrine and Training in the First World War
    The evolution of British tactical and operational tank doctrine and training in the First World War PHILIP RICHARD VENTHAM TD BA (Hons.) MA. Thesis submitted for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy by the University of Wolverhampton October 2016 ©Copyright P R Ventham 1 ABSTRACT Tanks were first used in action in September 1916. There had been no previous combat experience on which to base tactical and operational doctrine for the employment of this novel weapon of war. Training of crews and commanders was hampered by lack of vehicles and weapons. Time was short in which to train novice crews. Training facilities were limited. Despite mechanical limitations of the early machines and their vulnerability to adverse ground conditions, the tanks achieved moderate success in their initial actions. Advocates of the tanks, such as Fuller and Elles, worked hard to convince the sceptical of the value of the tank. Two years later, tanks had gained the support of most senior commanders. Doctrine, based on practical combat experience, had evolved both within the Tank Corps and at GHQ and higher command. Despite dramatic improvements in the design, functionality and reliability of the later marks of heavy and medium tanks, they still remained slow and vulnerable to ground conditions and enemy counter-measures. Competing demands for materiel meant there were never enough tanks to replace casualties and meet the demands of formation commanders. This thesis will argue that the somewhat patchy performance of the armoured vehicles in the final months of the war was less a product of poor doctrinal guidance and inadequate training than of an insufficiency of tanks and the difficulties of providing enough tanks in the right locations at the right time to meet the requirements of the manoeuvre battles of the ‘Hundred Days’.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of Messines
    CHAPTER XV THE BATTLE OF MESSINES-JUNE 7TH BEFOREmost great attacks on the Western Front, during that critical last night in which, generally, the infantry left its billets and made its way, first, in column of fours on dark roads beside moving wheel and motor traffic, then, usually in file, along tracks marked across the open, and finally into communication trenches to wind silently out in the small hours and line the “ jumping-off ” trenches or white tapes laid in the long wet grass of open No-Man’s Land, where for an hour or two it must await the signal to assault-during these critical hours one thought was usually uppermost in the men’s minds: does the enemy know? With the tactics of 1917,involving tremendous preparatory bombardments, which entailed months of preliminary railway and road construction, G.H.Q. had been forced to give up the notion of keeping an attack secret until it was delivered. Enemy airmen could not fail to observe these works and also the new camps, supply centres, casualty clearing stations, hangars for aeroplanes. Reference has been made to the Comniander-in-Chief’s desire to impart the impression, in April, of a serious attack, and,‘in May, of a feint. But the final week’s bombardment had given sure notice of the operation, and the most that could be hoped for was that the enemy might be deceived as to the main stroke that would come after, and might continue to expect it at Arras rather than at Ypres. As far as the Messines offensive went, the Germans must know that a great attack-whether feint or principal operation-was imminent ; indeed, German prisoners spoke with certainty of it.
    [Show full text]
  • Belgium-Luxembourg-7-Preview.Pdf
    ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Belgium & Luxembourg Bruges, Ghent & Antwerp & Northwest Belgium Northeast Belgium p83 p142 #_ Brussels p34 Wallonia p183 Luxembourg p243 #_ Mark Elliott, Catherine Le Nevez, Helena Smith, Regis St Louis, Benedict Walker PLAN YOUR TRIP ON THE ROAD Welcome to BRUSSELS . 34 ANTWERP Belgium & Luxembourg . 4 Sights . 38 & NORTHEAST Belgium & Luxembourg Tours . .. 60 BELGIUM . 142 Map . 6 Sleeping . 62 Antwerp (Antwerpen) . 144 Belgium & Luxembourg’s Eating . 65 Top 15 . 8 Around Antwerp . 164 Drinking & Nightlife . 71 Westmalle . 164 Need to Know . 16 Entertainment . 76 Turnhout . 165 First Time Shopping . 78 Lier . 167 Belgium & Luxembourg . .. 18 Information . 80 Mechelen . 168 If You Like . 20 Getting There & Away . 81 Leuven . 174 Getting Around . 81 Month by Month . 22 Hageland . 179 Itineraries . 26 Diest . 179 BRUGES, GHENT Hasselt . 179 Travel with Children . 29 & NORTHWEST Haspengouw . 180 Regions at a Glance . .. 31 BELGIUM . 83 Tienen . 180 Bruges . 85 Zoutleeuw . 180 Damme . 103 ALEKSEI VELIZHANIN / SHUTTERSTOCK © SHUTTERSTOCK / VELIZHANIN ALEKSEI Sint-Truiden . 180 Belgian Coast . 103 Tongeren . 181 Knokke-Heist . 103 De Haan . 105 Bredene . 106 WALLONIA . 183 Zeebrugge & Western Wallonia . 186 Lissewege . 106 Tournai . 186 Ostend (Oostende) . 106 Pipaix . 190 Nieuwpoort . 111 Aubechies . 190 Oostduinkerke . 111 Ath . 190 De Panne . 112 Lessines . 191 GALERIES ST-HUBERT, Beer Country . 113 Enghien . 191 BRUSSELS P38 Veurne . 113 Mons . 191 Diksmuide . 114 Binche . 195 MISTERVLAD / HUTTERSTOCK © HUTTERSTOCK / MISTERVLAD Poperinge . 114 Nivelles . 196 Ypres (Ieper) . 116 Waterloo Ypres Salient . 120 Battlefield . 197 Kortrijk . 123 Louvain-la-Neuve . 199 Oudenaarde . 125 Charleroi . 199 Geraardsbergen . 127 Thuin . 201 Ghent . 128 Aulne . 201 BRABO FOUNTAIN, ANTWERP P145 Contents UNDERSTAND Belgium & Luxembourg Today .
    [Show full text]
  • 31Th March 2019 Hotspots
    31TH MARCH 2019 HOTSPOTS 7 RACES IN FLANDERS FIELDS KM 85 KM 65 FURNES DIKSMUIDE START KORTEMARK TIELT DEINZE ROESBRUGGE-HARINGE KM 233 WAREGEM KM POPERINGE YPRES ZONNEBEKE 255 COURTRAI WEVELGEM HEUVELLAND MENIN ARRIVAL MESSINES COMINES-WARNETON PLOEGSTEERT KM 193 The map describes a limited number of hotspots. West-Flanders has 1,388 war remnants. This means that you can discover many other relics along the track, such as Locre No. 10 Cemetery, La Clytte Military Cemetery, Wulverghem-Lindenhoek Road Military Cemetery … the latter two provide a final resting place for more than 1,000 soldiers each. The ‘km’ marker indicates the distance to each hotspot from the starting position. - If the hotspot is located on the track (marked with ), then the kilometre marker indicates the track distance. - If the hotspot described is not located along the track, then the distance indicated will denote the distance from the starting point to the nearest kilometer marker on the track. These hotspots are located no further than 6.5 km from the track as the crow flies (men’s and ladies’ track combined). - For example, the Pool of Peace is not labelled with and is therefore a hotspot not on the track but nearby. This means that the hotspot is situated within a range of 6.5 km from the track. Specifically: the Pool of Peace is 1.75 km from the trail, on the road from Kemmel to Messines, at 164 km into the race. The ‘Commonwealth War Graves Commission’ (CWGC) is responsible for commemorating almost 1 700 000 British Com- monwealth soldiers who lost their lives in one of the two World Wars.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Passchendaele – Canada's Other Vimy Ridge
    MILITARY HISTORY Canadian War Museum CWM8095 Canadian Gunners in the Mud, Passchendaele 1917, by Alfred Bastien. PASSCHENDAELE – CANADA’S OTHERVIMYRIDGE by Norman S. Leach ...I died in Hell (they called it Passchendaele) through the mud again and amid the din of the my wound was slight and I was hobbling back; and bursting shells I called to Stephens, but got then a shell burst slick upon the duckboards; no response and just assumed he hadn’t heard me. so I fell into the bottomless mud, and lost the light. He was never seen or heard from again. He had not deserted. He had not been captured. One – Siegfried Sassoon of those shells that fell behind me had burst and Stephens was no more. Introduction – Private John Pritchard Sudbury ...At last we were under enemy gunfire and Wounded at Passchendaele I knew now that we had not much further to carry 26 October 1917.1 all this weight. We were soaked through with rain and perspiration from the efforts we had been By the spring of 1917, it was clear that the Allies were making to get through the clinging mud, so in trouble on the Western Front. British Admiral Jellicoe that when we stopped we huddled down in the had warned the War Cabinet in London that shipping nearest shell hole and covered ourselves with losses caused by German U-Boats were so great that a groundsheet, hoping for some sort of comfort Britain might not be able to continue fighting into 1918. out of the rain, and partly believed the sheet would also protect us from the rain of shells.
    [Show full text]
  • Fighting for Every Metre of High Ground
    WWI Sal the ien t C e n t 2014 e n a r IEPER y YPRES YPERN Walking folder Ypres Salient-North / Entry point Klein Zwaanhof Three entry points in the Ypres Salient 2018 The story of the Great War is told in an interactive and contemporary way in the In Flanders Fields Museum in the Cloth Hall in Ieper. The museum also explains how the landscape has become the last witness of these four terrible years of fighting. To help you to explore this Fighting for every landscape, you can make use of three entry points created along the old front line of the Ypres Salient: in the north at Klein Zwaanhof (Little Swan Farm); in the east at Hooge Crater Museum; and in the south near Hill 60 and the Palingbeek provincial park. Remembrance metre of high ground trees mark the positions of the two front lines between the entry points. A 2.8 kilometre walk along the front line in the northern part of the Ypres Salient Entry point Klein Zwaanhof ››› The small, original cemeteries The front line at Caesar’s Nose ››› Fortin 17: gentle slopes become hills of blood The Writers’ Path: poets and authors at the front Ypres Salient cycle route Yorkshire Trench and Deep Dug-Out People who prefer to explore the old battlefield by bike can follow theYpres Salient cycle route. This 35-kilometre route starts and ends at the Cloth Hall on the Market Square (Grote Markt) in Ieper. The route links the three entry points: north, east and south. It also passes many other sites of interest related to the First World War.
    [Show full text]
  • Passchendaele
    INTRODUCTION YPRES Canadians have a proud history of bravely serving in The Ypres area of Belgium—where the village of the cause of peace and freedom over the years. A name Passchendaele is located—was the scene of several First from Canada’s First World War military heritage that World War battles, including the first use of poison gas still stirs emotions is “Passchendaele.” On a muddy when the Germans unleashed deadly chemical attacks battlefield in northwest Belgium, Canadians overcame there in April 1915. The Ypres salient was the last almost unimaginable hardships to win an impressive portion of Belgium that was not in enemy hands after victory in the fall of 1917. the initial German advances of the war and, as a result, held great symbolic meaning to the Allies. CANADA AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR Ypres was a very difficult place to fight. It was a region When Britain went to war in Europe in August 1914, largely made up of flat, low ground that was kept dry Canada—as a member of the British Empire— only with the help of an intricate series of dikes and automatically found itself at war as well. The First ditches. Three years of heavy fighting there, however, World War soon turned into a stalemate of trench had entirely destroyed these drainage systems. The fighting along the Western Front, with a heavily ground, churned up by millions of artillery shells, defended 1,000 kilometre-long network of trenches turned to sticky mud when wet. In 1917, the autumn stretching across Belgium and northern France from rains came early and turned the battlefield into a the English Channel to the border of Switzerland.
    [Show full text]
  • Passchendaele: the Fight for the Village Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    PASSCHENDAELE: THE FIGHT FOR THE VILLAGE PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Nigel Cave | 160 pages | 02 Jan 2001 | Pen & Sword Books Ltd | 9780850525588 | English | Barnsley, United Kingdom Passchendaele: The Fight for the Village PDF Book In general, I have no problems with Passchendaele being used as shorthand for the entire Third Battle of Ypres. Allied troops were exhausted and morale had fallen. Canadian soldiers had succeeded in the face of almost unbelievable challenges. With amendments the memorandum became the GHQ plan. Erected just after the war, the memorial is set on a herringbone pattern brickwork base, and the stone of the monument looks completely unweathered. He was, in a practical sense, no nearer reaching the ports that formed his goal than when the Third Battle of Ypres started. Nivelle planned preliminary offensives to pin German reserves by the British at Arras and the French between the Somme and the Oise , then a French breakthrough offensive on the Aisne , followed by pursuit and exploitation. Source: NIS. Return-fire from the 33rd Division and the 15th Australian Brigade of the 5th Australian Division along the southern edge of Polygon Wood to the north, forced the attackers under cover around some of the Wilhelmstellung pillboxes, near Black Watch Corner, at the south-western edge of Polygon Wood. In Flanders Fields: The Campaign. Memorial in the s NELS. Currie took as much time as he could to carefully prepare and on October 26, the Canadian offensive began. Simpson, A. Currie objected to what he considered a reckless attack, arguing that it would cost about 16, Canadian casualties for no great strategic gain.
    [Show full text]
  • Indian Army in the Ypres Salient World War I (1914-1918)
    Indian Army in the Ypres Salient World War – I (1914-1918) According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 138,000 soldiers from India were sent to Europe during the First World War. Most of these soldiers were deployed in the Ypres Salient and at nearby Neuve Chapelle in France during the period 1914-15. A very large number lost their lives in the campaign to halt the German advance. 2. The Indian Army’s involvement on the Western front started on 6 August 1914. That day, the War Council in London requested two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade from the Viceroy's government to be sent to Egypt. On 27th August, these troops were ordered to Europe. 3. The supreme sacrifice of Indian soldiers in Europe is recorded in the major World War One memorial in continental Europe, Menin Gate, in Ypres, Belgium, and at the memorial for Indian soldiers in near-by Neuve Chappelle in France. In 2002, at the request of the Government of India, an Indian Memorial was erected on the lawn south of the Menin Gate. 4. After the war, India participated in the peace conference held in Versailles and was represented by Edwin Montague, the Secretary of State for India, Lord Satyendra Nath Sinha and His Highness Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner. The Peace Treaty of Versailles was signed by Mr. Montague and His Highness Maharaja Ganga Singh and India became an original member of the League of Nations. In 1945, when the conference to establish the United Nations Organisation was held in San Francisco, India participated and signed the Charter becoming a founding member of the United Nations.
    [Show full text]
  • WWI BATTLEFIELDS Destination Guide
    WWI BATTLEFIELDS Destination guide #BeThatTeacher 01273 827327 | voyagerschooltravel.com 1 Contents 3 Intro 4-7 History 7 Recreation 2 01273 827327 | voyagerschooltravel.com An introduction to the WWI Battlefields Intro In terms of battles of the First World War, or even of all time, the Somme and Ypres and regarded as amongst 2 of the most important and also most bloody. In the 21st century it is almost impossible to imagine the scale of the slaughter, with millions of lives lost in these 2 battles alone. The attritional nature of this type of warfare is quickly realised on a school tour, once a visit to a cemetery is followed by “it is almost another, or you read the names of the 72,000 men with no known grave on the sides of the Thiepval Memorial. impossible to The significance of these battles will be further understood imagine the scale of with visits to the battle sites themselves. Passchendaele is particularly moving, In Flanders Field Museum offers a huge the slaughter” volume of detail and attending the Last Post at the Menin Gate will give students a real sense of why remembrance is so important. All visits are covered by our externally verified Safety Management System and are pre-paid when applicable. Prices and opening times are accurate as of May 2018 and are subject to change and availability. Booking fees may apply to services provided by Voyager School Travel when paid on site. For the most accurate prices bespoke to your group size and travel date, please contact a Voyager School Travel tour coordinator at [email protected] 01273 827327 | voyagerschooltravel.com 3 The Menin Gate Memorial and Last Post as an “Every Man’s Club” for soldiers seeking an alternative to the “debauched” recreational life Ypres was the location of 5 major battles of the First of the town, Talbot House provided tea, cake and World War and the town was completely destroyed comfort for the Tommy for three years.
    [Show full text]