Resource 4 How did the appalling conditions at the Battle of Passchendaele affect people’s attitude towards the War?

Task

Use all the sources to answer the questions below:

Why did the conditions at the Battle of Passchendaele horrify so many who fought there?

In what way were the conditions even worse than those encountered in previous battles?

How did the Battle end?

How might the conditions and outcome of the Battle have affected people’s view of the War – both the soldiers who fought in the Battle and people back home?

Was this a battle worth fighting or a battle too far?

Source 1a

Canadian soldiers at Passchendaele, October 1917 Source 1b

The landscape around Passchendaele.

Source 2

Rain

The opening bombardment opened on 16 July and the offensive itself started on 31st July. At mid-day it started raining. It did not stop for an entire week. The average rainfall for Flanders in August is 77mm. In 1917 it was 127mm. During the entire month of August there were only 3 days when it did not rain. September was drier but with the high water table and the destruction of the drainage system 5mm of rain was enough to turn the battle field into a quagmire. On 4 October the rain continued and did not stop for 5 days. Over 30mm had fallen, more than enough to turn the devastated, drainage deprived battlefield into a lake. Prior & Wilson: Passchendaele: The Untold Story 1996. Source 3a

nla.pic-vn6298250 Hurley, Frank, 1885-1962, photographer. http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn6298250

German bunker turned into First Aid Dressing Station, Zonnebeke, October 1917

Source 3b

A German Concrete Bunker at the Third Battle of Ypres Source 4a

"Floods of rain and a blanket of mist have doused and cloaked the whole of the Flanders plain. The newest shell-holes, already half-filled with soakage, are now flooded to the brim. Every man was soaked through and was standing or sleeping in a marsh. It was a work of energy to keep a rifle in a state fit to use."

William Beach Thomas (journalist) at the Battle of Passchendaele

Source 4b

“The living conditions in our camp were sordid beyond belief. The cookhouse was flooded, and most of the food was uneatable. There was nothing but sodden biscuits and cold stew. The cooks tried to supply bacon for breakfast, but the men complained that it smelled like dead men.”

Lieutenant Robert Sherriff at the Battle of Passchendaele

Source 5

The 3rd Battle of Ypres: the results

 The Battle of Passchendaele did not end in an Allied victory, the Germans were not defeated, it simply came to a halt in November 1917 with both sides exhausted.  It cost the British Army approximately 275,000 casualties.  Of these 70,000 were killed.  Germany probably suffered just under 200,000 casualties.  Several witnesses said that the Battle had harmed the morale of Britain’s fighting men by their involvement in such worthless fighting.  In December 1917 the Minister for National Service noted increases in drunkenness, desertion and psychological disorders amongst front line soldiers.  Men who went home from the front spoke about the waste of life during the constant fighting on the Ypres Salient.