Qualla: Battle of Broodseinde

Battle of Broodseinde: Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Käthe Kollwitz, Public domain. The German official history called it the black day of October 4. General Herbert Plumer declared it the greatest victory since the Marne. At dawn on that autumn morning in 1917, British and Australian forces advanced toward Broodseinde Ridge and collided with German troops rising from shell holes to launch their own attack. The result was catastrophic for the defenders. In the confusion of meeting engagement, bite-and-hold tactics, and devastating artillery, the German defense in Flanders came closest to complete collapse.

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Image: Käthe Kollwitz | Public domain

Battle of Broodseinde: The Bite-and-Hold Revolution

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ernest Brooks, Public domain. Broodseinde was the third of a new kind of attack developed by the British Second Army under General Plumer. After the costly failures of August, the British had fundamentally changed their approach. Instead of ambitious advances that outran artillery support, they would bite off...

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Image: Ernest Brooks | Public domain

Battle of Broodseinde: Collision at Dawn

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit At_close_grips2.jpg: H.D. Gridwood Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R05148,_Westfront,_deutscher_Soldat.jpg: UnknownUnknown The_Battle_of_the_Somme_film_image2.jpg: Geoffrey Malins Battle_of_Broodseinde_-_silhouetted_troops_marching.jpg: Brooks, Ernest Royal_Irish_Rifles_ration_party_Somme_July_1916.jpg: Royal Engineers No 1 Printing Company. derivative work: Rupertsciamenna (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0. The German 4th Army had planned Operation High Storm, a methodical counter-attack to recapture ground around Zonnebeke. German troops had assembled in the pre-dawn darkness, ready to advance at the same hour the British barrage was scheduled to begin. When the hurricane bombardme...

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Image: At_close_grips2.jpg: H.D. Gridwood Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R05148,_Westfront,_deutscher_Soldat.jpg: UnknownUnknown The_Battle_of_the_Somme_film_image2.jpg: Geoffrey Malins Battle_of_Broodseinde_-_silhouetted_troops_marching.jpg: Brooks, Ernest Royal_Irish_Rifles_ration_party_Somme_July_1916.jpg: Royal Engineers No 1 Printing Company. derivative work: Rupertsciamenna (talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Broodseinde: Twelve Divisions Attack

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Weglinde, CC0. The assault extended across a front involving twelve divisions. The main effort came from the two Anzac Corps. The 1st Australian Division routed German troops and captured field guns along the Broodseinde-Passchendaele road. The 2nd Australian Division overran the German 45th Re...

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Image: Weglinde | CC0

Battle of Broodseinde: Crisis Among the German Commanders

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit MMP1917, CC BY-SA 4.0. The magnitude of the defeat sent shockwaves through the German command. Crown Prince Rupprecht wrote that the British advance had lengthened the front and made defense more difficult. Ludendorff later changed the defensive scheme entirely, dispersing troops in the forward zone an...

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Image: MMP1917 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Battle of Broodseinde: Victory and Its Limits

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit User: (WT-shared) Pjamescowie at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 1.0. The capture of Broodseinde Ridge opened the southern flank of Passchendaele Ridge to attack. But even as Plumer and his staff discussed exploitation, heavy rain began to fall. The ground that had dried enough to permit the September and early October successes was turning back to...

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Image: User: (WT-shared) Pjamescowie at wts wikivoyage | CC BY-SA 1.0