Qualla: Battle of Pilckem Ridge

Battle of Pilckem Ridge: Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit F C Grimwade, Public domain. Zero hour came at 3:50 AM on July 31, 1917, chosen so that British troops advancing from the west would have the light behind them while Germans looked into darkness. It was still night when the barrage began, the unbroken cloud ceiling so low that dawn brought no illumination. Across a front stretching from the Ypres-Comines Canal to the flooded marshes north of the city, British, French, and Belgian forces rose from their trenches and walked into the Third Battle of Ypres. By afternoon, they had captured Pilckem Ridge and advanced nearly three miles in places. Then the rain began.

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Image: F C Grimwade | Public domain

Battle of Pilckem Ridge: The Grand Design

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Michelin, Public domain. Field Marshal Haig's plan was ambitious: break out of the Ypres Salient, advance to the Passchendaele-Staden ridge, cut the railways supplying the German Fourth Army, then drive for the Belgian coast to eliminate submarine bases threatening Britain's lifeline. The Fifth Army unde...

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Image: Michelin | Public domain

Battle of Pilckem Ridge: Triumph on the Flanks

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit F. C. Grimwade, Public domain. The French First Army achieved remarkable success on the northern flank. General Francois Anthoine's troops crossed the Yser Canal and advanced over a mile, capturing Bixschoote and taking more than 600 prisoners. They recovered most of the ground lost in the German gas attack of...

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Image: F. C. Grimwade | Public domain

Battle of Pilckem Ridge: The Plateau Problem

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. On the Gheluvelt Plateau to the south, where the Germans had concentrated their strongest defenses, the story was different. II Corps faced the most difficult ground and the heaviest opposition. The 30th Division got lost in the darkness, mistaking Chateau Wood for their objectiv...

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Battle of Pilckem Ridge: The Afternoon Counter-Attack

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 55th (West Lancashire) Division staff (work was commissioned by the divisional commander, with James Ogden Coop authorized to utilized divisional resources to accomplish the task). Coop died in 1928., Public domain. By midday, reserve brigades in XIX Corps had pushed beyond the Steenbeek River toward the green line objective, nearly three miles from the start. Then rain began to fall, cutting off the forward troops from observation. At 2:30 PM, German regiments from the specialist counter-at...

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Image: 55th (West Lancashire) Division staff (work was commissioned by the divisional commander, with James Ogden Coop authorized to utilized divisional resources to accomplish the task). Coop died in 1928. | Public domain

Battle of Pilckem Ridge: The Beginning of the Rains

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit John Warwick Brooke, Public domain. Rain fell throughout the afternoon and evening of July 31, then continued for days. The carefully planned sequel attacks were postponed repeatedly. The second major assault, originally scheduled for August 4, did not occur until August 16. The green line objectives on the Gheluve...

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Image: John Warwick Brooke | Public domain