Qualla: Battle of the Menin Road Ridge

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge: Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit F W Bewsher, Public domain. After the disasters of August 1917, when rain and German counter-attacks had clawed back nearly everything the British won on the Gheluvelt Plateau, something had to change. The Third Battle of Ypres had stalled in a quagmire of mud and blood. But on September 20th, 1917, the British Second Army demonstrated a new approach: the leap-frog method, with limited objectives, overwhelming artillery, and defenses prepared to defeat the inevitable German counter-attacks. The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge would become the template for the victories that followed.

Image: F W Bewsher | Public domain

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge: The Lessons Written in Blood

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit John Warwick Brooke, Public domain. The attacks of August had revealed a pattern. British troops could capture German positions, but they could not hold them. The German defensive system placed much of its strength not in the front lines but in counter-attack divisions held back specifically to retake lost ground. ...

Image: John Warwick Brooke | Public domain

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge: A Plateau Drowning in Metal

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit A. D. Ellis, Public domain. The Gheluvelt Plateau east of Ypres had become the critical terrain. Whoever held it could observe the other's rear areas. The British massed artillery on a scale not seen before: one gun for every few yards of front on the assault sectors. Ammunition had been stockpiled througho...

Image: A. D. Ellis | Public domain

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge: Skirmishers and Swarmers

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit John Warwick Brooke, Public domain. The infantry tactics had evolved as well. Gone were the dense waves of men walking into machine gun fire. The new formations called for lines of skirmishers, spread wide, followed by small groups ready to flow around strong points. Dedicated mop-up parties would ensure that bypas...

Image: John Warwick Brooke | Public domain

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge: The Morning of September 20th

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit not stated. Published in "The Great War" Volume 10, edited by H W Wilson, published 1918., Public domain. At 5:40 AM, the barrage fell. The advance followed on a front stretching from near Polygon Wood in the south to beyond Langemarck in the north. The Australian 1st and 2nd Divisions, attacking in the center, encountered stubborn resistance from German pillboxes but systematically ...

Image: not stated. Published in "The Great War" Volume 10, edited by H W Wilson, published 1918. | Public domain

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge: The Counter-Attacks That Broke

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit A. D. Ellis, Public domain. Throughout the afternoon and into the following days, the German counter-attack divisions advanced. The 236th Division, the 3rd Reserve Division, the 50th Reserve Division, and others pushed forward according to doctrine, expecting to find disorganized attackers ripe for ejection...

Image: A. D. Ellis | Public domain