Passchendaele terrain
Today, November 7, is the 82nd anniversary of the end of the Battle of Passchendaele.
The Canadian Corps under British command at this time won the battle for the Allies on this date in 1917. The cost of this battle which lasted from June 1917 until November 1917 was high. American forces did not take part in this battle.
The Allied forces captured a mere 5 miles of new territory at a cost of 140,000 combat deaths. Passchendaele consisted of a series of back and forth skirmishes over reclaimed marshland. It was fought in thick mud.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides were killed or crippled. Private Harry Patch of Great Britain, the last surviving veteran of the battle, died July 25, 2009. He was 109 years old.
Passchendaele dead
Actor/Director/Producer Paul Gross of Canada made a movie “Passchendaele” set around the battle. I would highly recommend it to those interested in seeing what war is really like. The movie is not a documentary, rather a love story set during the time. The battle scenes are historically accurate.
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