Battle of Ypres
| 40 Bridge Street Row | Battle of Ypres |
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| Chester CH1 1NN | ||
| Tel:01244 340777 | ||
| Fax:01244 319555 | ||
| Email: | Official Tour Operators to the Normandy Veterans' Association |
The Ypres Salient |
Introduction |
| The most notorious of the battles fought near the small
Belgian town of Ypres was that of Passchendaele in 1917
which for many came to epitomize the horror and
futility of the Great War. This small area of Flanders
was, however, witness also to the stand made by the
British Expeditionary Force at First Ypres in 1914
during which the fighting passed from a war of movement
to the stalemate of the trenches. The Salient that formed around the town was held by British and Commonwealth troops during the next four years of war. In that time Ypres was to witness the first use of gas in warfare at the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915 and the first use of flame-throwers at Hooge. As both sides sought to break the deadlock, mine warfare became a feature of the fighting and the area today has a number of ponds which are the product of mine explosions. Hill 60, blown just before zero hour at the opening of the Battle of Messines is merely the most striking example of such methods. The Kaiser's final effort in 1918 was the fourth major battle fought around Ypres and saw the hard-won Passchendaele Ridge pass again into German hands. There were innumerable other actions and trench raids particularly near Hooge in what was, for a considerable period of time, a static war. |
Ypres Salient Battlefield Tour |
Essex Farm |
| During the second battle of Ypres, the Canadian Army surgeon John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields" near here in 1915. The site of an Advanced Dressing Station, the surgeons' dug-outs can still be seen next to the cemetery. |
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Essex Farm was one of a series of dressing
stations which sheltered along the banks of the
Ypres-Yser Canal. The second youngest British casualty of the war, the fifteen year old Private Joe Strudwick is buried here as is Private Barratt VC of the South Staffordshire Regiment. Created during the war, the layout of the cemetery contrasts sharply with that of "concentration" cemeteries created after the Armistice. |
Pilckem Ridge |
| Pilckem was the scene of the first German Gas Attack in
April 1915 during the opening phase of the Second
Battle of Ypres. The Germans relied upon the prevailing
wind to carry the gas across No Man's Land towards
trenches which at that time were occupied by French and
Algerian troops. The Germans, uncertain of the effects of the gas, failed to exploit the advantage they had gained before the Canadians, in reserve at Ypres, filled the breach that had been created in the Allied line. The Memorial to the side of the road commemorates the 87th French and 45th Algerian Divisions which bore the brunt of the initial attack. |
Langemark German Cemetery |
| The "Kameradengrab" or mass grave contains almost
25,000 German casualties of which a number belonged to
the Student Battalions who encountered the
professionals of the British Expeditionary Force during
the First Battle of Ypres, 1914. A series of bronze plaques record the names of those buried in the mass grave amongst them the German air ace Werner Voss. At the back of the cemetery stand four statues known as the "Mourning Figures of Langemark". The remaining sections of the cemetery are divided by bunkers of the former German Langemark Line. Together they contain the graves of almost 20,000 more German casualties. |
Vancouver Corner |
| The Memorial at Vancouver Corner is often referred to as "the Brooding Soldier" and is dedicated to the 2,000 Canadians who died during the Second Battle of Ypres holding the line between Pilckem and St Juliaan after the Gas Attack. The courage and tenacity shown by the Canadians here was the foundation of a reputation that was only enhanced in the course of the following years. |
Passchendaele Ridge & Tyne Cot Cemetery |
| Tyne Cot is the largest British War Cemetery in the
world containing nearly 12,000 graves, of which nearly
two thirds are unknown. The names of 35,000 missing are
recorded on the panels at the rear. Behind the Cross of
Sacrifice is the original battlefield cemetery formed
after a Canadian medical unit established itself in the
bunkers which remain within the confines of the
cemetery. This part of the ridge was captured by the Australians whilst the strong point of Crest Farm and the village of Passchendaele itself fell to the Canadians. The cemetery took its name from the appearance of the German bunkers which reminded Tyneside troops of the farmers' cottages or "cots" in their native North East. The remains of two bunkers which formed part of the German Flanders I Line still stand within the cemetery; a third is situated under the Cross of Sacrifice. |
The Menin Road |
| The wooded high ground which can be seen from the Menin Road is the Bellewaerde Ridge which the Germans fortified with a series of strong pill-boxes. Positions which became notorious during the Passchendaele Offensive abound here; Surbiton Villas, Stirling Castle, Glencorse Wood, Inverness Copse and Clapham Junction to name just a few. |
Hooge Crater Cemetery |
| One of the most dangerous places in the whole Salient,
the opposing trenches ebbed and flowed across the Menin
Road. The crater was originally formed by the
detonation of a British mine under German positions.
Nearly 73% of all burials in the cemetery are of
unknown soldiers. The Germans used flame-throwers here for the first time and here also the British adopted steel helmets for the first time. The trenches at Sanctuary Wood (Hill 62 Museum) were preserved at the end of World War I. |
Hill 62 & Sanctuary Wood |
| The Sanctuary Wood trenches were preserved at the end
of the First World War. The museum contains many
fascinating artefacts with the trenches to the rear.
Bullet holes can be seen in the trunks of the remaining
shattered trees within the replanted wood itself.
Access to the trenches is through the museum. Hill 62 is known to the Canadians as Mount Sorrel. They captured and held the hill against repeated German attacks in the Battle of Hooge in 1916. The view of Ypres from the Canadian Memorial which now stands here illustrates the importance of holding the high ground at this point. |
Hellfire Corner |
| Formerly a crossroads just outside Ypres, Hellfire
Corner was frequently shelled by German artillery
attempting to disrupt the flow of men and materials up
to the British front line. The demarkation stone to the side of the present roundabout was one of a number set up in the 1920s to indicate the nearest approach made to Ypres by the Germans in their 1918 Offensive. |
The Menin Gate |
| This Memorial commemorates 55,000 Missing of the Ypres
Salient and was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfeld. The
Last Post is sounded every evening at 20.00 hours in a
short ceremony commemorating the fallen of the
Salient. The gate was not large enough to list all those who died around Ypres and have no known grave. A further 35,000 names are recorded on the panels at the rear of Tyne Cot Cemetery. These are casualties who were killed between 16th August, 1917 and the Armistice. |
Ypres |
| Ypres was the main supply base behind
the British lines in this part of Flanders.
German artillery was able to hit the town
from three sides with the road from
Poperinge on the west side being the only
route of access. By the end of the war only
the west door of St Martin's Cathedral
remained and the tower of the Cloth Hall
was reduced to a stump. Rebuilt to original
plans after the war, Ypres also contains
other notable landmarks such as St George's
Chapel, Vauban's Ramparts and the Menin and
Lille Gates. A number of towns in Flanders and France were used as main supply bases behind the lines. Others included Armentieres, Bethune, Arras and Albert. A glance at a map of this part of Northern France shows the long, straight roads which lead directly to the main ports of Dunkirk, Calais, Boulogne and Le Havre through which the British Expeditionary Force was supplied with men, food and munitions. |
Passchendaele |
| Passchendaele was in reality a series of battles falling into several distinct phases. As the fighting progressed Plumer developed a tactical plan to capture key German positions piecemeal. Thus, the New Zealanders captured Broodseinde and their bravery is commemorated by their Memorial on the Gravenstafel Ridge. The Canadians took the village of Passchendaele and again a Memorial at Crest Farm stands as testimony. Finally, the Australians took the remainder of the Ridge itself. Many of their casualties, including two VCs, lie buried to the right of the entrance in Tyne Cot. |
Hooge Crater |
| The Crater, one product of the mine warfare prevalent around Hooge, formed the basis of the concentration cemetery at Hooge which contains the highest percentage of unknown casualties (73%) of any British War Cemetery. |
Two & Three Day Tours | |
| Tours include local pick-up, coaching throughout, return ferry crossings via Dover, B&B hotel accommodation, tour notes. Guide optional. | |
Suggested Itinerary | |
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| Further visits may be possible depending on the duration of your tour & proximity to Dover. Please telephone, email or use our contact page to outline your requirements. |
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