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Age-24

26, Heneage Street, Spitalfields

Third Battle of Ypres

This was a campaign fought between July and November 1917 and is often referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele, a village to the north-east of Ypres which was finally captured in November. It was an attempt by the British to break out of the Ypres salient and capture the higher ground to the south and the east from which the enemy had been able to dominate the salient. It began well but two important factors weighed against them. First was the weather. The summer of 1917 turned out to be one of the wettest on record and soon the battlefield was reduced to a morass of mud which made progress very difficult, if not impossible in places. The second was the defensive arrangements of concrete blockhouses and machine gun posts providing inter-locking fire that the Germans had constructed and which were extremely difficult and costly to counter. For 4 months this epic struggle continued by the end of which the salient had been greatly expanded in size but the vital break out had not been achieved.

After being out of the line training during the first half of August, 1917, 48th Division entered the fray in time for the second phase of the battle, the Battle of Langemarck, during which the 8th Worcestershire battalion of 144 Brigade, were in reserve. Their turn to join in the action came on 27th August when, at 1.55pm, they took part on an attack on the Langemarck line. It had been raining heavily and the battlefield had turned into a sea of mud through which they and 7th Worcestershire advanced having to clear occupied shell holes and a concrete bunker as they made their way forward. To add to their problem they then met machine-gun fire from Springfield Farm on their flank and from Vancouver Farm in front. Nevertheless they pressed home their attack and at dusk Springfield Farm was outflanked and captured. They consolidated their gains which they then handed over to relieving troops later that night. One of their casualties during this operation was Hyman Welt.