They called it Passchendaele

"I died in hell. They called it Passchendaele".

- Siegfried Sassoon

stretcher party @ Passchendaele

The battle of Passchendaele began on July 31, 1917, with a huge barrage of Allied artillery. This offensive both warned the Germans of the coming attack but it also turned the battlefield into a mess of craters. With unusually heavy rains, the entire area was transformed into a sea of mud. The soldiers slept in the mud, crawled in the mud, fought in the mud, and drowned in the mud. The mud also clogged rifles, ruined food, and rendered artillery useless. The battle slogged on for months with neither side making progress due to the inhospitable conditions. In the face of these horrible circumstances Canadian soldiers performed exceptionally and, in the end, were instrumental in securing victory. Through the 3 months of fighting the Canadians established themselves as an elite fighting Corp and received honours reflecting that. In the end, 9 soldiers received the Victoria Cross in recognition of their outstanding effort at Passchendaele.

Two square miles of mud had been won at an overall cost to the Allies of 500,000 men. The Germans lost about 270,000 men.

This Song For You

(Chris de Burgh)

Hello darling, this is the army,
I've just got the time to write,
Today we attack, there's no turning back,
the boys they're all ready for the fight.

Yes, I'm well but this place is like hell,
they call it Passchendaele,
In nineteen seventeen the war must be ending,
the General said this attack will not fail;

So I'm writing down this little melody
When you play it my love, think of me...
We'll be together in this song for you,
And it goes Lalala...sing it darling...Lalala...

They got old Bill and the Sergeant is still out there
Wounded in some shellhole,
They say this war will end all wars,
Oh God I really hope it will,

Oh how's old England, are they still singing
those songs that we loved to sing,
When all this is over, we'll go sailing in Dover,
catching fish like we used to with a string,

Oh I miss you, I miss you, I miss you so,
If they get me my love you will know...
We'll always be together in this song for you...

And it goes Lalala...I have to go now...
take care of yourself my love

©1975 Chris de Burgh

Passchendaele

.

Memorial Tablet

Squire nagged and bullied till I went to fight,
(Under Lord Derby's scheme). I died in hell -

(They called it Passchendaele). My wound was slight,
And I was hobbling back; and then a shell
Burst slick upon the duckboards: so I fell
Into the bottomless mud, and lost the light

At sermon-time, while Squire is in his pew,
He gives my gilded name a thoughtful stare;
For, though low down upon the list, I'm there;
"In proud and glorious memory" ... that's my due.
Two bleeding years I fought in France, for Squire:
I suffered anguish that he's never guessed.
I came home on leave: and then went west...
What greater glory could a man desire?

- Siegfried Sassoon 1918

Passchendaele

related internet links

Passchendaele

officially the third battle

of Ypres

from the BBC's

WW.1 Archives

Jack Turner's War

The photographs taken by

Jack Turner provide a startling

reminder that that this

was a very different

experience than that

of today's youth

No Masters (NMCD10) 1996

Track Listing:

Dodendans

The Land of the Long White Cloud

Een Schip

Ao Tea Roa

Robin's Song

Lay Me Low

The Bloody Fields of Flanders

Still in the Night

Ein Schottische Tanz

(Mad Old, Sad Old) Shuffling Jack

Tyne Cot at Night/I Want to go Home

Largo

The New Jerusalem

Panta Rhei,

Coope, Boyes & Simpson