A century after the great war ended, we look back and reflect on the meaning and. The battle of messines 714 june 1917 was an attack by the british second army general sir herbert plumer, on the western front near the village of messines in west flanders, belgium, during the first world war. Official military personnel files ompfs created primarily for administrative functions. The battle of messines ridge june 1917 and beneath flanders fields.
It follows the standard campaign format and does a very good job in every. The 1917 battle was the first substantial allied victory of the first world war, putting into practice the lessons learned over the years of stalemate on the western front. The attack was also a prelude to the much larger battle at passchendaele, which began in july 1917. At the start of the battle of messines 714 june 1917 during the first world war, a series. Anzacs, canadians, irish and many of the british divisions, famous for actions on the somme the previous summer. Click, drag, and drop to reorder files or press delete to remove any content you dont want. At the fork in the road at heksken, turn to the right towards poperinghe. Messines, often called messines ridge digger history. New zealand sites in flanders fields during the great war, some 100 000 people from new zealand enlisted in the army. Click add files and select the files you want to include in your pdf.
German documents gleaned from the battlefield showed that they expected the forward. Admitted by the germans to be a masterstroke, the devastating blasts caused 10,000 soldiers to later be posted simply as missing. Months in planning, zero hour for the battle of messines was scheduled for dawn on 7 th june. War department document 647, government printing office,washington. The battle of messines belgium on june 7, 1917, was one of the few clearcut allied victories of world war i and possibly the greatest example of thorough combat engineering in modern history. Battle of messines 1917 ww1 world war one ieper 1917. The zenith of siege warfare campaign alexander turner, peter. New zealand sites in flanders fields peace village. British expeditionary force, world war 19141918, messines, battle of belgium. Terrain and the messines ridge, belgium, 19141918 springerlink. Three soldiers walk in the bottom of one of the huge craters created when 19 mines were detonated under messines ridge, on 7 june 1917. Second battle of messines, the british blow 19 deep mines and recapture messines ridge.
You can change the default program for pdf files to open it in a program thats more suitable and featurerich, such as acrobat reader dc or acrobat dc. As i am unsure as to whether or not this is the only copy in existence of the 6 squadron document, entitled the battle of messines june 1917, i am currently in the process of digitising the photographs so that i can add them to my website under the. The ridge dominated the landscape, and from it, the germans controlled a wide sweep of flat country all around. You can merge pdfs or a mix of pdf documents and other files. The capture of messines ridge was a preliminary operation that took place just prior to the battle of passchendaele third battle of ypres.
Messines ridge cemetery is located along the road that leads to the town of wulvergehem. Messines ridge is now held by british and australian troops, and it is being shelled by german artillery, from the other side of the ridge. The germans had held messines ridge, a key vantage point, since 1915. An analysis of consecutive trench maps for the messines ridge in belgium, from 19151918, was carried out as a pilot. Stretching the length of a high ridge, south of ypres, the german army held a heavily fortified line of defences against the british. Merge pdf files combine pdfs in the order you want with the easiest pdf merger available. Artillery operations ninth british corps messines by army war college u. Battle of arras arras was easy to tunnel through due to it being very chalky.
The battle for messines ridge commenced on june the 7th 1917 and was a triumph in strategy. On the morning of 7 june 1917, troops broke through at messines, the totally devastated village of wijtschate was taken by the irish divisions, and. Anniversary of the battle of messines 7 14 june 2017. Analysis of position supported the concept of three intervals of trench development. The new zealand division took messines, the 4th australian division continuing the assault beyond it, and the 3rd australian division attacking on the right of the army. Aerial photographs battle of messines june 1917 air. Some 17 000 new zealanders were killed and 41 000 were wounded during the war a 58% casualty rate, far beyond the average.
When nineteen mines were detonated along a six mile front at the opening of the battle of messines on 7 june 1917, six more huge explosive charges totalling over 80 tons were left to lie dormant and forgotten deep beneath the battlefield. Battle of messines, 714 june 1917, british victory during world war i. The battle of messines ridge is a comprehensive study of the world war i battle at messines. Village of wytschaete captured on 7th june 1917 by the 16th irish and 36th ulster division. The battle of messines during the first world war was a prelude to the much larger third battle of ypres. Finding your world war i veteran at the national archives. The big dig will be broadcast on channel 5 tonight at 8pm. The battle of messines 714 june 1917 was an offensive conducted by the british second army, under the command of general herbert plumer, on the western front near the village of messines in belgian west flanders during the first world war. The battle of messines 714 june 1917 was an attack by the british second army general. The battle of messines was fought on june 7th 1917. History of the great war based on official documents by direction of the historical section. Canadian tunnellers at messines ridge 19161917 scholars. Between 714 june 1917, the british second army under general sir herbert plumer planned an offensive to take the messines ridge to the south east of ypres. The battle of messines 714 june 1917 was an offensive conducted by the british second army, under the command of general sir herbert plumer, on the western front near the village of messines in belgian west flanders during the first world war.
The aim of trenches was to act as a barrier against the rapid. The battle of messines was a battle of the western front of the first world war. In contrast to the eventual disaster at passchendaele, the carefully prepared attack on messines was a striking success. Associate pdf files to always open in reader or acrobat on. How to merge pdfs and combine pdf files adobe acrobat dc. British forces put careful planning into the battle of messines ridge. This week the programme really goes underground as it looks at the dugouts, tunnels and mining system which was part of the messines battlefield.
If this book wets your appetite for more information on messines, i heartily recommend passinghams pillars of fire. Rearrange individual pages or entire files in the desired order. Following the harsh lessons learned on the somme the previous year, the taking of messines ridge preceded the main third battle of ypres or passchendaele. This item does not appear to have any files that can be experienced on. Australian troops were in belgium in june 1917 for a major push. The battle for the messines ridge was an attempt by the allies to capture land to the southeast of ypres to gain control of the higher land in the ypres salient. Some 10% of the then one million inhabitants saw action overseas. On june 7, 1917, the british 2nd army had a crushing victory over the germans at messines ridge in belgian west flanders, marking the successful prelude to an allied offensive designed to break the grinding stalemate on the western front in ww1i. The map above shows the territory taken from the germans on 7 june 1917 during the battle of messines.
Over 1 million pounds of explosives remain from the mines. The small hill gave them an unobstructed view over ypres and the salient. It was open on the site of the german positions, marked as oyster trench on the british trench maps. It began on 7 june 1917 when the british second army under the command of general herbert plumer launched an offensive near the village of mesen messines in west flanders, belgium.
The enemy must not get from messines ridge at any priceread so the orders to the german troops defending the essential on the high ground south of ypreson 7 june 1917, the british second army launched its attack with an opening unlike any otherin the greatest secret of the first world war operation, the british and commonwealth mining companies placed more than one million. Geologically, the german line was disadvantaged by wet ground, and this led to the development of alternative strategies for protection from heavy. To change the order of your pdfs, drag and drop the files as you want. The great war trails in the ypres salient peace village. At messines in belgium the summer of 1917, the british second army opened a longplanned attack. The british captured messines hill in west flanders, belgium, using 1 million tons of explosives. The messines ridge was directly southeast of the dreaded ypres sector. Battle of messines map nzhistory, new zealand history online. Microsoft edge is the default program for opening pdf files on windows 10. The attack brought together all the commonwealth forces. Meticulously planned, the action started on the 7 th of june with the detonation of huge underground mines that rattled the teacups in london and killed 10,000 german soldiers the new zealanders secured their objectives and. Battle of messines battle of ypres world war one first world old world ww1 battles battle of passchendaele royal engineers flanders field. The messines ridge, in flanders, was attacked on 7 june 1917, the ii anzac corps, forming the right of the british attack.
Flanders offensive 1917 the battle of messines, 7 14 june 1917 sir douglas haig had long cherished the idea of a major offensive in flanders a coastward breakout from the ypres salient and at an army ommanders onference on 7 may 1917 such an operational scheme was confirmed. The roar could be heard in london, over 1 hundred miles away. The battle of messines, june 1917 village of wytschaete captured on 7th june 1917 by the 16th irish and 36th ulster division. For decades, until the records in the british archives were examined, the number of lost mines and. The western front of 191418 is characterised by a continual series of bloody stalemates, but the battle of messines was a relatively rare example of a successful offensive. Tunnels and quarries had been built here since roman times. On the whole, author ian passingham is able to write in a clear, accessible manner but there are moments where the writing seems dull and too focused on the small details. The battle of messines 714 june 1917 was an offensive conducted by the british second army, under the command of general sir herbert plumer, on the western front near the village of messines in west flanders, belgium, during the first world war. The zenith of siege warfare campaign 20140307 fe 2bd vs albatros scouts. The battle of messines, june 1917 sappers digging a communication trench towards the messines ridge. The plug street project the history of the battle of. From march 1917 the new zealand division was stationed in the douve sector located at the bottom of the map, forming part of the british second armys ii anzac corps. Battle of messines opens with the british army detonating 19 ammonal mines under the german lines, killing 10,000 in the deadliest deliberate nonnuclear manmade explosion in history. The latter goes into great depth pun intended on the tunneling effort as well as modern archeology on some of the sites.
Tourism office messines, henk deleu and freddy declerck. Flanders offensive 1917 the battle of messines, 7 14. Please, select more pdf files by clicking again on select pdf files. At the start of the battle of messines 714 june 1917 during the first world war, a series of. For the first time since gallipoli, the new zealanders attacked alongside the australians at messines on 7 june 1917. The battle of messines, june 1917 officers of the 11th battalion, royal inniskilling fusiliers 109th brigade, 36th division after the capture of wytschaete, 12 june 1917. The plan was three army corps would be used in the attack across a front of about 16 kilometres. The british, aiming to take the germans by surprise, deployed special tunnelling companies. The great war trails in the ypres salient sample itinerary for secondary education.
It employed a more cautious approach using general plumers bite and hold tactics. Messines ridge 7th june 1917 military history forum. The project gutenberg ebook of ypres and the battles of. The standout features of the battle was the successful coordination of various parts of.