2.2 - Passchendaele

Question 1

Was the Battle of Passchendaele a success? (Y/N + 2 reasons)

Answer 1

Despite the aims not being met + great losses suffered by the British, still arguably a success
BECAUSE:
- New reserves meant losses had less of an impact on the strength of the army
- Small gains were made toward eliminating the threat of German unrestricted submarine warfare.

Question 2

What was Britain’s strategic goal of the battle?
How did it change?

Answer 2

Capture Belgian ports being used by Germans as submarine bases.
Haig changed the goal to capturing the village of Passchendaele once it became clear they would not get to the Belgian coast.

Question 3

How far away were the ports that Haig was trying to capture?

Answer 3

32km

Question 4

How many shells were fired and why was this important?

Answer 4

4.5 million over 10 days, churning up the mud, making it impossible to make progress

Question 5

How many British soldiers were killed in the first week of the Battle of Passchendaele?

Answer 5

30,000

Question 6

What weapon was used for the first time by the Germans at the Battle of Passchendaele?

Answer 6

Mustard Gas

Question 7

What was the ‘bite and hold’ strategy?

Answer 7

Small advancements were made and kept permanently
- focused force of troops
- soldiers to rest

whilst still gaining territory.

Question 8

What were the 4 main failures of the Battle of Passchendaele?

Answer 8

• Haig made assumptions - thought that German morale was low (it wasn’t)
• Continued with attack after artillery bombardment (no element of surprise)
• Artillery bombardment killed drainage systems (swamp + no craters to hide in)
• There were big losses - 310,000 British and 260,000 Germans

Question 9

How many were killed during Passchendaele?
- British
- German

Answer 9

310,000 British
260,000 German