Night action of 1/2 December 1917

The Passchendaele Canadian Memorial (also known as Crest Farm Canadian Memorial) is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Passchendaele of World War I. The memorial is located on the former site of Crest Farm, an objective captured by the 4th Canadian Division during the assault of 30 October 1917.

The First Battle of Passchendaele took place on 12 October 1917 during the First World War, in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front. The attack was part of the Third Battle of Ypres and was fought west of Passchendaele village. The British had planned to capture the ridges south and east of the city of Ypres as part of a strategy decided by the Allies at conferences in November 1916 and May 1917. Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres, 5 mi (8.0 km) from the railway junction at Roulers, which was an important part of the supply system of the German 4th Army. After a dry spell in September, rains began on 3 October and by the Battle of Poelcappelle on 9 October much of the British field artillery opposite Passchendaele was out of action due to rain, mud and German artillery-fire. The remaining guns were either left in old positions and fired at the limit of their range or were operated from any flat ground near wooden roadways or from platforms, many of which were unstable, where it was found impossible to move them forward. General Herbert Plumer and Field Marshal Douglas Haig were left under the impression that a big advance had been made towards Passchendaele ridge but most of the ground had been lost to German counter-attacks in the afternoon. The British attack on 12 October began 2,000–2,500 yd (1.1–1.4 mi; 1.8–2.3 km) from the village instead of the 1,500 yd (1,400 m) originally thought by the British commanders. Air reconnaissance revealed the true position too late to make substantial changes to the plan. The main attack of the Second Army was by the two Anzac Corps, supported by the Fifth Army to the north. On Passchendaele Ridge, opposite the I Anzac and II Anzac Corps, the attack was repulsed or captured ground was recovered by German counter-attacks. The attack on the right flank of the Fifth Army was a costly failure but on the left, the fringe of Houthoulst Forest was gained. British attacks were postponed until the weather improved and communications behind the front were restored. The battle was a German defensive success but was mutually costly and two German divisions were diverted to Flanders to replace "extraordinarily high" losses. In the worst weather conditions of the campaign, in the five weeks after the Battle of Broodseinde, the number of troops engaged by the British amounted to no more than those involved in the Battle of Pilckem Ridge on 31 July. British casualties in October 1917 were the third highest of the war, after July 1916 and April 1917.

The Third Battle of Ypres (German: Dritte Flandernschlacht; French: Troisième Bataille des Flandres; Dutch: Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders, as part of a strategy decided by the Allies at conferences in November 1916 and May 1917. Passchendaele lies on the last ridge east of Ypres, 5 mi (8.0 km) from Roulers (now Roeselare), a junction of the Bruges-(Brugge)-to-Kortrijk railway. The station at Roulers was on the main supply route of the German 4th Army. Once Passchendaele Ridge had been captured, the Allied advance was to continue to a line from Thourout (now Torhout) to Couckelaere (Koekelare). Further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuport (Nieuwpoort), combined with an amphibious landing (Operation Hush), were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. Although a general withdrawal had seemed inevitable in early October, the Germans were able to avoid one due to the resistance of the 4th Army, unusually wet weather in August, the beginning of the autumn rains in October and the diversion of British and French resources to Italy. The campaign ended in November, when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele, apart from local attacks in December and early in the new year. The Battle of the Lys (Fourth Battle of Ypres) and the Fifth Battle of Ypres of 1918, were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast and reached the Dutch frontier. A campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, opposed the offensive, as did General Ferdinand Foch, the Chief of Staff of the French Army. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July. Matters of dispute by the participants, writers and historians since 1917 include the wisdom of pursuing an offensive strategy in the wake of the Nivelle Offensive, rather than waiting for the arrival of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France. Remaining controversial are the choice of Flanders, its climate, the selection of General Hubert Gough and the Fifth Army to conduct the offensive, and debates over the nature of the opening attack and between advocates of shallow and deeper objectives. Also debated are the time between the Battle of Messines (7–14 June) and the first Allied attack (the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, 31 July), the extent to which the French Army mutinies influenced the British, the effect of the exceptional weather, the decision to continue the offensive in October and the human costs of the campaign.

The Fifth Battle of Ypres, also called the Advance in Flanders and the Battle of the Peaks of Flanders (French: Bataille des Crêtes de Flandres) is an informal name used to identify a series of World War I battles in northern France and southern Belgium (Flanders) from late September to October 1918.

Passendale (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpɑsə(n)daːlə]) or Passchendaele (; obsolete spelling, retained in English; West Flemish: Passchendoale) is a rural Belgian village in the Zonnebeke municipality of West Flanders province. It is close to the town of Ypres, situated on the hill ridge separating the historical wetlands of the Yser and Leie valleys. It is also commonly known as a battlefield and the name of a campaign during World War I, the Battle of Passchendaele.

Passendale cheese, named for Passendale, the village where it originated, is one of the best-known cheeses of Belgium. Regular Passendale cheese is produced in two versions, Classic and Prelude. There is also a premium version, Passendale Bel Age. Passendale Cheese resembles a loaf of bread, with a round shape, and a hard but edible brown rind with spots of white. Inside, the flesh is golden, dotted with small holes and very creamy. It has a firm and damp consistency, slightly sweet bouquet and mild flavor.

Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war. The cemetery and its surrounding memorial are located outside Passendale, near Zonnebeke in Belgium.

Westrozebeke is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. It is located 6 miles (10 km) west of Roeselare and 9.5 miles (15 km) north-east of Ypres. It's a typical agricultural village with many farms. The name Westrozebeke means 'west thatch brook'. The word 'roze' is also related to the 'roes' of the nearby city Roeselare. It lies at the top of a hill, and has beautiful views, especially to the West. It has two football fields and a local youth mouvement, the Chiro. The village is also famous because of the Battle of Roosebeke, where a Flemish army under the guidance of Philip van Artevelde (son of the famous Jacob van Artevelde, Flemish statesman and political leader of the city of Ghent) fought a French army under guidance of Lodewijk II van Male and Charles VI of France. The Flemish army was defeated and Artevelde died in battle.

The Mystery of Celtic Wood refers to the apparent disappearance without trace of 71 men of the 10th Battalion of the 1st Australian Division during a diversionary attack on German positions in Celtic Wood, near Passchendaele in West Flanders, during the Battle of Poelcappelle (9 October 1917) in the First World War. Official Army reports of the action state that investigations have failed to account for the fate of 37 men of the 10th Battalion. German records contain no mention of the attack, which led to speculation that the men were massacred and buried in a mass grave. Visitors to the site today are still given this explanation by guides. Rumours persist that the men had simply walked into a mist and disappeared. Some investigators attribute the lack of record of the missing to confusion, mis-reporting and clerical error.

The Passchendaele Museum (formerly the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917) is a military museum located in the chateau grounds of Zonnebeke, Belgium. It is dedicated to the First World War and in particular to the Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, July–November 1917). A regional museum operating from 1989 to 2002 formed the basis for the current institution, which opened in 2004 as a dedicated First World War museum under the administration of the municipality of Zonnebeke. In 2014, the museum became an autonomous municipal company.

Oostnieuwkerke is a Belgian village in the province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. There are more than 3400 inhabitants and Oostnieuwkerke lies closer to the town Roeselare than it is to the main village Staden. The little river the Mandel flows through the centre of Oostnieuwkerke towards Roeselare.

Zonnebeke (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzɔnəˌbeːkə]; West Flemish: Zunnebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Beselare, Gheluvelt, Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population of 11,758. The total area is 67.57 km2 which gives a population density of 174 inhabitants per km2.