The Passchendaele Campaign as a Failure

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The Passchendaele Campaign as a Failure

There is much to take into account when judging whether the

Passchendaele campaign was a failure. I personally believe that the

fact that so many lives were lost for the allies means it can only be

seen as a failure. However, in my opinion, it was not a complete

failure.

In preparing for the Passchendaele campaign Haig had many problems to

consider: the French morale to keep up; persuading Russia to remain in

the war; capturing the Belgian ports among them. He aimed to achieve

all these. With regard to the Passchendaele Battle itself Haig’s

campaign achieved very few of the numerous objectives he had set

himself.

Having set his sights on reaching the Dutch frontier, his British

troops managed to advance on and take only the Gheluvelt ridge. This

Haig had hoped to achieve in the early stages of his campaign so as to

enable him then to tackle the other problems, but it turned out to be

his sole achievement in the Passchendaele area. However, capturing the

ridge was essential to gaining the upper hand in the Ypres salient and

by the end of his campaign the British troops had this strategic point

in their favour. They had also achieved the aim of capturing the ridge

before the worst winter weather set in, when the Ypres salient

regularly became impenetrable marshland. It took the troops longer

than expected (from July until Haig called off the campaign in

November) chiefly because bad weather arrived sooner than usual.

The ridge was as far as Haig’s forces had advanced. They had not come

anywhere near to capturing the German railhead at Roulers let alone

taking the Belgian ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend where there were two

German U Boat bases. This meant that the Germans were still cutting of

British food and ammunition supplies with their U Boat campaign and

that they were still receiving theirs. The campaign most definitely

failed in this respect.

Moreover, the minor victory of taking the Gheluvelt ridge was of

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