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Never seen before, these astonishing photographs, lovingly hand-touched in colour to bring to life the nightmare of Passchendaele, were released this week to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battle that, between July and November 1917, claimed a staggering 2,121 lives a day and in total some quarter of a million Allied soldiers.
I read somewhere that the battlefiled was so muddy it was impossible to maneuver tanks or other vehicles. They even had difficulties with the cannons,they were so heavy, they kept sinking in the mud.
Here's the link to the photographs and to that story. It said those grounds were originally “countryside”. I wonder how they got so muddy. It must have been from a combination of heavy rains, lots of marching, and tanks/vehicles driving around. I wonder what it looks like today.
oops. :-[
I wonder how they got so muddy. It must have been from a combination of heavy rains, lots of marching, and tanks/vehicles driving around. I wonder what it looks like today.
I had the good fortune of visiting the Ypres battlefield in 2004 when I was on R&R from Iraq. It is now very pleasant farmland and looks very similar to what it did in 1914. The battlefield there was so muddy because much of Flanders is land that was reclaimed from the sea like in Holland and protected by a system of dikes and canals. These works were destroyed in the fighting and since the water had nowhere to go it collected in shellholes and trenches making life miserable and movement nearly impossible after heavy shellfire. You have to keep in mind that much of the Ypres battlefield is either under sea level or only a few feet above it. If anybody wants them I think I have the pictures I took in '04 on digits and I would be happy to dig them up and send them, just e-mail me.
