Action of 22 August 1917 1917
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 22 August 1917 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1917 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | Belgium | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Third Battle of Ypres | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 50.9167, 2.9167 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The action of 22 August 1917, took place during the First World War, in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front as part of the Third Battle of Ypres. The engagement was fought by the Fifth Army (General Hubert Gough) of the British Expeditionary Force and the German 4th Army (Lieutenant-General Friedrich Sixt von Armin). During the Battle of Langemarck (16–18 August), the British had advanced north of the village but had been defeated further south and failed to capture the Wilhelmstellung, the third German defensive position. At a conference with the Fifth Army corps commanders on 17 August, Gough arranged for local attacks to gain jumping-off positions for another general attack on 25 August. At the action of the Cockcroft on 19 August, XVIII Corps and the 1st Tank Brigade had captured five fortified farms and strongpoints for a fraction of the casualties of a conventional attack.
The attack on 22 August was much bigger effort, which advanced the British front line up to 600 yd (550 m) in places, on a 2 mi (3.2 km) front but failed to reach the more distant objectives. On 24 August, a German Gegenangriff (methodical counter-attack) recaptured Inverness Copse on the Gheluvelt Plateau and the more ambitious British attack due on 25 August was cancelled.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Action of 22 August 1917 (revision 1380321467), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Capture of Wurst Farm 1917 · 0 km
- Battle of Pilckem Ridge 1917 · 0 km
- Battle of Langemarck (1917) 1917 · 0 km
- Second Battle of Ypres 1915 · 3 km
- Battle of Kitcheners' Wood 1915 · 3 km
- Battle of Poelcappelle 1917 · 3 km
Other battles of the Third Battle of Ypres
- Action on the Polderhoek Spur 1917
- Battle of Broodseinde 1917
- Battle of Langemarck (1917) 1917
- Battle of Pilckem Ridge 1917
- Battle of Poelcappelle 1917
- Battle of Polygon Wood 1917
- Battle of the Menin Road Ridge 1917
- Capture of Westhoek 1917
- Capture of Wurst Farm 1917
- First Battle of Passchendaele 1917
All 13 battles of the Third Battle of Ypres →
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