Battle of Poelcappelle 1917
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 9 October 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 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 50.9220, 2.9630 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Poelcappelle was fought in Flanders, Belgium, on 9 October 1917 by the British Second Army and Fifth Army against the German 4th Army, during the First World War. The battle marked the end of the string of highly successful British attacks in late September and early October, during the Third Battle of Ypres. Only the supporting attack in the north achieved a substantial advance. On the main front, the German defences withstood the limited amount of artillery fire achieved by the British after the attack of 4 October. The ground along the main ridges had been severely damaged by shelling and rapidly deteriorated in the rains, which began again on 3 October, turning some areas back into swamps.
Dreadful ground conditions had more effect on the British, who needed to move large amounts of artillery and ammunition to support the next attack. The battle was a defensive success for the 4th Army, although costly to both sides. The weather and ground conditions put severe strain on all the infantry involved and led to many wounded being stranded on the battlefield.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Poelcappelle (revision 1379970174), 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
- Second Battle of Ypres 1915 · 3 km
- Battle of Pilckem Ridge 1917 · 3 km
- Battle of Langemarck (1917) 1917 · 3 km
- Capture of Wurst Farm 1917 · 3 km
- Action of 22 August 1917 1917 · 3 km
- Battle of Roosebeke 1382 · 4 km
Other battles of the Third Battle of Ypres
- Action of 22 August 1917 1917
- Action on the Polderhoek Spur 1917
- Battle of Broodseinde 1917
- Battle of Langemarck (1917) 1917
- Battle of Pilckem Ridge 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 →
Browse more: battles in Belgium · Europe · World War I era battles