Battle of Polygon Wood 1917
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 3 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 | 50.8519, 2.9853 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Polygon Wood (26 September to 3 October 1917) was fought during the second part of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, from the Menin road to Polygon Wood and thence north, to the area beyond St Julien. Much of the woodland had been destroyed by the huge bombardments from both sides since 16 July and the area had changed hands several times.
General Herbert Plumer continued the British general attacks with limited objectives. Lines of skirmishers advanced ahead of small infantry columns in depth (as had been adopted by the Fifth Army in August) with a vastly increased amount of artillery support, five layers of creeping barrage on the Second Army front. An advance of 1,000–1,500 yd (910–1,370 m) was planned, to stop on reverse slopes, which were easier to defend, enclosing ground which gave observation of German reinforcement routes and counter-attack assembly areas.
Preparations swiftly to defeat German counter-attacks were made, by mopping-up and consolidating the captured ground with defences in depth.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Polygon Wood (revision 1379970262), 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 Westhoek 1917 · 1 km
- Action on the Polderhoek Spur 1917 · 2 km
- Battle of Mont Sorrel 1916 · 4 km
- Capture of Hill 60 (Western Front) 1915 · 5 km
- First Battle of Passchendaele 1917 · 5 km
- Night action of 1/2 December 1917 1917 · 6 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 Poelcappelle 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