Capture of Hill 60 (Western Front) 1915
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 7 May 1915 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1915 | 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 | Western Front | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | British Empire, German Empire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 50.8214, 2.9317 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Capture of Hill 60 (17 April – 7 May 1915) took place near Hill 60 south of Ypres on the Western Front, during the First World War. Hill 60 had been captured by the German 30th Division on 11 November 1914, during the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November 1914). Initial French preparations to raid the hill were continued by the British 28th Division, which took over the line in February 1915 and then by the 5th Division. The plan was expanded into an ambitious attempt to capture the hill, despite advice that Hill 60 could not be held unless the nearby Caterpillar ridge was also occupied. It was found that Hill 60 was the only place in the area not waterlogged and a French 3 ft × 2 ft (0.91 m × 0.61 m) mine gallery was extended.
Experienced miners from Northumberland and Wales were recruited for the digging and the British attack began on 17 April 1915. The hill was captured quickly with only seven casualties but then it was found that the salient which had been created, made occupation of the hill costly. Both sides mistakenly accused the other of using poison gas in the April fighting; German attacks on the hill in early May included the use of gas shells and the Germans recovered the ground at the second attempt on 5 May.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Capture of Hill 60 (Western Front) (revision 1371961166), 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
- Battle of Mont Sorrel 1916 · 1 km
- Actions of the Bluff, 1916 1916 · 1 km
- Capture of Westhoek 1917 · 4 km
- Action on the Polderhoek Spur 1917 · 4 km
- First Battle of Ypres 1914 · 4 km
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Other battles of the Western Front
- First Battle of Champagne 1914
- First Battle of the Marne 1914
- Rearguard Affair of Le Grand Fayt 1914
- Siege of Antwerp (1914) 1914
- Siege of Namur (1914) 1914
- Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf 1915
- Battle of Kitcheners' Wood 1915
- Battle of Loos 1915
- Battle of Neuve-Chapelle 1915
- Second Battle of Artois 1915
All 48 battles of the Western Front →
Browse more: battles in Belgium · Europe · World War I era battles