The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have today travelled to Belgium to commemorate The Battle of Passchendaele Centenary,
one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.
Prime Minister Theresa May
and King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium
were also in attendance.
LEST WE FORGET
Officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres, Passchendaele was fought between 31 July and 6 November 1917 in the West Flanders region of northern Belgium.
About 275,000 Allied troops and 220,000 Germans died in three month’s of fighting.
Every night in the Belgian city of Ypres at 8pm sharp, the Last Post echoes out across the Menin Gate.
Since 1928 the buglers of the Last Post Association have performed in an act of remembrance to the 250,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers killed here during the First World War.
They play every night, (whatever the weather.)
Those who fought at Passchendaele included Harry Patch, known as the “Last Tommy” who died aged 111 in 2009.
Passchendaele became infamous not only for the scale of casualties, but also for the mud.
Constant shelling before the attack began had churned the soil and smashed drainage systems. Within a few days, the heaviest rain for 30 years had turned the soil into a quagmire. The thick mud clogged up rifles and immobilised tanks, eventually becoming so deep that men and horses drowned in it.
On 16 August the attack was resumed, but to little effect. This stalemate continued and further attacks in October failed to make much progress. The eventual capture of what little remained of Passchendaele village by British and Canadian forces on 6 November led to the offensive being called off.
On Monday, which is the Anniversary of the start of the Battle, commemorations will continue with a special service held at Tyne Cot cemetery, where thousands are buried and commemorated.
Prince William said Britain and Belgium “stand together… in remembrance of that sacrifice”. He joined the King of Belgium in laying wreaths at the Menin Gate in Ypres.
The gate – which stands where British troops marched when heading to the battlefields – is covered with the names of 54,391 British dead who have no known grave, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
During the service, attended by 200 descendents of those who fought, Prince William said: “Members of our families; our regiments; our nations; all sacrificed everything for the lives we live today.”
He added: “During the First World War Britain and Belgium stood shoulder to shoulder. One hundred years on, we still stand together, gathering as so many do every night, in remembrance of that sacrifice.”
King Philippe of Belgium added that both countries will continue to honour the soldiers’ “immense sacrifice”.
Paper poppies were dropped from the Menin Gate at the end of the service, which ended with The Last Post.
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.”