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Category: Most Popular Resources
Title : Passendale
1916 Offensive and PassendaleLloyd George sought for a unified Allied strategy, and to this effect he proposed an offensive on the Italian front, but the Italian general, Cardorna, declined the responsibility. In 1916 Joffre was sacked as French commander-in-chief and replaced by Nivelle. He proposed another offensive on the Western front. Robertson agreed, and Lloyd George, once he had accepted the plan, became wholly committed to it. The success of Nivelle's plan would require swift action to achieve complete surprise; instead there were extensive delays in the preparations owing to the opposition of the British generals to the plan. However, Lloyd George forced it through, and the offensive commenced on 9-14th April with a British attack at Arras. The British losses were close to twice those of the Germans, and the Germans were not diverted. Nivelle's attack was a failure, the French army nearly mutinied, and Nivelle was dismissed in May. The French army was not able to mount another offensive in 1917.
The failure of Nivelle's offensive gave Haig the freedom to plan his own – an offensive in Flanders. The underlying idea was good, but the tactical problem of how to achieve a breakthrough in the first place had not been resolved. The bombardment merely turned the fields of Flanders into impassable mud. Lloyd George was opposed to the plan from the start, but he was overcome by the unity of the generals, and on 25th July the war cabinet endorsed Haig's plan. The offensive commenced on 31st July 1917. It is termed the third battle of Ypres, or more popularly, the battle of Passendale, after the final stage. It was a failure from the beginning. Although Haig had said that he would not continue beyond the first day if things went wrong, he persisted for three months. The British gained four miles. British losses were 3 dead for every 2 Germans.
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