The Battle of Passchendaele

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 91, 11 January 1935, Page 11

The Battle of Passchendaele

Sir, —Krom the New Zealanders’ point o£ view, the battle of I’asschendaele on October 12, 1917, consisted of the advance of a couple of New Zealand brigades across a semi-liquid morass, in pouring rain, to attack a number of uniiarined German pillboxes protected by thick belts of uncut barbed wire entanglements. The German machine gunners rat in comfort and perfect security mowing down the mud-bespattered infantry, who had no possible chance of crossing the belts of wire even if they did perform the miracle of squeezing in between rhe bullets of the machine-gun barrage. It is difficult to imagine how such an attack, in which thousands of men were sent to almost certain death or grievous wound with no possible chance of achieving any success or even of inflicting casualties on the enemy, could have been rendered necessary by the exigencies of the military situation.

The wire was uncut and the pillboxes were untouched because the field guns and howitzers could not get into position m the soft mud. For the same reason the barrage whiqh was to support the advancing infantry died away altogether when a few rounds had been fired. All this information was known beforehand and was sent back by the line battalions to Headquarters. The unfortunate Digger who went over the top on October 12 may perhaps be pardoned for thinking that the blame for the appalling debacle i n that day lies to some extent at the door of the Corps Headquarters staff. The sweeping generalities of the Corps Commander —General Godley—may impress the unthinking public, but will arouse nothing but a storm of protest in the breasts of any service men who were actually at Passchendaele. The attack on October 12 was n costly mistake. It is no use blaming the French Higher Command for it. The fault lies nearer home. — I am, etc., 24 BAR. Masterton, January 10.