Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War 1, Europe, Belgium, Western Front, Messines, 1917

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1917

Overview

View of the ruins of Messines

Historical information

The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front near the village of Messines in West Flanders, Belgium, during the First World War.
The British tactical objective was to capture the German defences on the ridge, which ran from Ploegsteert Wood (Plugstreet to the British) in the south, through Messines and Wytschaete to Mt. Sorrel, depriving the Germans of the high ground. The ridge gave commanding views of the British defences and back areas of Ypres to the north, from which the British intended to conduct an advance to Passchendaele Ridge and then capture the Belgian coast up to the Dutch frontier.
The tunneling companies of Second Army completed nineteen mines containing around one million pounds of high explosive. Plumer was well aware of the siege-warfare nature of fighting on the Western Front; he planned his offensives with meticulous detail, and his cautious approach saved lives and earned him the affectionate respect of his soldiers. The mines were used to devastating effect, and the blast from the explosions could be heard in London some 130 miles (209 km) distant.
Historians and writers disagree on the strategic significance of the battle, although most describe it as a British tactical and operational success. The Australian Official History records II Anzac Corps losses from 1 to 14 June as 4,978 casualties in the New Zealand Division, 3,379 casualties in the 3rd Australian Division and 2,677 casualties in the 4th Australian Division.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-P2009.91.2z

Item type

Photographs

Themes

War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1

Year

1917

Geotag

50.764816309413, 2.8878648753727

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