A limited British assault in the Ypres Salient that advanced the front line but ultimately failed to secure key objectives, leading to a command restructuring.
Key Facts
- Date
- 22 August 1917
- Front gained (max)
- 600 yards (550 m)
- Front width
- 2 miles (3.2 km)
- British Army
- Fifth Army under General Hubert Gough
- German Army
- 4th Army under Lt-Gen Friedrich Sixt von Armin
- Follow-up attack
- Planned 25 August attack cancelled after German counter-attack
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the Battle of Langemarck (16–18 August 1917), British forces advanced north of the village but failed further south, unable to capture the Wilhelmstellung defensive position. General Gough convened a corps commanders' conference on 17 August to arrange local attacks to secure jumping-off positions for a renewed general assault planned for 25 August.
On 22 August 1917, British Fifth Army forces launched an attack along a 2-mile front in the Ypres Salient, advancing up to 600 yards in places. The assault was a significantly larger effort than the preceding action at the Cockcroft on 19 August, but it failed to reach the more distant objectives set for the operation.
On 24 August, a German methodical counter-attack recaptured Inverness Copse on the Gheluvelt Plateau, prompting cancellation of the planned 25 August general offensive. Haig transferred responsibility to General Plumer and the Second Army. Torrential rain from 26 August flooded the battlefield, and sustained casualties combined with deteriorating conditions lowered morale among infantry on both sides.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
General Hubert Gough.
Side B
1 belligerent
Lieutenant-General Friedrich Sixt von Armin.