A failed British night assault at Passchendaele aimed to widen the salient and secure observation over German positions ahead of a planned 1918 offensive.
Key Facts
- Date
- Night of 1/2 December 1917
- Front
- Western Front, Ypres Salient, Belgium
- Attacker
- British Fourth Army
- Defender
- German 4th Army
- Prisoners taken
- approximately 150
- Artillery delay used
- 8 minutes after infantry advance
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After the Third Battle of Ypres officially ended on 20 November 1917, British forces holding the Passchendaele Salient faced intense German artillery fire. Brigadier Cecil Aspinall suggested either withdrawing west of the Gheluvelt Plateau or advancing toward Westrozebeke to broaden the salient, reduce vulnerability, and secure a better start line for a renewed spring 1918 offensive.
On the night of 1/2 December 1917, British Fourth Army troops attacked toward Westrozebeke without a preliminary bombardment, hoping the artillery silence would achieve surprise. Instead, noise from assembly and movement over waterlogged ground alerted the Germans. In moonlight, advancing infantry were spotted 200 yards from German defences, and though some ground and around 150 prisoners were taken, the assault on the redoubts failed.
The attack did not secure observation over the valley heads east and north of the ridge, leaving the salient as vulnerable as before. The objective of broadening the Passchendaele Salient to improve conditions for a 1918 offensive was not achieved, and the tactical situation in the area remained unfavourable for the British forces holding it.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Cecil Aspinall (Brigadier, planning).
Side B
1 belligerent