Battle of Messines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Messines
Part of the Western Front of World War I
Image:Battle of Messines - Map.jpg Map of the battle, depicting the front on 7 June and subsequent action until 14 June.
Date 7 June 1917 - 14 June 1917 Location Flanders, Belgium Result British victory
Combatants
Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British Empire • Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom • Image:Flag of Australia.svg Australia • Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand	Image:Flag of the German Empire.svg German Empire
Commanders
Herbert Plumer Alexander Godley Alexander Hamilton-Gordon Thomas Morland	Sixt von Armin
Strength
12 divisions 216,000 men total[1]	126,000
Casualties
17,000	25,000

v • d • e Western Front
Frontiers – Liège – Antwerp – Great Retreat – Race to the Sea – Neuve Chapelle – 2nd Ypres – 2nd Artois – Hill 70 – 3rd Artois – Loos – Verdun – Hulluch – Mont Sorrel – Somme – Arras – Vimy Ridge – 2nd Aisne – Messines – Passchendaele – Cambrai – Michael – Lys – 3rd Aisne – Belleau Wood – 2nd Marne – Château-Thierry – Hamel – Hundred Days

The Battle of Messines was a battle of the western front of World War I. It was launched on 7 June 1917 near the village of Mesen (Messines) by the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer. The target of the offensive was a ridge running north from Messines village past Wytschaete village which created a natural stronghold southeast of Ypres. One of the key features of the attack was the detonation of 19 mines immediately prior to the attack, a tactic which disrupted German defences and allowed the advancing troops to secure their objectives in rapid fashion. The attack was also a prelude to the much larger Third Battle of Ypres, known as Passchendaele, which began on 31 July 1917.

Contents 1 Background 1.1 Mining operations 1.2 Opposing forces 2 The battle 2.1 Detonation of the mines and assault 2.2 German counterattacks 3 Aftermath 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

The assault on Messines ridge was initially conceived in early 1916, as Plumer sought ways to break German control of important strategic locations in the Ypres area. When it became apparent that the French offensive on the River Aisne would not succeed, General Haig reconceived the Messines operation as a precursor to a larger assault in the Ypres sector and ordered Plumer to proceed with the attack as soon as possible. Not only would capturing Messines Ridge give the British control of important strategic ground, it would also flatten out the southern flank of the Ypres salient. This would both reduce the manpower needed to maintain the front, and reduce the German strategic and tactical advantages in the area.

[edit] Mining operations

Over a period beginning more than a year before the attack, Canadian, Australian, and British engineers had tunneled under the German trenches and laid 21 mines totaling 455 tonnes of ammonal^[1]. To solve the problem of wet soil, the tunnels were made in the layer of "blue clay", 80 to 120 feet (25 to 30 m) below the surface. The galleries dug in order to lay these mines totalled over 8,000 yards (7,300 m) in length, and had been constructed in the face of tenacious German counter-mining efforts.^[2] On several occasions, German tunnelers were within meters of large British mine "chambers". One mine was found by the Germans, and the chamber was wrecked by a countermine. It is likely that this is one of the two unexploded mines.^[1]

Of the 21 Messines mines at Spanbroekmolen, the largest one formed the "Lone Tree Crater" approximately 250 feet (80 m) in diameter and 40 feet (12 m) deep. The mine consisted of 41 tons of ammonal explosive located in a chamber dug 88 feet (27 m) below ground. In 1930 the crater was purchased for preservation by Lord Wakefield and is now owned by the religious group Toc H. The crater eventually filled with rainwater and was later dedicated as the Spanbroekmolen "Pool of Peace" in 1932.

[edit] Opposing forces

The assault was conducted almost entirely by troops of the British Second Army. Arranged from north-west to south-east, the formations used in the assault were: X Corps, under the command of General Thomas Morland, IX Corps, under the command of General Alexander Hamilton-Gordon and II Anzac Corps, under the command of general Alexander Godley. They were opposed by German troops from Fourth Army, under the command of Sixt von Armin.^[3]

[edit] The battle

The plan called for a sustained bombardment of German positions, beginning on 21 May, and continuing almost to zero hour. Shelling was briefly halted at approximately three AM, and the mines were detonated. Nine infantry divisions then advanced under a creeping barrage to secure the ridge.^[4] A further three divisions were held in reserve.^[4]

[edit] Detonation of the mines and assault

The preliminary bombardment actually ceased at 2:50am on 7 June. At this time, many German defenders left their bunkers and returned to their defensive positions, expecting an immediate assault.^[5] At 3:10am, the mines were detonated, killing approximately 10,000 German soldiers and destroying much of the fortifications on the ridge, as well as the town of Messines itself.^[5] Reports were made that the explosion was heard as far away as London and Dublin, and it was also possibly the loudest man-made noise made up to that date.^[6] (It is of note however, that there was absolutely no mention of any sort of huge explosion on June 7 or June 8 or thereafter in "Some Desperate Glory" The Diary Of A Young Officer, 1917, Edwin Campion Vaughan, a day by day journal of life near the Cambrai sector in 1917, until he moved up to Ypres on 26 July, 1917.^[7] An explosion heard in London (about 160 km from Ypres) would have surely been noted by someone actually at the front (Vaughan was only about 70 km from Ypres at the time), and much closer to Messines than London. Perhaps it is propaganda spread after the war on this issue, since the placement of the mines would have been top secret, and no one in London could have deduced that it was actually something that happened at Messines on June 7, 1917). To make matters worse for the Germans, the explosions occurred while the front line troops were being relieved, meaning both groups (relieving and relieved) were caught in the blasts. Following the explosions, British, Australian and New Zealand troops from three corps (II, IX and X) advanced on the Messines salient from three sides.^[3] The front lines were overrun without opposition. German troops surrendered "in droves,"^[1] and the first series of objectives had been secured almost entirely within three hours.^[3]

Advancing on the southern flank, the New Zealand Division captured the village of Messines proper, despite intricate layers of fortifications beyond the front line.^[3] In the center, the 36th (Ulster) Division and 16th (Irish) Division advanced in tandem, capturing the village of Wytschaete and pushing forward to secure their objectives.^[3] Many considered this joint effort to be of considerable significance, given the turmoil in Ireland at the time.^[3]. The Irish Nationalist Member of Parliament Major William Hoey Kearney Redmond was fatally wounded in this action.

The most serious resistance was in the northern sector, where the 47th (1/2nd London) Division had to navigate across the Ypres-Comines canal. This obstacle slowed the advance considerably, but the Londoners had secured all their objectives my mid-morning, and the goals of the first phase were achieved by 10:00am at all points on the line of attack.^[3]

Once the first series of objectives were secured, more than forty batteries of artillery were brought forward to support the second phase of the attack.^[3] Bombardment continued for several hours, at at approximately 3:00pm the reserve divisions, supported by tanks, advanced towards the second line of objectives.^[3] In just over an hour, all these were secured^[3]

[edit] German counterattacks

On 9 and 10 June, German troops counterattacked at several points along the new British lines. Although British troops had had very little time to consolidate their positions, the German attacks were easily repulsed and ultimately resulted in further territorial gains.^[8]

[edit] Aftermath

The operation was totally successful. Meticulously planned, and perfectly executed, the assault secured all its objectives in less than twelve hours, took more than 7,000 prisoners, and suffered only 16,000 total casualties. The combination of tactics proven in other sectors - notably the use of mines, creeping barrages, and small-unit tactics - allowed for almost complete surprise and rapid advances. The offensive also secured the southern end of the Ypres salient in preparation for the subsequent offensive in that area.

Although the operation was successful, it had the effect of over-inflating expectations for the Passchendaele offensive. While Messines led Haig and other British commanders to believe that success could be had relatively cheaply in the main offensive as well, the circumstances of the operations were substantially different, and attempts to apply similar tactics would result in a general failure.^[9]

Not all of the mines that had been laid were detonated. Two of the original 21 mines were not ignited because they were outside the area of the offensive. On 17 July 1955, a lightning strike set off one of the remaining mines. There were no human casualties, but one cow was killed. The 21st mine is believed to have been found, but no attempt has been made to remove it.^[5] Several large water-filled craters still mark the original positions of the German trenches. It is possible that the one unexploded mine was dismantled, because German tunnellers were coming too close to the chamber.

A New Zealand War Monument and the Island of Ireland Peace Park War Memorial are located on the south side of the Messines village.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Keegan, John; The First World War New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999
• Liddell Hart, B.H. The Real War 1914-1918. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1930
• Stokesbury, James L; A short history of World War I. New York: Perennial, 1981
• Strachan, Hew; The First World War. New York: Viking, 2003
• Wolff, Leon; In Flanders Fields, Passchendaele 1917.

[edit] External links

• The Battle for Messines Ridge
• First World War.com - A more detailed overview of the battle with links to present day pictures of the battlefield
• An account of the experiences of an ordinary soldier at Messines ridge, as recounted in his letters home
• Battle for Messines (NZHistory.net.nz) includes film and interactive showing the creeping barragede:Schlacht von Messines

fr:Bataille de Messines (1917) fi:Messinesin taistelu sv:Slaget om Messines vls:De Twidde slag om Mêesn