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31 July in military history: the Battle of Passchendaele begins, 1917

Military history · 31 July · World War IFull calendar

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British soldiers in steel helmets and full kit loading a gas-masked pack horse with iron wiring staples on a mound of churned mud near Pilckem, 31 July 1917, the opening day of Passchendaele
British troops loading a pack horse, which wears a gas mask, with wiring staples. The Imperial War Museums' catalogue text for photograph Q 5717, as reproduced on Wikimedia Commons, places it near Pilckem on 31 July 1917 and names the photographer as John Warwick Brooke. Public domain. Imperial War Museums, via Wikimedia Commons.
Quick answer

On 31 July 1917 British and French infantry attacked the German lines around Ypres, opening the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele. Haig's despatch and the Australian official history put zero hour at 3.50 a.m., and the British gave this first phase the official name of the Battle of Pilckem Ridge. According to the despatch the attackers took Pilckem; they got into St. Julien, but German counter-attacks won ground back in the afternoon. Rain set in too, at an hour the accounts give differently. The campaign went on until November, when Canadian troops took the village of Passchendaele. Also on 31 July, in 1759, James Wolfe's attack on the French lines by the Montmorency River, below Quebec, failed.

The Battle of Passchendaele

31 July 1917 · 109 years ago

Flanders, 1917. A bold plan to break out toward the Belgian coast collapsed into mud, drowning, and attrition. This is the Third Battle of Ypres, remembered as Passchendaele.

Read the full story of The Battle of Passchendaele ›

Battle of Warburg, 1760: Granby's charge on the Diemel

31 July 1760 · 266 years ago

Near Warburg on the Diemel river, the British and Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick attacked a French corps during the Seven Years' War. The allies won, with the Marquess of Granby leading the British cavalry, but meanwhile the French took the important base of Kassel.

Read the full story of Battle of Warburg, 1760: Granby's charge on the Diemel ›

Frequently asked questions

When did the Battle of Passchendaele begin?

The infantry attack opened on 31 July 1917. Haig's despatch and Bean give zero hour as 3.50 a.m.; Nicholson says the assault was launched at sunrise. The British official name of this first phase was the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, and Nicholson ends the Third Battle of Ypres with the Canadian attack of 10 November 1917.

When did the rain start on 31 July 1917?

The accounts differ. Haig's despatch and the National Army Museum say the afternoon, Bean 4 o'clock, Nicholson the evening of the 31st, and the German official history the night to 1 August.

How heavy were the losses on the opening days?

Nicholson, citing the British official history, writes that the Battle of Pilckem Ridge cost 31,850 casualties. The German official history gives the German Fourth Army's losses from 21 to 31 July as about 30,000 men, nearly 9,000 of them missing.

Who captured Passchendaele?

The Canadian Corps under Lieutenant-General Arthur Currie, which attacked on 26 October, took the village on 6 November and attacked again on 10 November 1917.

What happened at Montmorency on 31 July 1759?

James Wolfe attacked the French entrenchments on the Beauport shore below Quebec. His grenadiers ran on without waiting for support, a storm broke as night came on, and Wolfe called the attack off.

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