Passchendaele and Ypres: Western Front 1914–1917

In October 1914 poorly trained and inexperienced German infantry made a futile frontal attack near Langemark and suffered severe casualties. Fifteen percent of the German soldiers involved in the Battle of Langemark were schoolboys or students. The village was later the scene of the German army's first poison gas attacks on the Western Front. Today more than 44,000 soldiers are buried in the German war cemetery here.

Visitor guidance: A German war cemetery just outside Langemark village.

In spring 1915 Hill 60 became a war fought underground. The 173rd Tunnelling Company, joined by experienced miners from Northumberland and Wales, laid six mines beneath the hill by 10 April. The attack began on 17 April, and the 5th Division captured the area quickly with only seven casualties. The hill is now maintained as a battlefield memorial park.

Visitor guidance: A memorial park near Zillebeke.

Tyne Cot was captured by the 3rd Australian Division and the New Zealand Division during the 1917 offensive. The cemetery that grew here is the largest for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war. Its central cross was built on top of a German pillbox in the middle of the cemetery. The memorial wall carries the names of 33,783 soldiers of the UK forces, plus a further 1,176 New Zealanders.

Visitor guidance: The cemetery sits just outside Passendale.

The Canadian Corps was brought in to capture Passchendaele and the ridge, fighting over a battlefield "having the consistency of porridge". The Canadian operation was planned as three limited attacks, on 26 October, 30 October and 6 November 1917. The offensive cost 270,000 Allied casualties, including 17,000 officers, and the village was levelled. Today Passendale is a village with the Canadian Memorial and the New Zealand Forces Memorial nearby.

Location precision: The article gives the village, not an exact spot; the pin marks Passendale village.

Visitor guidance: Village in Zonnebeke; the Canadian Memorial and the New Zealand Forces Memorial are nearby.

The Menin Gate marks the start of one of the main roads that led Allied soldiers to the front line. Unveiled on 24 July 1927, it carries stone panels with the names of 54,395 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Salient; an arbitrary cut-off date of 15 August 1917 was chosen for the list. Every evening at 20:00, buglers from the Last Post Association close the road for the Last Post.

Visitor guidance: Last Post ceremony every evening at 20:00; the road is closed beforehand, so arrive early.