For the duration of The Great War, the historic Belgium market town of Ypres was in a strategically critical position near to the British front lines and it is one of the most infamous parts of the Western Front from the awful fighting that happened here.
The city itself had been in the centre of the Ypres Salient, a piece of the front line protruding in the direction of German lines. Historically, Ypres could possibly be traced back to the 12th century. Despite centuries of fighting and occupation, Ypres developed but the outbreak of World War I, the town under German occupation.
The First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914 saw Allied Forces capture the town from the German Army and despite heavy fighting around Ypres until finally the war concluded in 1918, the Germans did not recapture Ypres.
However, during the four years of The First World War, Ypres suffered a fearful toll while four big battles took place about here. During the Second Battle of Ypres in April and May 1915, the Germans recaptured the high ground towards the east of Ypres. The area covered the village of Passchendaele.
In 1917, certainly one of the fiercest battles of the war occurred. The Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele saw Britain and her Allies retake the high ground unfortunately for a terrible cost. Between July and November 1917, there was in excess of 500 thousand dead and injured on both sides and Ypres was nearly destroyed by German heavy guns.
The legendary Cloth Hall and quite a few other buildings were reduced to rubble and generations of history were gone. In 1933, rebuilding began on the Cloth Hall and it was finally completed in 1967 having been painstakingly reconstructed to bring back its historical past. Nowadays, the Cloth Hall in Ypres houses the In Flanders Fields Museum.
During The First World War, the Menin Gate was simply an exit cut from the eastern ramparts of Ypres. Many Allied soldiers would have marched through this exit on the way to the front lines. In 1927, the Menin Gate Memorial was unveiled. It commemorates the names of in excess of 54,000 men who are even now missing around the battlegrounds close to the Ypres Salient and each and every night, the Last Post ceremony takes place here at 8pm by the grateful citizens of Ypres.
The city itself had been in the centre of the Ypres Salient, a piece of the front line protruding in the direction of German lines. Historically, Ypres could possibly be traced back to the 12th century. Despite centuries of fighting and occupation, Ypres developed but the outbreak of World War I, the town under German occupation.
The First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914 saw Allied Forces capture the town from the German Army and despite heavy fighting around Ypres until finally the war concluded in 1918, the Germans did not recapture Ypres.
However, during the four years of The First World War, Ypres suffered a fearful toll while four big battles took place about here. During the Second Battle of Ypres in April and May 1915, the Germans recaptured the high ground towards the east of Ypres. The area covered the village of Passchendaele.
In 1917, certainly one of the fiercest battles of the war occurred. The Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele saw Britain and her Allies retake the high ground unfortunately for a terrible cost. Between July and November 1917, there was in excess of 500 thousand dead and injured on both sides and Ypres was nearly destroyed by German heavy guns.
The legendary Cloth Hall and quite a few other buildings were reduced to rubble and generations of history were gone. In 1933, rebuilding began on the Cloth Hall and it was finally completed in 1967 having been painstakingly reconstructed to bring back its historical past. Nowadays, the Cloth Hall in Ypres houses the In Flanders Fields Museum.
During The First World War, the Menin Gate was simply an exit cut from the eastern ramparts of Ypres. Many Allied soldiers would have marched through this exit on the way to the front lines. In 1927, the Menin Gate Memorial was unveiled. It commemorates the names of in excess of 54,000 men who are even now missing around the battlegrounds close to the Ypres Salient and each and every night, the Last Post ceremony takes place here at 8pm by the grateful citizens of Ypres.
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In the First World War, the Ypres Salient saw some of the worst action between 1914 and 1918.
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