Passchendaele
Slaughter in the Mud
Vocabulary: Morass: a marsh or bog, marshy ground.
Mire: a tract or area of wet, swampy ground; bog; marsh, ground of this
kind, as wet, slimy soil of some depth or deep mud.
Whizzbang: a small, high-speed shell whose sound as it flies through
the air arrives almost at the same instant as its explosion.
As you watch Passchendaele: Canadians in the Mud, answer the following questions.
What are the Belgian soldiers 'harvesting' from the farms in Belgium?When was the battle of
Passchendaele?
When and where was the beginning of the battle of Passchendaele?
What was the goal of the offensive?
How many shells did Haig and the British fire at the Germans?
What did Haig's bombardment destroy?
What weather started a few days after the shelling?
What happened to men and horses?
How many men had Haig lost by October?
When were Canadians ordered into the battle, and what was their goal?
How did Norm Christie describe the moat near the cemetery at Ypres?
How many casualties did Currie expect to have at Passchendaele?
What did Currie decide the Canadians needed to build to get to the base of the Ridge?
What was the 'jumping off' date at the Bellevue Spur and Passchendaele Ridge attacks by the
Canadian Corps?
What was happening with the artillery in the creeping barrage at Passchendaele?
How did the German Soldier describe life in the concrete pill boxes?
How could the Canadians hope to take out the pill boxes?
How did Caroline Papineau feel about the attack on Passchendaele?
More people died in the fighting at Passchendaele than during what other major event(s)?
When did Currie begin his final assault on Passchendaele?
How many Canadians were killed or wounded at Passchendaele?
Based on Canon Scott's description, what was in the shell holes in Passchendaele?
When was Tyne Cot Cemetery established?
What percent of soldiers buried at Tyne Cot are unknown soldiers?
How many men were killed in wounded in the fighting at Passchendaele?
Although Canadians took the village, whom did British papers credit with the victory?
Do you think that Haig's determination to take Passchendaele Ridge, regardless of the
casualties was justified? Why or why not?