On July 31, 1917, the Third Battle of Ypres begins. More than 4.2 million shells are thrown at the German positions. The shelling is churning up the landscape and destroying the drainage system. Bunkers, the target of the shelling, remain standing. The rainwater can't go anywhere. A few summer downpours turn the operating site into a swamp.
After weeks of toil, New Zealanders, Australians and South Africans rejoin the exhausted British divisions. After a few successes, the attack stalls again. Stopping the offensive, however many lives it may save, is not an option. A victory, even if it is a symbolic one, is desperately needed. Field Marshal Haig's gaze falls on Passchendaele. The destroyed village on top of the West Flemish ridge has been in German hands since 1914 and has assumed mythical proportions. To win that prize, Haig turns to the Canadians.
The Canadian army command reluctantly accepts the assignment. She will attack in four phases. In the first two phases, on October 26 and 30, the troops must reach higher ground. Once freed from the mud, Passchendaele can be conquered. North of Passchendaele, during a final phase, a part of the ridge will be taken on November 10.
At dawn on October 26, 1917, Canadian artillery vomited its deadly charge. As the defenders retreat to their hideouts, the Canadians move forward.
The 46th Battalion (South Saskatchewan) advances at Tyne Cot Cemetery. A German counter-attack forces them to retreat. The number of missing persons rises to about one in seven.
We can locate two missing persons from the 46th in the Tyne Cot cemetery, where a total of 13 missing Canadians were initially buried. The 27-year-old Norwegian emigrant 𝐍𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐡 was buried near what is now the Cross of Sacrifice. Nearby lay the 20-year-old William farmer 𝐌𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐜𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥. To this day, both have no known grave.
The most impressive of the numerous scars left by the Great War in this region. Neatly lined up are 11965 tombstones in front of the Missing Memorial with the names of 34957 missing soldiers on the semi-circular back wall. Each set bears the regimental sign: the maple or maple leaf for Canada, the springbok for South Africa, etc. The sacrificial cross - a white stone base with a bronze sword - stands on the site of a German bunker. The name Tyne cot(tage) was given to a shed that stood between five German concrete bunkers and refers to the houses (cottages) along the Tune, a river in Northumberland.
'Silent City Meets Living City' is the experience you will have at Tyne Cot Cemetery.
Visitors experience a moment of reflection with the past.
Row upon row and side by side, almost 12,000 fallen brotherly rest here at Tyne Cot Cemetery. And line after line, more than 35,000 written names of missing soldiers were forever engraved in the memorial walls and niches.
Just madness when you know that young heroes are being commemorated here in a 'silent city'. Visitors experience a moment of reflection with the past. A place of respect, “they gave their young lives for our freedom”.
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I myself was present on October 14, 2017 at the vigil, organized by Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, and stood at the grave of W.J.EASDEN 22/08/1917. Since then I try to visit this Silent City regularly.
Translated by Google •
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