Battle of Messines (1917)
| Battle of Messines | |||||||||
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| Part of the Western Front of World War I | |||||||||
 Map of the battle, depicting the front on 7 June and operations until 14 June |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 German Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Sir Douglas Haig Sir Herbert Plumer |
Crown Prince Rupprecht Sixt von Armin |
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| Units involved | |||||||||
| Second Army | XIX Corps | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 9 divisions and 3 in reserve: 216,000 men | 5 divisions: 126,000 men | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 1–12 June: 24,562 | 21 May – 10 June: 25,000 10,000 missing (including 7,200 taken prisoner) |
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 Messines Ridge
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The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an offensive conducted by the British Second Army, under the command of General Sir Herbert Plumer, on the Western Front near the village of Messines in West Flanders, Belgium, during the First World War. The Nivelle Offensive in April and May had failed to achieve its more ambitious aims, led to the demoralisation of French troops and the dislocation of the Anglo-French strategy for 1917. The offensive at Messines forced the Germans to move reserves to Flanders from the Arras and Aisne fronts, which relieved pressure on the French. The tactical objective of the attack at Messines was to capture the German defences on the ridge, which ran from Ploegsteert (Plugstreet) Wood in the south, through Messines and Wytschaete to Mt. Sorrel, to deprive the German 4th Army of the high ground south of Ypres. The ridge commanded the British defences and back areas further north, from which the British intended to conduct the "Northern Operation", to advance to Passchendaele Ridge, then capture the Belgian coast up to the Dutch frontier.
The Second Army had five corps, of which three conducted the attack and two remained on the northern flank, not engaged in the main operation; the XIV Corps was available in General Headquarters reserve (GHQ reserve). The 4th Army divisions of Gruppe Wijtschate (Group Wytschaete) held the ridge, which were later reinforced by a division from Gruppe Ypern. The battle began with the detonation of a series of mines beneath German lines, which created 19 large craters and devastated the German front line defences. This was followed by a creeping barrage 700 yards (640 m) deep, covering the British troops as they secured the ridge, with support from tanks, cavalry patrols and aircraft. The effectiveness of the British mines, barrages and bombardments was improved by advances in artillery survey, flash-spotting and centralised control of artillery from the Second Army headquarters. British attacks from 8–14 June advanced the front line beyond the former German Sehnen (Oosttaverne) line. The Battle of Messines was a prelude to the much larger Third Battle of Ypres campaign, the preliminary bombardment for which began on 11 July 1917.
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