Hooge (Ypres)

Hooge is a small village on the Bellewaerde Ridge, about 4 kilometres east of Ypres in the Flemish province of West-Vlaanderen in Belgium. Hooge and the nearby locations of Bellewaerde and Zillebeke were merged into Ypres in 1976. The economy of Hooge is dominated by tourism and agriculture. Tourists are attracted by the World War I battlefields as well as Bellewaerde, the oldest operating theme park in Belgium.

In World War I, the village belonged to one of the eastern-most sectors of the Ypres Salient, which made it the site of between German and Allied forces. From 1914 the front line of the Salient ran through the Hooge area and there was almost constant fighting in the area over the next three years, during which the village and the Château de Hooge (see below) were totally destroyed. Even during times of relative quiet on this part of the Western Front, the average casualty rate for the British and Commonwealth forces was around 300 per day.

During the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November 1914), when the Allies captured the town of Ypres from the Germans, the Château de Hooge was used by the 1st and 2nd Divisions for their joint headquarters. By the end of the battle in November 1914 the Germans had been driven back, but the front line of the Salient now ran around Hooge.

During the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April – 25 May 1915), Hooge was again the site of intense fighting, including the Battle of Bellewaarde which was fought in the area from 24–25 May 1915. By the end of July, the Germans again took control of the area. On 30 July 1915, Hooge was the site of the first use of flamethrowers ("liquid fire" as it was referred to at the time), employed by the Germans against British positions. Hooge was retaken by the British on 9 August 1915, reclaimed by the Germans on 16 June 1916 (for strategic developments in this area during June 1916, see Battle of Mont Sorrel) and retaken by the British on 31 July 1917. The Germans retook Hooge in April 1918 as part of the Spring Offensive but were driven back from the area by the British on 28 September 1918.

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