Ever since 1917, Passchendaele has been a byword for the horror of the Great War. In terms of lives lost in a single day, the failed attack on Bellevue Spur on 12 October was probably the greatest disaster in New Zealand’s history.
Passchendaele Offensive
Events In History
1 March 1916
After the evacuation from Gallipoli in December 1915, New Zealand troops returned to Egypt to recover and regroup. In February 1916, it was decided that Australian and New Zealand infantry divisions would be sent to the Western Front. On 1 March, the New Zealand Division was formed.
Articles
First World War memorials
The New Zealand war memorials of the First World War have become part of the common fabric of our lives, like stop signs or lamp-posts. Virtually every township in the country has one, usually in the main street. Read the full article
Page 2 - Remembering the dead
430 war cemeteries in Northern France, Belgium and the UK and more than 500 public memorials in New Zealand serve as permanent reminders of the terrible toll of the First World
Passchendaele: fighting for Belgium
Ever since 1917 Passchendaele has been a byword for the horror of the First World War. The assault on this tiny Belgian village cost the lives of thousands of New Zealand soldiers. But its impact reached far beyond the battlefield, leaving deep scars on many New Zealand communities and families. Read the full article
Page 1 - Passchendaele: fighting for Belgium
Ever since 1917 Passchendaele has been a byword for the horror of the First World War. The assault on this tiny Belgian village cost the lives of thousands of New Zealand
Page 2 - The battle for Messines
The assault on Passchendaele was part of a vast Allied offensive launched in mid-1917, which, for New Zealanders, started with the Battle for
Page 3 - The Passchendaele offensive
The failed attempt to capture the town of Passchendaele saw more New Zealanders killed in one day than in any other military campaign since
Page 4 - After Passchendaele
Military events in Belgium after the Passchendaele offensive of October 1917, including the failed attack at
Page 6 - Helping the wounded
More than 14,000 New Zealanders were wounded between June and December 1917 in Belgium, and medical staff, orderlies, chaplains and stretcher-bearers worked round the clock to
Page 7 - Further information
Links and publications relating to New Zealand's involvement in Belgium during the First World
Passchendaele activities
Why do the events at Passchendaele in October 1917 go largely unnoticed in the New Zealand calendar? Can a case be made for reconsidering the place of Anzac Day in our national calendar? Read the full article
Page 1 - Why not Passchendaele Day?
Why do the events at Passchendaele in October 1917 go largely unnoticed in the New Zealand calendar? Can a case be made for reconsidering the place of Anzac Day in our national
Page 2 - Remembering the dead
Acknowledging the sacrifices of those who served or died was an important way for communities, including schools, to make sense of the human cost of
Page 3 - Turning boys into men
What role did schools play in turning boys into
Page 4 - Examining primary sources activity, Passchendaele
Activities using images to discuss the role of schools in
Page 6 - Passchendale creative writing exercise
Put yourself in the shoes of a student in the class of 1909 who had to fight in the First World
1917: Arras, Messines and Passchendaele
During 1917, Allied hopes of a decisive breakthrough on the Western Front were repeatedly raised, then dashed. Read the full article
Page 1 - 1917: Arras, Messines and Passchendaele
During 1917, Allied hopes of a decisive breakthrough on the Western Front were repeatedly raised, then
Life in the trenches
The daily tasks of life went on despite the hellish conditions of the Western Front trenches. Read the full article
Page 1 - Life in the trenches
The daily tasks of life went on despite the hellish conditions of the Western Front
Biographies
Andrew Russell was one of New Zealand's most important military leaders of the First World War, known for his strategic brilliance and meticulous planning.
Godley was a man with considerable talent for organisation, as evidenced by his training of the Territorial Force in the early 1910s, and later command of the New Zealand Division in the First World War.
Main image: Mule convoy carrying ammunition at Passchendaele
A mule convoy brings up artillery ammunition during the First Battle of Passchendaele, 12 October 1917
