A battle fought on the Western Front in World War I. The name of this Belgian village has become notorious for the worst horrors of trench warfare and failure to achieve any strategic gain for over 300,000 British casualties. Haig, the British commander-in-chief, without French help, remained convinced, despite the Somme, that frontal assaults in superior numbers must succeed. Torrential rain and preliminary bombardment reduced Flanders to a sea of mud, making advance impossible. Only on the final day did Canadians reach the ruined village of Passchendaele. Even this nominal gain was surrendered in the retreat before Ludendorff’s final offensive (April 1918).