The Battle of Passchendaele has become hugely significant to New Zealanders in the years following the war. It has become known as one of our greatest military disasters, and affected more New Zealand families on a single day than any other event in New Zealand history. It is still remembered and commemorated today. On October 12th, 2012 a national commemorative service to mark the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele was held at the National War Memorial and Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Wellington.
The story of Passchendaele has been passed down through generations as part of the heritage of New Zealand. My own mum told me about my great-grandfather fighting in Passchendaele, and she was told by her dad. Soldiers told their story about their experiences at Passchendaele through photographs, letters, diaries, paintings and drawings.
Historians at the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage have a website that features archival film, photos, stories and spoken histories about Passchendaele. There is also the Passchendaele Project, a commemoration dedicated to the New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives on October 12th, 1917.
The story of Passchendaele has been passed down through generations as part of the heritage of New Zealand. My own mum told me about my great-grandfather fighting in Passchendaele, and she was told by her dad. Soldiers told their story about their experiences at Passchendaele through photographs, letters, diaries, paintings and drawings.
Historians at the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage have a website that features archival film, photos, stories and spoken histories about Passchendaele. There is also the Passchendaele Project, a commemoration dedicated to the New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives on October 12th, 1917.
Hundreds of War Memorials were established by local communities across New Zealand for those who died in Belgium, more students at school today are also learning about Passchendaele, even over 90 years later, and Passchendaele has become the subject of many books, poems and songs, such as:
Far, far from Ypres I long to be
Where German snipers can’t snipe at me
Damp is my dugout,
Cold are my feet,
Waiting for whizz-bangs
To send me to sleep.
Passchendaele, like Gallipoli, helped New Zealanders have a sense of national identity. Like Gallipoli, the tragedy brought the country together, and helped people to understand what it was to be a New Zealander, and to be proud of the their small country at the bottom of the world. The bravery of the soldiers at Passchendaele saw, not only survivors who returned home but also those who lie in the ground in Belgium, become heroes and who are still remembered over 90 years later.
The event was also highly significant at the time. Shellfire and shrapnel left marks and severed limbs, gas poisoned bodies, bacteria from the mud infected wounds. Those who recovered felt the effects of the battle for years afterwards. Servicemen suffered from nightmares and hallucinations. It was hard on families to see their loved ones going through this and it really showed New Zealanders how brave these men were and New Zealanders have been grateful ever since.
It affected some New Zealand soldiers in a very direct, political way. The failure of the Battle of Passchendaele, only having advanced eight kilometres and losing over 200,000 soldiers in three and a half months, only to have the Generals abandon every metre of territory gained in March, 1918 angered some New Zealand soldiers. Their comrades had died for no reason and many began blaming the upper-class British commanders, like Sir Douglas Haig, for the losses. Some of these soldiers returned to New Zealand determined that New Zealand should be independent of Britain. Other soldiers returned to New Zealand as socialists – adamant that the class system not be allowed to develop in New Zealand.
It was also significant because of the loss of famous New Zealanders, such as the captain of the 1905 All Blacks team, Dave Gallaher, who died at Passchendaele. A total of 10 All Blacks were killed at the Western Front.
New Zealanders also wear a red poppy on ANZAC Day as a sign of remembrance of the soldiers who died at Passchendaele, and in other battles. The poppy was the first plant to re-emerge from the churned up soil of soldier’s graves. West Flanders is the area of Belgium where the Battle of Passchendaele took place.
Far, far from Ypres I long to be
Where German snipers can’t snipe at me
Damp is my dugout,
Cold are my feet,
Waiting for whizz-bangs
To send me to sleep.
Passchendaele, like Gallipoli, helped New Zealanders have a sense of national identity. Like Gallipoli, the tragedy brought the country together, and helped people to understand what it was to be a New Zealander, and to be proud of the their small country at the bottom of the world. The bravery of the soldiers at Passchendaele saw, not only survivors who returned home but also those who lie in the ground in Belgium, become heroes and who are still remembered over 90 years later.
The event was also highly significant at the time. Shellfire and shrapnel left marks and severed limbs, gas poisoned bodies, bacteria from the mud infected wounds. Those who recovered felt the effects of the battle for years afterwards. Servicemen suffered from nightmares and hallucinations. It was hard on families to see their loved ones going through this and it really showed New Zealanders how brave these men were and New Zealanders have been grateful ever since.
It affected some New Zealand soldiers in a very direct, political way. The failure of the Battle of Passchendaele, only having advanced eight kilometres and losing over 200,000 soldiers in three and a half months, only to have the Generals abandon every metre of territory gained in March, 1918 angered some New Zealand soldiers. Their comrades had died for no reason and many began blaming the upper-class British commanders, like Sir Douglas Haig, for the losses. Some of these soldiers returned to New Zealand determined that New Zealand should be independent of Britain. Other soldiers returned to New Zealand as socialists – adamant that the class system not be allowed to develop in New Zealand.
It was also significant because of the loss of famous New Zealanders, such as the captain of the 1905 All Blacks team, Dave Gallaher, who died at Passchendaele. A total of 10 All Blacks were killed at the Western Front.
New Zealanders also wear a red poppy on ANZAC Day as a sign of remembrance of the soldiers who died at Passchendaele, and in other battles. The poppy was the first plant to re-emerge from the churned up soil of soldier’s graves. West Flanders is the area of Belgium where the Battle of Passchendaele took place.