The Capture of Wytschaete was a tactical incident in the Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) on the Western Front during the First World War. On 7 June, the ridge was attacked by the British Second Army; the 36th (Ulster) Division and the 16th (Irish) Division of IX Corps captured the fortified village of Wytschaete on the plateau of Messines Ridge, which had been held by the German 4th Army since the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November 1914).
In April 1917, the senior German commanders in Flanders were willing to contemplate a retirement from the Messines salient () but the local (corps) and divisional commanders objected. The convex slope of the eastern side of the ridge would obstruct artillery observation and the proximity of the Ypres–Comines Canal and the river Lys would hamper the assembly of reserves. The Germans had spent two years fortifying the defences and the local commanders had been assured that British mining attempts had been defeated.
The British attack at Messines was set for 7 June and the plan included the detonation of deep mines that had been laid under the German front position since 1915. IX Corps was due to attack the apex of the German salient and advance , to capture the fortified village of Wytschaete and the far side of the plateau. The divisional boundary of the 36th (Ulster) Division and the 16th (Irish) Division ran through the village and battalions of both divisions overran the remaining defenders and captured the village by
The German 2nd Division occupied the Wytschaete sector and its infantry was devastated by the seven mine explosions along its part of the front position. The defenders in the village had also suffered severely in heavy artillery and gas bombardments and were not able to resist a British tank and the Irish infantry who overran the village, although at considerable cost to the 16th (Irish) Division. The commander, (Lieutenant-General) Maximilian von Laffert was sacked after the battle; writing after the war, Hermann von Kuhl wrote that had Crown Prince Rupprecht overruled the local commanders on 30 April, the Germans would have avoided one of the "worst tragedies of the war".
Background
Messines ridge
A chain of low hills runs from south-west to north-east around the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders, with spurs extending from the east side of the ridge. A spur from Wytschaete to Messines is also a ridge and runs for about south-east from Wytschaete. The ridge has a shallow decline on the east side but an incline of up to the west side. South of the ridge is the marshy valley of the Douve river, then Ploegsteert (Plugstreet to the British) Wood and Hill 63. The Wulverghem (also Spanbroekmolen) Spur is parallel to the ridge on the west side, the Oosttaverne Spur is to the east and lesser spurs descend towards Gheluvelt, Becelaere and Keiberg. South of Ypres, the land is marked by low ridges and shallow depressions; the ridge blocks access to the district of Heuvelland from Werviq, Comines and Warneton in the Lys valley to the east. In 1917, the two villages on the flat-topped ridge were in ruins but had been fortified for all-round defence. The plateau extended further north, via a sunken road known as Damm Strasse to the White Château on the south side of the Ypres–Comines canal. North of the canal is Hill 60, Observatory Ridge, Stirling Castle and Zonnebeke.
Battle of Messines (1914)
The British 1st Cavalry Division occupied Messines on 14 October 1914. German troops began to attack the ridge during the morning of 21 October and slowly forced back the British left flank. Next day the 2nd Cavalry Division dug in and by 31 October held a line just in front of Messines village. Early in the morning, the Germans attacked and overran the defences on the south-east side of the village but were forced back as dawn broke, as were attackers further north. As mist cleared German artillery bombarded the village and after more attacks the British began slowly to retire to the west side of the village and after a lull the Germans began to fight hand-to hand through the village. During the afternoon, British counter-attacks forced back the German infantry but recaptured few houses. The 2nd Cavalry Division held a line further north was also attacked on 31 October but no ground was lost. At on 1 November Messines and Wytschaete were attacked again and German infantry filtered through gaps in the line and attacked from the flanks and from behind and by early in the morning had captured Wytschaete and the ridge between the villages. Wytschaete was eventually re-captured by British cavalry and infantry of the French 32nd Division but the garrison of Messines was ordered to retreat at to avoid being cut off from the north. By now the line further north was held by French troops, with 32nd Division troops in Wytschaete, which was attacked on 2 November from the south by the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division; the French being forced out of the village.
4th Army
The 4th Army ( (Lieutenant-General) Friedrich Sixt von Armin) began operations in Belgium in 1914 and by 1917 held the Western Front from the junction with the 6th Army at Warneton north to Dixsmude (Diksmuide), as part of (Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria, Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria). The 4th Army defences on Messines Ridge were held by the divisions of , the IX Reserve Corps headquarters, with the 204th, 35th, 2nd (holding the Wytschaete sector), 40th Division (being relieved by the 3rd Bavarian Division) and the 4th Bavarian Division, where the front line had settled during the Battles of Ypres in 1914. The German defences were on a forward slope and overlooked from Haubourdin Hill south of the Douve valley and Kemmel Hill, west of Wytschaete; the battles of 1916 showed that forward slope defences had been made obsolete. In February 1917, work began on the , incorporating the experience of the Battle of the Somme, behind Messines ridge, northwards from the Lys at Werviq, shielded from view and giving good artillery observation to the west.
In April, Rupprecht and his chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Hermann von Kuhl, favoured withdrawal to the , a reserve line just west of Warneton, to forestall a British attack. The divisional commanders objected, having been assured that counter-mining had neutralised the British underground threat and because of the inferiority of the as a defensive position. The convex eastern slope of Messines Ridge limited artillery observation and beyond the ridge, the Ypres–Comines Canal and the river Lys restricted the space below the ridge where infantry could manoeuvre for counter-attacks. British observation from the ridge would make the ground to the east untenable as far back as the . A withdrawal to the east would uncover the southern slopes of Menin Ridge, the most vital part of position. Rupprecht re-examined the and the (Oosttaverne Line to the British) to the west between the and the (high line) on the ridge and dropped the withdrawal proposal. By June, had guns, guns and guns and howitzers on its front from St Yves to Mt Sorrel.
Prelude
German defences
The German front line regiments in the (Wytschatete arc/salient) held areas wide with one (the , battle battalion) forward, a second (, readiness battalion) in support and the third (, rest battalion) in reserve back. About posts per regimental sector were dispersed around the defensive zone. The German defence was intended to be mobile and in Ic the third breastwork, were to conduct immediate counter-attacks to recapture Ia and Ib. If they had to fall back, the support battalions would advance to restore the front system, except at Spanbroekmolen, which due to its importance was to be held at all costs ().
(General Maximilian von Laffert) held Wytschaete with the 2nd Division on a front of ; the front position was lightly held, with strongpoints distributed up to back. At the end of May, British artillery fire was so damaging that the relief of the 2nd Division was promised for June. was substantially reinforced with artillery, ammunition and aircraft and the 35th and 3rd Bavarian divisions, which had been trained as (specialist counter-attack divisions), were used to relieve the and to replace them, two divisions were transferred from , which did not know the area and had no training.
The preliminary bombardment began on 8 May and intensified on 23 May. The breastworks of the front position trenches were demolished and concrete shelters on both sides of the ridge were systematically destroyed. Air superiority allowed the British artillery observation aircraft to cruise over the German defences, despite the efforts of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1, the Richthofen Circus) of the . On 26 May, the German front garrisons were ordered to move forward into shell-holes in no man's land at dawn and return to their shelters at night. When the shelters were destroyed, the shell-hole positions were made permanent, as were those of the support companies further back. Troops in the were withdrawn behind the ridge and by the end of May, the front battalions were being relieved every two days instead of every five, to maintain their battle-worthiness. The village of Wytschaete was on the summit of the ridge and the main defensive position at the north end of the plateau, having been fortified and prepared for all-round defence. A line of trenches traced the edge of the village and an inner line went round the houses at the village square and the church. The most formidable part of the defences were machine-gun nests in emplacements and house cellars along the western fringe of the village.
Some troops on the ridge were convinced that their positions had been undermined and their morale was depressed further by a prisoner taken on 6 June, who said that the attack would be synchronised with mine explosions. On 1 June, the British bombardment became more intense and nearly every German defensive position on the forward slope was obliterated. British heavy and super-heavy artillery bombardments Wytschaete on 3 June and were followed up by a gas bombardment from the field artillery, which smashed many of the defensive positions in the village. Infantry Regiment 44 lost 57 men killed and 198 wounded from 1 to 6 June, Grenadier Regiment 4 and Fusilier Regiment 33 having about the same number of casualties each. The German air effort reached its maximum from when German aircraft observed counter-battery shoots. Wireless interception by the British showed that German aircraft escorted by up to seven fighters each, were directing the German artillery reply against the Second Army. British air observation on the reverse slope was less effective than in the foreground but Messines and Wytschaete villages were demolished, as were much of the and (Oosttaverne Line) although many pill boxes survived. Long-range fire on Comines, Warneton, Wervicq, smaller villages, road junctions, railways and bridges caused much damage and several ammunition dumps were destroyed.
British preparations
The British had begun to mine under Messines Ridge in 1916; sappers tunnelled into a layer of blue clay below the surface, then drifted galleries to points deep underneath the German front position. Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and British miners laid 26 mines with of ammonal explosive. On the right flank of the 36th (Ulster) Division the 107th Brigade faced three mines at Kruisstraat and north was the larger Spanbroekmolen mine. The mine close to Peckham House was opposite the 109th Brigade on the left flank. The 47th Brigade of the 16th (Irish) Division was to advance into the area of the Maedelstede mine and the 49th Brigade past two at Petit Bois. On the left of the 16th (Irish) Division, the 19th (Western) Division was also to advance with the assistance of mines north of Wytschaete.