All through World War I, the historic Belgium market town of Ypres was situated at a strategically critical spot close to the British front lines and is also without doubt one of the most well known parts of the Western Front as a consequence of the terrible struggle that happened here.
The city itself had been in the centre of the Ypres Salient, a piece of the front line protruding in the direction of German lines. Historically, Ypres could possibly be traced back to the 12th century. Despite centuries of fighting and occupation, Ypres developed but the outbreak of World War I, the town under German occupation.
The 1st Battle of Ypres tin October and November 1914 saw Britain and her Allies capture the town from the German Army and irrespective of vicious fighting around Ypres until finally the war concluded in 1918, the Germans did not recapture Ypres.
All the same, for the duration of the 4 years of The First World War, Ypres suffered a fearful cost as 4 major battles were fought close to here. During the Second Battle of Ypres in April and May 1915, the German Army recaptured the high ground towards the east of Ypres. The area contained the village of Passchendaele.
In 1917, certainly one of the fiercest battles of the war occurred. The Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele saw Britain and her Allies retake the high ground unfortunately for a terrible cost. Between July and November 1917, there was in excess of 500 thousand dead and injured on both sides and Ypres was nearly destroyed by German heavy guns.
The important Cloth Hall and most other buildings were destroyed and years of heritage were gone. In 1933, rebuilding began on the Cloth Hall and it was at long last completed in 1967 having been carefully reconstructed to bring back its heritage. Presently, the Cloth Hall in Ypres houses the In Flanders Fields Museum.
Throughout World War I, the Menin Gate was no more than an exit cut in the eastern ramparts of Ypres. Various troopers would’ve made their way through this exit along the way towards the front . In 1927, the Menin Gate Memorial was unveiled. It commemorates the names of around 54,000 soldiers that are still missing about the battlegrounds across the Ypres Salient and every night, the Last Post ceremony takes place here at 8pm by the grateful citizens of Ypres.
Throughout World War I, the Ypres Salient saw some of the worst action between 1914 & 1918.
