These pictures of the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I show the horrendous conditions in which the Canadian Corps fought. Earlier battles had destroyed the drainage system and record rains, the heaviest in 30 years, made the battlefield a sea of water-filled craters surrounded by a thick swamp of mud. The mud was so thick it immobilized tanks. Walking was impossible and several of the pictures show the soldiers using trench mats, platforms of strips of wood used to get footing.
After three months of fighting, the Canadians seized Passchendaele on November 6, 1917. The Canadians distinguished themselves and nine Victoria Crosses were awarded. Victory meant over 15,000 Canadian wounded or dead for an advance of just a few square kilometres of mud.
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