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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Zillebeke area 1917-18


shutt

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Just wondering whether anyone has come across any photos of this area from the 1917-18 period ?. I am interested to know what state it was in, was it pretty much "bombed out" and churned up like the areas west of Ypres ?. Any help much appreciated.

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This from the Australian War Memorial site..........

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Ruined dugouts at Hellblast Corner at the end of Zillebeke Lake. In the background (centre) the ruined village of Zillebeke is visible and in the right corner at the head of the lake is Battersea Farm and a line of old gunpits. Note sandbags and debris along the bank.

regards

Tom

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Unidentified English soldiers occupying dugouts along the bank of Zillebeke Lake. Zillebeke Village is located in the right back corner. Note water pipes in the right foreground, probably used to carry water from the lake.

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Zillebeke, Belgium. c. 1917. German Army artillery shells bursting on ground which had been captured recently by the British Army during the Battle of Flanders.

For more images, it's just a case of going through the Memorial site, and looking for photo's with Zillebeke in the description (just put it in the search engine)

regards

Tom

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... was it pretty much "bombed out" and churned up like the areas west of Ypres ?
bikertom, The main battles took place east and north of Ypres, with the likes of Messines being due south. There was no fighting west of Ypres, though the town itself came in for a lot of shelling. West of Ypres was the British rear areas, which were bombed later in the war or sometimes came under long distance artillery fire if close enough to the German lines. The further west from Ypres, the less churned up was the ground. Conversely, everything for several kilometres on the other sides of Ypres became totally churned up, including Zillebeke as you have seen from the photos. The devastation extended past Zillebeke, down onto the Lys river valley floor. This included the likes of Zandvoorde, aerial photos of which looked like a moonscape in late 1917.

Robert

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Thanks chaps, much appreciated. Jasmor58, I will definitely check out that site, thanks. Robert, thanks for pointing out that the fighting was East of Ypres, my brain can`t have been in gear when I posted !.

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