German withdrawal following Broodseinde

[Michael Molkentin]

I recently saw Gary Sheffield give a keynote at the 1917 conference in Canberra.

He suggested that following the Broodseinde battle, the Germans in Belgium were at breaking point. As evidence of this, he stated that Crown Prince Ruprecht had even began preparing a withdrawal from the Chanel ports following 4 October. As far as Gary seemed to be concerned, this is an important piece of evidence because it demonstrates how close Plumer's Army came to forcing a large scale German withdrawal from Flanders and the Chanel ports.

Has anyone else heard of this happening? Perhaps more importantly, where is the evidence and does it suggest how close the Crown Prince came to implementing the retreat order?

Michael

[6th Shropshires]

Hi Michael

where is the evidence and does it suggest how close the Crown Prince came to implementing the retreat order

Crown Prince Rupprecht produced his war diary, and I believe, this is the source. There is also a volume of the German Official Account marked "For Official Use only", which covers Passchendaele, both surgest that the German Army was close to breaking point. I have not read either myself but have read quotes from them in the British Official History.

Annette

[Mangham1]

Michael,

Have you thought of sending a PM to Bob Lembke? I think he will have easy access to the books mentioned and may know of others.

Grant