General Douglas Haig, the commander of the British armies in Europe, became convinced early in 1917 that if they could break through the German lines in Belgium, they could push to the coast and take the Belgium ports which were being used to launch U-boat attacks. He proposed a plan to mount an offensive in the Ypres salient, a part of the Flanders region which included Passchendaele ridge. Despite forecasts of immense loss of life, the plan was approved by the British war cabinet and the Battle of Passchendaele began in July.
Passchendaele has become synonymous with the futility and folly of much of the action in World War I. The objectives were dubious at best, and not worth the cost in lives and resources. The men- like Haig-who ordered these battles were often incompetent and seemingly indifferent to the appalling loss of life which they required. Winston Churchill, who served in W.W. I, called Passchendaele, "a forlorn expenditure of valor and life without equal in futility."