The Battle of Langemarck was the second of the general attacks in the 3rd Ypres offensive. The Allied attack succeeded from Langemarck to Drie Grachten, with the French First Army on the northern flank and the main British gain occurring near Langemarck, adjacent to the French. However early advances in the south on the Gheluvelt Plateau were forced back by powerful German counter-attacks. The Germans appreciating the tactical value of the ground concentrated their efforts in retaining the ridge through determined defence and counter-attacks. By the end of the month Inverness Copse changed hands eighteen times, and the British had suffered some 100,000 casualties for little gain in these attritional step-by-step attacks.
Skip to content
Following the Twenty-Second 