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Description
The third battle of Ypres (July-November 1917), also known as the battle of Passchendaele, was one most iconic battles of the Western Front of the Great War, if only due to the sheer amount of casualties over such a small wretched piece of terrain. The objective of Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig and the British High Command was to capture the Passchendaele ridge, where German artillery held a commanding presence over the surrounding muddy lowlands. Over 140 000 subjects of the King, be they British, Canadians, ANZACs or South Africans, lost their lives to reach and finally overcome this ridge. The mud of Passchendaele carries with it a grim reputation, able to gobble up and drown a man in a matter of seconds. General Sir Arthur Currie, commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, came up with the life-saving idea of trails of planks to navigate over the mud.

Unfortunately, the Germans managed to recapture all the ground that they lost in the battle during a mere three days of their 1918 spring offensive. It would remain in German hands until the Entente offensives of the Last Hundred Days...

I started this piece last year when Paul Gross started filming the movie of the same name, and I wanted to give it that old photograph texture. I finally came back and finished it while the movie is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Jack Bell 2008

Description
The third battle of Ypres (July-November 1917), also known as the battle of Passchendaele, was one most iconic battles of the Western Front of the Great War, if only due to the sheer amount of casualties over such a small wretched piece of terrain. The objective of Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig and the British High Command was to capture the Passchendaele ridge, where German artillery held a commanding presence over the surrounding muddy lowlands. Over 140 000 subjects of the King, be they British, Canadians, ANZACs or South Africans, lost their lives to reach and finally overcome this ridge. The mud of Passchendaele carries with it a grim reputation, able to gobble up and drown a man in a matter of seconds. General Sir Arthur Currie, commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, came up with the life-saving idea of trails of planks to navigate over the mud.

Unfortunately, the Germans managed to recapture all the ground that they lost in the battle during a mere three days of their 1918 spring offensive. It would remain in German hands until the Entente offensives of the Last Hundred Days...

I started this piece last year when Paul Gross started filming the movie of the same name, and I wanted to give it that old photograph texture. I finally came back and finished it while the movie is premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Jack Bell 2008