The New Zealand Division in the Third Battle of Ypres
The year 1917 had been a year of growing professionalism for the New Zealand Division under its New Zealand commander Major-General Andrew Russell. It, and Major-General John Monash's 3rd Australian Division, formed two of the four divisions in Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Godley's II ANZAC Corps.
They had fought together for the first time at Messines on 7 June 1917, and now would fight two further battles under Godley's command on 4 and 12 October before Passchendaele. The first was successful, the second a failure. Both divisions had trained hard for this offensive and adapted their formations and training to meet the changes in German defensive tactics.
This presentation by Chris Pugsley assesses the reasons for failure which highlights the importance of Corps headquarters planning and preparations in achieving divisional success on the Western Front.
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