War chronicle · 12 October · Passchendaele, Belgium
Darkest day
Passchendaele delivers the bloodiest day in the history of the New Zealand Army.
At 5.25am on 12 October the New Zealand infantry continue their mission to seize control of Passchendaele Ridge. Having successfully taken Gravenstafel Spur just eight days earlier, they now find themselves confronted by their worst nightmare at Bellevue Spur – caught in no man’s land with thick belts of uncut German barbed wire barring their way. Then the German machine guns open fire …
The appalling state of the weather and the terrain means there simply hasn’t been time to get enough artillery into position to support the New Zealand attack. The Kiwis were relying on that to blast a way through the barbed wire and keep the Germans’ heads down. But the strategy fails. At day’s end, over 850 New Zealand soldiers are dead or dying, and another 2900 wounded.
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