Ypres, Battles of

views updated May 23 2018

Ypres, Battles of Several battles of World War I fought around the Belgian town of Ypres. The first (October–November 1914) stopped the German ‘race to the sea’ to capture the Channel ports, but resulted in the near destruction of the British Expeditionary Force. The second (April–May 1915), the first battle in which poison gas was used, resulted in even greater casualties, without victory to either side. The third (summer 1917) was a predominantly British offensive. It culminated in the Passchendaele campaign, the costliest campaign in British military history, which continued until November.