15. The Horrors of the Great War’s Mud
The Great War, or World War I as it became known after it was followed by an even greater just two decades later, was a tragic, horrific and brutalizing experience for the millions of soldiers who found themselves stuck fighting in it. For those engaged in the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, in Flanders, “stuck” took on a literal meaning when unusually wet weather conditions morphed much of the region into a sea of mud deep enough to swallow soldiers, and even horses.
Flanders is a low-lying coastal region along the North Sea in Belgium, where the water table is seldom far below the ground. The area is naturally prone to muddiness, but 1917 saw relentless rains that enhanced its already muddy norms. Artillery barrages churned the ground and made it even muddier. Thousands of horses and mules died from exhaustion as they tried to drag gun carriages and wagon loads through the mire, and sometimes it took over six hours to move an artillery piece a mere 250 yards.