Veteran, 109, revisits WWI trench

"The Germans suffered the same as we did"
Harry Patch

The last known surviving British soldier to have fought in the trenches of World War I has revisited the site where he fought 90 years ago.

Harry Patch, 109, from Somerset, made the trip to Belgium to recall his part in the Battle of Passchendaele which claimed 250,000 British casualties.

He also went to pay homage to the tens of thousands of German soldiers who lost their lives.

Tuesday marks the anniversary of the start of the Battle of Passchendaele.

Badly wounded

Mr Patch served with the Duke of Cornwall's light infantry and was called up for service while working as an 18-year-old apprentice plumber in Bath.

During the fighting Mr Patch was badly wounded and three of his best friends were killed when a shell exploded just yards from where he was standing.

He made the trip with historian Richard van Emden, who helped Mr Patch write down his memories.

Wreath laid

Mr van Emden showed him the five miles they advanced over 99 days which claimed 3,000 British casualties every day.

Mr Patch was also shown a recently discovered panoramic photograph of the fields taken in 1917.

"Too many died. War isn't worth one life," said Mr Patch.

He said war was the "calculated and condoned slaughter of human beings".

Mr Patch laid a wreath at the site of the trench, which now forms part of a German war cemetery.

War effort

"The Germans suffered the same as we did," he said.

BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE

• The battle lasted from 31 July to 6 November 1917
• An initial bombardment of German positions involved 4.5m shells and 3,000 guns
• The battle was infamous for the mud - shelling had churned clay soil and smashed drains
• The heaviest rain for 30 years made the mud so deep men and horses drowned
• The battle ended when British and Canadian forces captured Passchendaele
• The village was barely five miles beyond the starting point of the offensive
• There was a total of 325,000 Allied and 260,000 German casualties

Germany also had heavy losses in the battle which has been described as one of the bloodiest and most brutal of the Great War.

The Battle of Passchendaele was officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres - the name of the principal town within a bulge in the British lines.

British commanders wanted to reach the Belgian coast to destroy German submarine bases following a warning that a blockade would soon cripple the war effort.

There was also the prospect of a Russian withdrawal from the war which would strengthen the Germans on the Western Front.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Last Tommy gallery
Battle of Passchendaele
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