Action of 22 August 1917

The Action of 22 August 1917, took place in the First World War, in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front during the Third Battle of Ypres. The engagement was fought by the Fifth Army of the British Expeditionary Force and the German 4th Army. During the Battle of Langemarck , the British had advanced north of the village but had been defeated further south and failed to capture the Wilhelmstellung, the third German defensive position. At a conference with the Fifth Army corps commanders on 17 August, Gough arranged for local attacks to gain jumping-off positions for another general attack on 25 August. At the Action of the Cockcroft on 19 August, XVIII Corps and the 1st Tank Brigade had captured five fortified farms and strongpoints for only 27 to 28 casualties.

The attack on 22 August was much bigger effort, which advanced the British front line up to 600 yd in places, on a 2 mi front but failed to reach the more distant objectives. On 24 August, a German Gegenangriff recaptured Inverness Copse on the Gheluvelt Plateau and a more ambitious British attack due on 25 August was cancelled. Rain began again on 23 August and torrential rain fell on 26 August, flooding the battlefield. Haig transferred responsibility for the offensive to General Herbert Plumer and the Second Army, to include the southern edge of the Gheluvelt Plateau in the offensive. As reinforcements were transferred from the armies further south, the Fifth Army continued with minor operations and on 27 August, the Springfield and Vancouver blockhouses were captured by tanks and infantry from the 48th Division but most of the rest were costly failures. The number of casualties and the cold, wet and muddy conditions, lowered morale among the infantry on both sides.

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