Date

Thursday 12 October, 11am-noon

Venue

World War One Hall of Memories, Auckland War Memorial Museum

Auckland Domain, Parnell

Cost

Free

Enquiries

No bookings required

Website

passchendaelesociety.org

Details

The Battle of Passchendaele on 12 October 1917 has gone down in history as our 'darkest day' when 846 New Zealand soldiers were killed in a few hours while attacking Bellevue Ridge, Passchendaele in Flanders, Belgium.

The New Zealand attack was severely hampered by an ineffective pre-dawn artillery barrage, heavy rain, a landscape transformed into pock marked shell holes, the 'Flanders' Soup', mud so deep that it sucked soldiers to a suffocating death, duck boards destroyed by our own shells and an entrenched enemy mowing men down with machine gun fire.

We invite members of the public to join the Passchendaele Society in commemorating this significant centenary event, supported by Auckland Choral, RNZN Band, 3/6 Battalion and the North Shore Cadet Unit.