Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres , began on July 31, 1917. The British hoped to take advantage of the victory of the Battle of Roger Mason in June to attack the German Submarine base on the coast of Vlaanderen to accelerate the collapse of Germany. After 16 days of artillery preparation (3000 guns fired 4.5 million shells ), together with the French army, 16 divisions of troops launched a fierce attack on the German army near Ypres. At that time, the heavy rain turned the ground into a swamp, marsh , and the scattered coalition forces and their tanks trapped in the swamp and marsh became the targets of German shooting, and the planes of both sides could not play a role. The coalition attacked continuously, advancing only 6 kilometers from the starting point, and the battle ended on November 10, 1917. The coalition suffered nearly 300,000 casualties, and the Germans suffered 270,000 casualties.
One of the most famous battles of the First World War began on July 31, 1917, and lasted until November 6. The British commander-in-chief led his troops to capture Passchanel in The Kingdom of Belgium to destroy the German base at Submarine there . In this brutal tug -of-war with staggering casualties , the Allies suffered 325,000 casualties and the Germans suffered 260,000 casualties. The war ended with the capture of Passchener by the British and Canadian forces .
"Passchendaele" is the opening film of the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival . Canadian movie star Paul Gross is the screenwriter, director, star and producer of the film. Michel Gross said that "Passchendaele" was inspired by his grandfather's own experience. His grandfather held a grudge for the killing of an innocent German teenager during World War I. Michel Gross aims to reveal such a truth through the film: although the Allies won, but this victory was not pure , because many soldiers who participated in the war suffered from fear,mental torture.
