Slaughter in the Mud: The Canadians at Passchendaele, 1917

More than any other battle, Passchendaele illustrates the horror and the futility that characterized the First World War. It was fought in a sea of mud where men attacked in unfathomable conditions for reasons which are difficult to grasp. Throughout the three and one-half months of the battle, the soldiers of the British Empire struggled as much against the thick, waist-deep mud as they did against the determined German defenders.