© R McConville
Ypres (now Ieper) was at the heart of the Allied presence in Belgium for most of the First World War, giving its name to the 'Ypres Salient'. This was an area where Allied lines projected into enemy-held territory, formed during the First Battle of Ypres in late 1914. An unsuccessful German offensive to take the town and push toward the Channel in the spring of 1915 became known as the Second Battle of Ypres. For the next two years, trench raids, sniping and artillery fire continued every day, as Commonwealth servicemen fought to hold their ground and German troops strove to drive them from it. At the end of July 1917, Allied forces launched a major offensive which became known as 'Third Ypres', sometimes called 'Passchendaele' after the village where the advance ended. The experience of living and fighting in the Salient was one of the defining features of the Western Front for Commonwealth soldiers.
