Footsteps of the fallen

Bellevue Ridge - a black day for the silver ferns

March 13, 2022 Season 3 Episode 21
Footsteps of the fallen
Bellevue Ridge - a black day for the silver ferns
Show Notes

In this latest episode, we return to Belgium and look at the opening actions of the attempts by the Allies to capture a small Flanders farming village, whose name has become synonymous with the futility of the Great War - Passchendaele.

The capture of Passchendaele was the story of the Empire, men from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand who travelled from the other sides of the world to lay down their lives for the mother country.

In this episode, we look at the fighting at Gravenstafel, where New Zealand successes belied the tragedy that was to fall upon the men from Wellington and Otago in the following days.  We meet again one of my heroes, Dick Travis, the King of No Mans Land, cast an eye over one of the most controversial military decisions made during the entire war, and hear the story of a future New Zealand MP whose solo act of bravery saw him turn the fighting at Bellevue back in New Zealand's favour. 

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