Capture of Hill 60 (Western Front)

Capture of Hill 60
Part of the Western Front of the First World War
Hill 60
Date 17–22 April, 1–7 May 1915 Location Hill 60, near Ypres, Flanders, Belgium 50°49′17″N 2°55′54″E / 50.82139°N 2.93167°E / 50.82139; 2.93167 (Hill 60) Result German victory
Belligerents
British Empire  Australia  Canada  United Kingdom	German Empire  Saxony  Württemberg
Commanders and leaders
Sir John French Horace Smith-Dorrien Thomas Morland	Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg Berthold von Deimling
Strength
1 division	1 regiment
Casualties and losses
c. 3,100
Hill 60 class=notpageimage| near Ypres in the Flemish province of West Flanders

The Capture of Hill 60 (17 April – 7 May 1915) took place near Hill 60 south of Ypres on the Western Front, during the First World War. Hill 60 had been captured by the German 30th Division on 11 November 1914, during the First Battle of Ypres (19 October – 22 November 1914). Initial French preparations to raid the hill were continued by the British 28th Division, which took over the line in February 1915 and then by the 5th Division. The plan was expanded into an ambitious attempt to capture the hill, despite advice that Hill 60 could not be held unless the nearby Caterpillar ridge was also occupied. It was found that Hill 60 was the only place in the area not waterlogged and a French 3 ft × 2 ft (0.91 m × 0.61 m) mine gallery was extended.

Experienced miners from Northumberland and Wales were recruited for the digging and the British attack began on 17 April 1915. The hill was captured quickly with only seven casualties but then it was found that the salient which had been created, made occupation of the hill costly. Both sides mistakenly accused the other of using poison gas in the April fighting; German attacks on the hill in early May included the use of gas shells and the Germans recovered the ground at the second attempt on 5 May. It remained in German hands until the Battle of Messines in 1917, when two of the Mines in the Battle of Messines were detonated beneath Hill 60 and the Caterpillar.