The Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, appears in an endnote as the conflict associated with the British recapture of Langemarck in 1917. The reference places the battle within a longer chronology of fighting around Ypres and the First World War’s use of poison gas, but gives no account of the battle’s course or casualties.

Historical Context

The endnote locates Langemarck near Ypres, where heavy fighting took place in October and November 1914. It adds that German forces first used poison gas there in April 1915, and that the Allies followed with gas at Loos five months later. These details establish a sequence of battles and changing methods of warfare in the region before the 1917 events.

Langemarck and the 1917 Battle

According to the note, Langemarck fell to German forces after the first gas attack in April 1915. British forces recaptured it on August 16, 1917, in the chronology associated with the Third Battle of Ypres. The reference thus identifies the place not through a description of combat, but through a reversal of control set against the broader battle.

Narrative Reference

The battle is mentioned in an explanatory historical note rather than staged as an episode in the novel’s action. Its brief appearance links the place-name Langemarck to a wider wartime history, while the note’s chronology supplies the specific connection: the British recapture of the town in 1917. No further details about the battle itself are provided.