On the day following the British were forced to relinquish a few of their advanced posts, but in the main the positions gained in the advance were securely held.
Recent rains had transformed the battle field into a vast swamp, in which men sank to their knees, and even waists. Despite the unfavorable conditions of the terrain, Field Marshal Haig began another offensive early in the morning of October 12, 1917, along the entire front in Flanders. In less than three hours his assaulting troops had gained ground to an average depth of 800 yards, which brought them within 500 yards of the village of Passchendaele. Further operations were brought to a standstill by a heavy fall of rain, and the British command decided to make no further attempts to attain their objectives that day.
The storm did not abate until the following morning, when the appearance of the sun cheered the much-bedraggled troops. But days of fair weather must pass before the boglands that constituted the battle area could dry up and admit of any important infantry operations. The Germans indeed ventured a few counterattacks in the hope of wresting from the British positions won in the last advance, but these were smashed by artillery fire.
French soldiers are bringing German prisoners from Malmaison Fort, the dominating position on the Craonne Plateau, which was taken by the French October 26, 1917. The Germans overran the position again in their drive of May, 1918.
The British carried out night raids on enemy trenches in the Flanders front on October 15, 1917, and near Rœux, east of Arras. On the Aisne front the French were successful in repulsing German assaults and carried out daring attacks on enemy trenches in the Champagne and Argonne.
For a week quiet reigned on the western front. "Quiet" meaning in a military sense that no important infantry actions were attempted. But each day, and often through the night, the guns on both sides were seldom silent, and raids, counterattacks, and patrol encounters served to keep warm the fighting spirit of the German, French, and British forces.
October 22, 1917, was a day of intense activity on the Flanders front, when, operating in conjunction with the French troops, British forces in the neighborhood of Poelcappelle carried out a successful advance in the southern part of Houthulst Forest, north of Ypres. Southeast of Poelcappelle the British stormed and occupied valuable positions, and further north, aided by French troops, a series of fortified farms and defenses south of Houthulst Farm were won. The Germans in a spirited counterattack checked the advance in the vicinity of the Ypres-Staden railway, but at other points were unable to prevent the British from pushing forward.
For more than a week the French forces in the Verdun and Champagne areas had been inactive save for sporadic raids and gun duels, but early in the morning of October 23, 1917, operating over a six-mile front, they smashed the German lines north of the Aisne and seven miles northeast of Soissons. This swift and dashing attack, one of the most brilliant of the war, resulted in a gain of ground for the French of more than two miles at one point. Over 8,000 German prisoners, of whom 160 were officers, were captured, and seventy heavy field and eighty machine guns.