page_title: Battle of Polygon Wood
section_title: Commemoration
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Polygon Wood / Aftermath / Commemoration
caption_attribution_description: English: A landscape by George Edmund Butler of the battlefield at Polygon Wood, painted in 1918
context_page_description: The Battle of Polygon Wood took place from 26 September to 3 October 1917, during the second phase of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, in the area from the Menin road to Polygon Wood and thence north, to the area beyond St Julien. Much of the woodland had been destroyed by the huge quantity of shellfire from both sides since 16 July and the area had changed hands several times. General Herbert Plumer continued the series of British general attacks with limited objectives. The attacks were led by lines of skirmishers, followed by small infantry columns organised in depth with a vastly increased amount of artillery support, the infantry advancing behind five layers of creeping barrage on the Second Army front.
  The advance was planned to cover 1,000–1,500 yd and stop on reverse slopes, which were easier to defend, enclosing ground which gave observation of German reinforcement routes and counter-attack assembly areas. Preparations were then made swiftly to defeat German counter-attacks, by mopping-up and consolidating the captured ground with defences in depth.
context_section_description: Though smaller than in 1917, Polygon Wood is still a large feature; the remains of three German pillboxes captured by the Australians lie deep among the trees but few trench lines remain. The Butte is still prominent and mounted on top of it is the 5th Australian Division memorial. There are two Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemeteries in the vicinity of Polygon Wood, the CWGC Polygon Wood Cemetery and the CWGC Buttes New British Cemetery.  Within Buttes New British Cemetery is the CWGC New Zealand Memorial to the Missing.
caption: A painting of the battlefield at Polygon Wood by George Edmund Butler, an official war artist to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, in 1918. The Butte is visible in the distance.
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