A time was set for parade and roll call

There weren't too many of us left to answer our names

If there was no response when the name was called

The sergeant would shout out

Anybody know anything about him

Sometimes someone replied

More often there was silence My impression was anybody know anything about him? Sometimes someone replied.

More often there was silence.

My impression was that we had won the ridge and lost the battalion.

These were the words of Corporal H.C. Baker of the 28th Battalion Canadian Infantry after his unit's final attack on the Pashtendale Ridge

in November of 1917.

This week, we're back in Flanders

and we're walking the grounds up and into Paschendale village.

Welcome to the old front line with me military historian Paul Reed each week I give you a glimpse into the history of the great war and we walk the battlefields from epe to the Somme and beyond so let's head out once more onto the old front line.

We begin our walk this week on the junction of two minor roads, not far from the vast

Tynecott Cemetery in Flanders, just outside the city of Ipp. We're standing on Tynecott Stratt, named after the cemetery,

and ahead of us is Canada Land, Canada Lane,

leading up and into the village of Paschendale itself.

We're in a valley.

Behind us are the trees of what was known during the war as Berlin Wood.

When we look at the trench map of this area,

we're standing on a place called water fields and just across to our left was marsh bottoms.

...