The battle of Passchendaele was the most symbolic tragedy of all the battles of the First World War. It is remembered as the battle of the mud. Passchendaele is a powerful symbol of the mud, madness, and the mindless slaughter of World War I (Foot). The never-ending rain was one reason why it was so significant. The shellfire as well as four months of rain turned the battlefield into a muddy swamp. Soldiers had to take shelter in water-filled craters. The mud covered rifle barrels and breeches making them difficult to fire. It consumed soldiers as they slept, and slowed down stretcher bearers. “The first day I went in, the mud was six inches deep everywhere, and in most places halfway up to my knees” (Colyer, 137). Another significance of