Daeth Trydydd Brwydr Ypres, a elwir yn fwy cyffredin ‘Passchendaele’, ar ôl misoedd o ymladd creulon rhwng fyddin yr Almaen a’r Cynghreiriaid. Roedd y Cyntaf a’r Ail Frwydyr wedi ei dechrau gan yr Almaewyr ond yn y Trydydd oedd y Cynghreiriaid yn ymladd yn ôl. O dan arweiniad Syr Douglas Haig, agorwyd y frwydr gyda morglawdd o tua 3,000 o gynnau a chynnydd ymlaen ar bentref Passchendaele ar 31ain Gorffennaf 1917.
Dechreuodd ymosodiad y Cynghreiriaid am 03:50 ar 31ain yn Ridge Pilckem ond cafodd y tair is-adran Brydeinig, gan gynnwys y 38ain Adran Gymreig a’r 14eg Gatrawd Gymreig (Pals Abertawe), yr 11eg Cyffinwyr De Cymru a’r 17eg Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig eu gyrru yn ôl gan y Rhyfeloedd yr Almaen yn achosi dros 70% o anafiadau.
Ymhlith yr anafiadau hyn oedd Elis Humphreys Evans o Drawsfynnydd, Sir Feirionnydd. Roedd ‘Hedd Wyn’ wrth ddefnyddio ei enw barddonol; yn fardd o nodyn ar ôl ennill nifer o Gadeiryddion Llenyddol mewn Eisteddfodau lleol. Tra’n disgwyl i’r frwydr i ddechrau, ysgrifennodd Ellis ei gerdd olaf. Hwn oedd ei gofnod am Wobr Llenyddol Genedlaethol Cymru a gynhaliwyd y flwyddyn honno ym Mhenbedw. Cafodd Ellis byth wybod fod ei gerdd wedi cael ei ystyried y gorau yn y tir a phan gafodd ei alw ar faes yr Eisteddfod fel yr enillydd bu rhaid rhoi defnydd du dros y Gadair gan fod Elllis wedi marw ar ddiwrnod cyntaf y frwydr yn Pilckem Ridge.
Parhaodd yr ymosodiad trwy Awst ac mi welodd yr ardal o gwmpas Passchendaele yr ymladd trwmaf gyda cholledion trwm ar y ddwy ochr. Arweiniodd penderfyniad Haig iddo archebu tri mwy o ymosodiadau ar Passchendaele ddiwedd mis Hydref a syrthiodd y pentref i ddwylo Prydain ar y 6ed Tachwedd, 1917. Datganodd Haig fuddugoliaeth hon i’r Cynghreiriaid er gwaethaf tua 310,000 o anafiadau Prydeinig.
Yn 2014, cafodd cofeb ei ddadorchuddio gan Brif Weinidog Cymru i goffáu y Cymry a fu farw ym mrwydr Passchendaele. Mae’r gofeb yn cynnwys ffurf cromlech, lle claddu hynafol, ac mae’n cynnwys tair slab fawr o gerrig bendant mawr unionsyth a slab fflat fawr ar y brig. Mae draig efydd coch o 8 troedfedd ar y cromlech. Mae’r cofeb wedi ei enysgrifio “I’r holl bobl o Gymru a gymerodd ran yn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf rhwng 1914 a 1918.”
Y tu hwnt i gofeb y cromlech, mae’r parc goffa ar Ridge Pilkem yn cynnwys clogfeini mawr gyda neges o groeso yn y Gymraeg, siâp cerrig tywys fel y rhai a ddefnyddiwyd gan Gomisiwn Beddau Rhyfel y Gymanwlad ond wedi’u hysgrifennu gyda geiriau’r anthem genedlaethol “Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’.
Yn agos at ym mynwent Artillery Wood mae bedd Ellis Humphreys (Hedd Wyn) ac ar ein taith ddiweddar i’r Iseldiroedd, cawsom y fraint i ymweld â’r cofeb hon a thalu ein parch at y dynion a ymladdodd am ein rhyddid.
The Third Battle of Ypres, known as ‘Passchendaele’, came after months of cruel fighting between the German army and the Allies. The First and Second Battles had begun by the Germans but in the Third the Allies fought back. Under the leadership of Sir Douglas Haig, the battle was opened with a barrage of around 3,000 guns and progressed onto the village of Passchendaele on the 31st July 1917.
The Allied attack began at 03:50 on 31st at Pilckem Ridge but the three British divisions, including the 38th Welsh, the 14th Welsh Regiment (Swansea Pals), the 11th South Wales Borderers and the 17th Royal Welch Fusiliers Welsh were driven back by the German Wars with over 70% casualties.
Those injuried included Elis Humphreys Evans of Trawsfynnydd, Merionethshire. ‘Hedd Wyn’ using his poetic name; was a poet of note after winning a number of Literary Chairs at local Eisteddfodau. While waiting for the battle to start, Ellis wrote his final poem. This was his entry for the National Literary Prize of Wales at the Eisteddfod that was held that year in Birkenhead. Ellis never knew that his poem had been considered the best in the land and when he was named at the Eisteddfod field as the winner, they had to drape his Chair with a black cloth as Elllis had died on the first day of the battle at Pilckem Ridge.
The attack continued through August and the area around Passchendaele saw the fiercest fighting with heavy losses on both sides. Haig’s determination to win led him to order three more attacks on Passchendaele at the end of October and the village fell into British hands on the 6th November, 1917. Haig declared this a victory for the Allies despite about 310,000 British injuries.
In 2014, a memorial was unveiled by the First Minister of Wales to commemorate the Welsh men who died in the Passchendaele battle. The memorial is in the form of a cromlech, an ancient burial place, and consists of three large slab of decent vertical stones and a large flat slab at the top. The cromlech is topped by an 8 foot red bronze dragon. The memorial is inscribed “For all the people of Wales who took part in the First World War between 1914 and 1918.”
Beyond the cromlech, the memorial park on Ridge Pilkem includes large boulders with a message of welcome in Welsh. There is also a memorial in the shape of a grave stone like those used by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission but inscribed with the words of the national anthem “Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau”.
Close by at the Artillery Wood cemetery is the grave of Ellis Humphreys (Hedd Wyn) and those who fell at the same battle. On our recent Dutch trip, we were privileged to visit this memorial and pay our respect for the men who fought for our freedom