The British had begun the attack at 6 o'clock in the morning. The day was cloudy and promised rain. A mist hung over the battle field. The advance made into the enemy country was preceded by a heavy barrage, which, breaking in a fiery flood over the German lines, created such terror that in many places the enemy rushed out in groups with raised hands in sign of surrender.
The drive forward had forestalled a German attack which was in preparation near Zonnebeke on the same morning. Three German divisions here were ordered to take the line the British had captured the previous week. As they were pushing forward they were caught in the British barrage and met with appalling disaster.
The loss of the Passchendaele-Gheluvelt Ridge was a serious one for the Germans, as it constituted a barrier between the British and occupied Belgium. Many important positions had been torn from them during recent thrusts, and on the 4th the British by a dashing advance penetrated German lines to a depth of 2,500 yards, carrying important defenses. South of the Ypres-Roulers railway the British troops could now overlook the slopes of the main ridge, and in some places had pushed their way into the valley below. Along the Strombeek River, on the left, the advance was slow owing to the marshy condition of the ground. The troops were aided in the advance by a number of tanks which performed immense service in reducing strong redoubts and concrete "pill boxes." Poelcappelle, which the British reached by 10.30, though heavily garrisoned, did not offer very strong resistance.
Abraham Heights, near Gravenstafel, was the scene of brief cellar fighting, but a sharp struggle developed near the fort where the Germans had eight strong concrete redoubts. The fighting here was close and heavy, but in the end the German resistance broke down under rifle fire and bomb. In the course of the day's fighting the British took 4,446 prisoners, including 114 officers.
It was estimated by correspondents who visited the battle area after the fight that the Germans had lost more killed than the number of their wounded and prisoners combined. On one section of the Australian front a thousand bodies were counted. A little farther south there was another lot of over seven hundred.