battle of Ypres

Other forms: battles of Ypres

Definitions of battle of Ypres

1. noun

   battle in World War I (1914); heavy but indecisive fighting as the Allies and the Germans both tried to break through the lines of the others
   synonyms: Ypres, first battle of Ypres

   example of:

   pitched battle

   a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place
2. noun

   battle in World War I (1915); Germans wanted to try chlorine (a toxic yellow gas) as a weapon and succeeded in taking considerable territory from the Allied salient
   synonyms: Ypres, second battle of Ypres

   example of:

   pitched battle

   a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place
3. noun

   battle in World War I (1917); an Allied offensive which eventually failed because tanks bogged down in the waterlogged soil of Flanders; Germans introduced mustard gas which interfered with the Allied artillery
   synonyms: Ypres, third battle of Ypres

   example of:

   pitched battle

   a fierce battle fought in close combat between troops in predetermined positions at a chosen time and place