ABSTRACT
As had been the case at Vimy Ridge, there was no immediate exploitation of a successful initial attack. Fully seven weeks elapsed before Haig followed up the success at Messines. This was in part because he gave Gough responsibility for the offensive, and his Fifth Army had to be relocated to the area held by Plumer. While he admired Plumer’s methodical approach, Haig wanted Gough, his youngest army commander and fellow cavalryman, in command. Haig was also in no particular hurry. Buoyed by favourable situation estimates from his chief intelligence officer, General John Charteris, who believed that the Germans were near collapse and could not quickly transfer reserves from the Eastern Front, he was confident of decisive results in 1917.44
On 30 May Fifth Army, now 17 divisions, took over the Ypres salient. Plumer’s Second Army to its right, with 12 divisions, had only a secondary role. In the sector Haig had 3,000 guns, more than a third of them heavy pieces. Fifth Army also had three brigades (136 tanks) of the newly established Royal Tank Corps, and two divisions of Anthoine’s French First Army would carry out a supporting attack.
