The winter of 1916/17 was very harsh and the Allied troops suffered 'paralysing cold.' The Messines Ridge was a strategic position and the 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions fought together to take the Belgian village of Wytschaete.

General Plumer's meticulous planning, including a scale model of the territory, meant his men were well prepared for the offensive. He had 19 mines dug beneath German lines, each packed with 500 tons of explosives. From May 28th until 2am June 7th, the German trenches were shelled. Over an hour later, the explosives were detonated. A 12th Irish Rifles officer described it as complete carnage. The 48th and 49th Brigades led the infantry attack. The 48th, including the 9th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, were to 'leapfrog' the first wave and confront the Germans with fresh troops. The battle lasted two days and 674 German soldiers and eight officers were captured. Sometimes prisoners were not taken, as Australian, Private Gallwey, wrote:

"It is an impossibility to leave wounded Germans behind us because they are so treacherous. They all have to be killed."

Nationalist M.P., Willie Redmond was wounded at Messines and died despite treatment at an Ulster Division Aid Post. He believed that if Irishmen, regardless of religion, could fight and die together, they could surely live together. A memorial Round Tower has been built at Messines, to commemorate all of the Irishmen killed in France and Flanders.

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