The battlefield of Kemmel Hill, Belgium, September 1918. During World War I, it was the location of one of the war's most ferocious battles. Because of its strategic importance, it was fiercely fought in the Fourth Battle of Ypres. On 25 April 1918, German forces, hoping to force a breakthrough to the North Sea, started attacking the French troops on the Kemmelberg with gas grenades. At 6 a.m. the German Alpenkorps seized and captured the Kemmelberg, causing allied troops to withdraw from all the hills in the region. Thousands of French soldiers were slaughtered. It was recaptured during the Battle of the Peaks of Flanders in late September 1918, as a precursor to the Armistice of 11 November 1918. Kemmel was a battle honour awarded to units of the British and Imperial Armies that took part in one or more of the following engagements in the World War I. First Battle of the Kemmelberg, 17–19 Apr 1918 Second Battle of the Kemmelberg, 25–26 Apr 1918 The photo shows the destroyed battlefield. Photo from album which possibly belonged to Lt Reginald Vigars Prenter (RVP), 72nd Bn.