British propelling charge case for ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer dated 17th March 1917,nice relic condition recovered in Polygon wood from the September 1917 battle part of the third battle of Ypres in Belgium on the Western front.

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This is a fantastic condition battlefield recovered British 4.5 inch howitzer shell case very good condition it still retains its brass colour but has a lot of discolour and some small amount of damage around the top edges from being buried and dirt remains on the inside. The case still has all of its original markings on the bottom nice and clear to see including the dated 17th March 1917 over all a fantastic condition for a recovered case from the battlefield.The shell case was recovered in Polygon wood from the September 1917 battle part of the third battle of Ypres in Belgium on the Western front and comes with A5 laminated information card.

The Battle of Polygon Wood was fought on September 26th, 1917. The 4th and 5th Divisions of the Australian Army were involved. The whole area around Polygon Wood had been churned up by artillery fire from both sides. Roads had been destroyed. The joint Australian and British attack on Polygon Wood was covered by a British artillery barrage. This creeping barrage threw up great swirls of dust which served to disguise their advance. Aided by precise artillery attacks, Polygon Wood was seemingly taken with ease. However, the artillery attack had not destroyed numerous German pill boxes found within the wood itself. These had to be captured before there could have been any consideration towards moving further forward. It was during these assaults that the Australians suffered large casualties. The 4th Division lost 1,717 men while the 5th Division lost 5,471 men killed, wounded and missing. The Germans tried to re capture the wood in 1918 during the Kaisers offensive of March that year using poison gas but the attack failed.