[1] The wood had been held by the Germans since April 1915 but was captured by the Australian 5th Division in the Battle of Polygon Wood , which took place in the period from September to October 1917. On the 25th of October 1914 the Germans held the northern half of the wood, and 1st Irish Guards and 2nd Grenadier Guards were ordered to clear them out. The Battle of Polygon Wood, Belgium 26th September 1917 This was a significant battle fought by the Australians near Ieper in Belgium Flanders. In the top right … The scene was described as “a slaughter … Polygon Wood is a forest located between Ypres and Zonnebeke, West Flanders, Belgium. Polygon Wood was the scene of fighting early on in the Great War, during the First Battle of Ypres in 1914. It was a precurser to the well known Battles of Passchendaele. [2] 6km east of Ypres is Polygon Wood, which the Australians held half of at the start of the battle. Polygon Wood is a large wood 1.6 kilometres south of the village of Zonnebeke which was completely devastated in the First World War. The city of Ypres is in the bottom left corner of the map, with the Yser Canal running north-south on its western edge. This map shows the second of the three successful Australian advances. The Australians completed the capture of Polygon Wood while the British took the village of Zonnebeke. Polygon Wood, near the village of Zonnebeke, was the location of a number of battles during the First World War, beginning in late 1914. It was recognised by the 5th Division as a great victory and their memorial was erected on … It took its name from its shape on maps of the area. During their advance here, nine of the Irish Guards were killed and four wounded by a single shell. The wood was cleared by Commonwealth troops at the end of October 1914, given up on 3 May 1915, taken again at the end of September 1917 by Australian troops, evacuated in the Battles of the Lys, and finally retaken by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 28 September 1918. It was the scene for several battles during the First World War and there are at least two cemeteries of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in the immediate vicinity of the wood.