The Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, was a major engagement of forces during the First World War. It took place between 31st July and 10th November 1917, lasting for more than three months. The wisdom of the battle has been questioned; after the war the then Prime Minister David Lloyd George said, "Passchendaele was indeed one of the greatest disasters of the war ... No soldier of any intelligence now defends this senseless campaign ..."