Events in Ypres, Belgium, will be
held in July to mark the centenary of Passchendaele, one of the muddiest
and bloodiest battles of World War One.
Descendants of British soldiers who fought in the battle will be offered free tickets to the commemorations.
About 325,000 Allied troops and 260,000 Germans died in the battle.
Culture
Secretary Karen Bradley said it was important to remember the "horrors"
of the Ypres battlefields, and honour the memories of the many who
died.
'Hell'
Officially
known as the Third Battle of Ypres, Passchendaele was fought from 31
July to 6 November 1917 in the West Flanders region of northern Belgium.
It
is remembered as one of the harshest battles of the war, with heavy
rain contributing to the Allies gaining only five miles of ground in
three months.
Poet Siegfried Sassoon described the muddy fields as "hell".
Ms
Bradley said: "Some of World War One's most defining images of
futility, mud, gas attacks and trenches come from these very
battlefields.
"As the war recedes into the distance, it is our
responsibility to not only mark the years that have gone past, but to
keep alive the memories of those who sacrificed so much."
The main
ceremony will be on 31 July at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's
Tyne Cot Cemetery, where 12,000 British and Commonwealth troops are
buried.
There will also be a traditional Last Post ceremony at the
Menin Gate memorial in Ypres on 30 July and a number of live
performances in Ypres' Market Square to tell the-
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