(Main article: Battle of the Menin Road Ridge) The Capture of Wurst Farm was an attack by the British 58th (2/1st London) Division (58th Division) against the German 36th Division on 20 September 1917, near Ypres, Belgium, during the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, part of the Third Battle of Ypres (Battle of Passchendaele). Wurst Farm was at the lower end of Gravenstafel Ridge and several British attacks in the area since 31 July had been repulsed by the Germans. The British began a desultory bombardment on 31 August and the shelling became intense from 13 September, to "soften" the German defences, except in the area of the Fifth Army (General Hubert Gough), where the slow bombardment continued until the last 24 hours, before a hurricane bombardment was fired, to gain surprise.