 The 4th Army suffered many casualties, especially at Broodseinde and the German command began preparations for a general withdrawal as a precaution.In the low ground west of the Passchendaele Ridge, three months of constant shelling had blocked the watercourses that normally provided drainage.When rain began falling on the night of 4 October—which continued intermittently for the next three days—the battlefield once again became a quagmire, making movement extremely difficult.