Battle of the Yser

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Battle of the Yser
Part of the Race to the Sea on the Western Front (World War I)
The "End of the Line": the Western Front reaches the sea near Nieuwpoort, Belgium
Date October 16 – October 31, 1914 Location River Yser, Belgium Result Franco-Belgian victory
Combatants
Belgium France	German Empire
Commanders
Albert I of Belgium	Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg
Strength
Belgium: 4 infantry divisions, 2 reserve divisions France: 1 infantry division, 2 Marine regiments	6 Corps (12 divisions)
Casualties
Belgium: 40,000 France: 15,000

The Battle of the Yser secured the coastline of Belgium for the allies in the "Race to the Sea" in the first three months of World War I.

[edit] Inroduction

Belgium had been invaded by Germany and after the Siege of Antwerp, the remnants of the Belgian Army were pushed into the far south west of the country, behind a 22 miles front on the Yser Canal as the Germans tried to reach the French Channel ports of Calais and Dunkerque. Just to the south the First Battle of Ypres started concurrent with the Battle of the Yser.

[edit] Battle of the Yser

The entire Belgian Army was deployed to defend the front. The troops were exhausted and low on ammunition after two months of fighting and retreat. France reinforced the Belgians with 6,000 Marines and an infantry division.

The first skirmishes started on October 16, 1914. The town of Diksmuide was attacked but the Germans were repelled by French marines and Belgian artillery. The following day German troops (consisting of trained conscripts, reservists and untrained students) moved southwards from Bruges and Ostend in the direction of the Yser river. It became clear that the German Fourth Army was to take the line from Nieuwpoort to Ypres.

Admiral Hood of the Royal Navy commanded three monitors, Severn, Humber and Mersey, which bombarded the German army in Lombardsijde from the sea the following day.

On October 18, the German offensive started. It initially overran the frontal defense positions of the Belgian, British and French armies along a line stretching from Nieuwpoort down to Arras in France. The objective was to defeat the Belgian and French armies and to deprive the British of access to the harbours of Calais, Boulogne and Dunkerque.

It took four days of heavy fighting for the German troops to drive the allies back and reach the borders of the river Yser. On October 21, the Germans were able to establish a small bridgehead on the other side of the river. The last bridge over the Yser was blown up on October 23. Diksmuide bore the brunt of repeated German offensives and bombardments yet the town was still not taken.

Course of the "Race to the Sea" showing dates of encounters and highlighting the significant battles.

The French high command planned to inundate large parts of their territory as a defensive measure and asked the Belgians to inundate part of their territory between the river Yser and the canals. On October 25, the pressure upon the Belgian army had grown so large that the decision was made to inundate the the entire Belgian front line. After an earlier failed experiment on october 21, during the nights of October 26 to October 29 the Belgian army managed to open the Nieuwpoort drainage channels to sea water, steadily raisind the water level until an impassable flooded marshland up to a mile wide as far south as Diksmuide was created. On October 29 Diksmuide finally fell into German hands. For October 30, the Germans had planned another decisive attack. The attack broke through the Belgian second defense line but faced with Belgian and French counterattacks in front and the flooding in their backs, the attack was called off and the front stabilized.

[edit] Importance

The historical importance of the Battle of the Yser was not only the fact that the Germans did not manage to defeat the Belgian Army but also lost the Race to the Sea. Due to the flooding the final phase of the Race to the Sea would be fought around Ypres.

Through the horror of war, and through the experiences of ordinary foot soldiers, Flemish national consciousness started to grow in the then overwhelmingly Francophone-dominated Belgian society.

[edit] External links

• Flanders Fields tourism information site