Ypres and the Battles of Ypres Part 1

Ypres and the Battles of Ypres.

by Unknown.

FOREWORD

The town of Ypres lies in a sort of natural basin formed by a maritime plain intersected by ca.n.a.ls, and dominated on the north, north-east and south by low wooded hills.

These ca.n.a.ls, of which the Yser Ca.n.a.l is the most important, follow a general direction south-east--north-west. A number of streams flowing in the same direction also water the plain. In addition, there are the d.i.c.kebusch, Zillebeke and Bellewaarde ponds.

The hills forming the sides of this basin are very low and partly wooded. The line of their crests runs approximately from north to south, through Houthulst Forest (road from Poelcappelle to Clercken), Poelcappelle, Pa.s.schendaele, Broodseinde, Becelaere, Gheluvelt, the strategic Hill 60 (south of Zillebeke) and St. Eloi. Further south is the Messines-Wytschaete ridge, and to the south-west the Hills of Flanders.

Houthulst Forest is the largest of the woods. Next come the islets of Westroosebeke and Pa.s.schendaele, then, south of Zonnebeke, Polygone Wood, Nonne-Bosschen (or Nonnes) Wood, and the Woods of Glencorse, Inverness and Herenthage.

In this region, with its essentially maritime climate, the war a.s.sumed a character entirely different from that of the rest of the front. The marshy ground, almost at sea-level, is further sodden by constant rain and mists, and forms a spongy ma.s.s, in which it was impossible to dig trenches or underground shelters. Water is found immediately below the surface, so that the only possible defence-works were parapets. The bursting sh.e.l.ls made huge craters which, promptly filling with water, became so many death-traps for wounded and unwounded alike.

The defence on both sides consequently centred around the woods, villages, and numerous farms, which were converted into redoubts with concrete blockhouses and deep wire entanglements. The slightest bits of rising ground here played an important part, and were fiercely disputed.

The crests which dominate the basin of Ypres were used as observation-posts--the lowering sky being usually unfavourable for aerial observation--while their counter-slopes masked the concentrations of troops for the attacks.

It was therefore along the line of crests and around the fortified farms that the fighting reached its maximum of intensity.

The princ.i.p.al military operations which took place in the vicinity of the town between October, 1914, and November, 1917, may be divided as follows:--First, a powerful German offensive--a counter-stroke to the battles of the Yser--then a very definite effort to take the town. The role of the Allied armies was at that time purely defensive.

The second stage was marked by a British and Franco-British offensive, begun in the second half of 1916 and considerably developed during the summer and autumn of the following year. The object of these operations, which ended in November, 1917, was the clearing of Ypres. All the objectives were attained and the plains of Flanders were opened to the Allies.

A final effort by the Germans in great strength to the south of the town was checked by the resistance of the Allies in April, 1918. In September and October, 1918, the enemy troops finally evacuated the country under pressure of the victorious Allied offensive.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BRITISH SENTINEL ON NIGHT-DUTY IN FRONT OF THE RUINED CLOTH HALL]

=THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE OF 1914= (October 29--November 15, 1914.)

=Preliminary Operations=

After the victory of the Marne, which drove the Germans north of the Aisne, began the operations known as "the Race to the Sea." Each side endeavoured to outpace the other, with the object of surrounding the enemy's marching wing.

This remarkable "Race to the Sea"--a widely extended movement splendidly carried out by General Foch, and in which the Allied forces in their march towards the north constantly outstripped the enemy--might have been used as the starting-point for a grand Allied offensive against the German right, but the exhaustion of the Belgian army, after the terrible trials which it had just gone through in its retreat on the Yser--following on the fall of Antwerp--and the delays in the transport of the British troops from the Aisne front to the north, prevented the development of this offensive.

It was therefore only possible for the Allied armies to fix their front and make it impregnable.

The stages of this race to the sea and the fixation of the front took place between September 20 and October 23, 1914.

=The Forces Engaged= (Oct. 1914)

When the First Battle of Ypres opened, the front described a wide semi-circle pa.s.sing through Zonnebeke, Gheluvelt and Zandvoorde, running thence south of Messines, and finally linking up with the line to the east of Armentieres.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

At the beginning of the battle all this part of the front was held by the British army, as follows: from Zonnebeke to Zandvoorde, the 1st Corps (Haig) and 4th Corps (Rawlinson); from Zandvoorde to Messines, the Calvary Corps (Allenby), two infantry divisions, and the Lah.o.r.e Division, which had just landed at Ma.r.s.eilles; lastly, from Messines to Armentieres, the 3rd Corps (Pulteney).

Facing these forces were the German IVth army, consisting of the XIIIth, XVth and XVIth active corps, and the IInd Bavarian Corps, reinforced during the battle by a Division of the Guards. The British Cavalry Corps had to face four German Cavalry Corps.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE GERMAN THRUST OF OCT. 29--30, 1914 (29--30/10)]

To make up for their setback in the race to the sea, the German High Command decided on a strenuous effort to break through the Allies' front at Ypres. The "Battle for Calais" was about to begin. The enemy confidently expected to reach the coast, from which they hoped to expose England to such peril as would break down the pride of that troublesome enemy.

The German attack began on October 29 under the eye of the Kaiser, who, for the following five days, took up his quarters at Thielt, whence he arranged to make a triumphal entry into Ypres.

For seventeen days (October 29--November 15) the German regiments, elated by the presence of their Emperor, fought with unheard-of frenzy and an utter disregard of losses in their frantic attacks against the Ypres salient.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON OCT. 31, THE GERMANS MADE PROGRESS, SOUTH OF YPRES, BUT WERE DRIVEN BACK, EASTWARDS, TO GHELUVELT]

To the east of Ypres the action fought between Poelcappelle and Gheluvelt failed. The fierce German attacks, in spite of the ma.s.ses of men engaged, broke down before the stubborn resistance of the Allies.

In a counter-offensive the British, supported on their left by French divisions, reached the village of Becelaere, between Zonnebeke and Gheluvelt, but were unable to hold it.

Further south, the British were forced to abandon Zandvoorde and Hollebeke. Gheluvelt, first lost on October 30, was recaptured on the 31st in a counter-attack by the 1st Corps. Supported by three French battalions, the British subsequently repulsed all attacks and successfully barred the road from Menin to Ypres. On the evening of the 31st, the line in the eastern sector ran as follows: east of Frezenberg, Gheluvelt, east of Klein Zillebeke and the bend in the ca.n.a.l to the north-east of Hollebeke.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON NOV. 1, THE SITUATION WAS CRITICAL IN THE EXTREME. THE GERMANS CAPTURED THE MESSINES-WYTSCHAETE RIDGE, AND THE BRITISH FELL BACK ON WULVERGHEM]

The Germans were more successful to the south-east. After an intense bombardment they attacked, on October 30, from Saint-Yves to Wytschaete, capturing Saint-Yves and obtaining a footing in Messines, from which, however, they were immediately driven by a counter-attack.

On October 31, the Germans, after concentrating enormous ma.s.ses of troops between Oosttaverne and Roozebeek Ca.n.a.l, made a fresh attack. In the morning they gained a footing in the eastern outskirts of Messines, but could get no further, thanks to a counter-attack by three French battalions with twelve guns from St. Eloi.

The Germans, however, redoubled their efforts, and towards noon, after a fierce struggle in the streets of Messines, the British cavalry were gradually forced back, but clung desperately to the western outskirts of the village. At about 3 p.m. a fierce struggle began for the recapture of the convent to the south of Messines, then in the enemy's hands. By night the British were in possession of the last houses west of Messines, the Germans holding the eastern crest.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON NOV. 2, THE FRENCH COUNTER-ATTACKED AND RETOOK THE MESSINES-WYTSCHAETE RIDGE. THE GERMANS LAUNCHED A Ma.s.s ATTACK AGAINST GHELUVELT]

During the night of October 31, the Messines-Wytschaete crest was again fiercely attacked. The Germans gained a footing in Wytschaete and broke the British line to the north of Messines. A withdrawal became necessary, and at dawn the line was set back as far as the western outskirts of Wulverghem.

During the day of November 1, Wytschaete was retaken and lost again.

French Zouaves, acting as reinforcements, held their ground doggedly in front of St. Eloi. The enemy offensive redoubled in intensity, and the situation became desperate. As a result of the flooding of the Yser, the German IIIrd Corps in the northern sector became available and joined in the a.s.sault.

The French 14th Corps, hurriedly called up, counter-attacked furiously and succeeded in driving back the Germans and gaining a fresh footing in the western outskirts of Wytschaete. On November 2, the French were once more in possession of the western crest of Messines-Wytschaete.

This check did not daunt the Germans, who, having just been reinforced from their Belgian garrisons, directed their efforts further to the north. The attack was made by compact ma.s.ses of troops on the St.

Eloi-Zwarteleen front, the movement coinciding with a thrust against Gheluvelt on the Menin-Ypres Road. At the latter point the front was momentarily broken, but furious counter-attacks re-established the original positions. The French troops which held the bend of the ca.n.a.l north-east of Hollebeke were overpowered and thrown back on Verbranden-Molen. A counter-attack by the 1st British Corps checked the enemy onrush, and after a magnificent defence the original line was almost entirely maintained.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE GERMANS CONTINUED THEIR FURIOUS ATTACKS UNTIL NOV.

11, BUT FAILED TO REACH THEIR OBJECTIVE: YPRES]

The battle continued to rage with increasing violence, the culminating point being reached on November 11. At dawn the Germans, after a terrific artillery preparation lasting several hours, attacked with the infantry of the Ist and IVth Brigades of the Prussian Guards. They succeeded in piercing the line in three places, and forced their way into the woods behind the trenches to a depth of rather more than two miles through the princ.i.p.al breach.

They did not, however, reach their objective. Enfiladed by machine-gun fire, they were partly driven back into their trenches, after a b.l.o.o.d.y hand-to-hand struggle amid great confusion. The losses on both sides were very heavy, without any decisive result being attained.