The Battle of the Yser

October 16, 1914

Since the German invasion of Belgium, the vastly inferior country was forced into a desperate defense. Pushed to the breaking point, the Belgian Army was in almost constant retreat, as the vast number of German soldiers overwhelmed them. By October 9th, the last major Belgian city, Antwerp, had fallen. The battered Belgian forces had no choice but to all but abandon their homeland, and retreat west, toward the Yser. Now holding just a small strip of land in Flanders, they couldn't afford to lose any more ground. This was their final stand.

On October 14th, the Belgian Army reached the Yser River. This river had numerous canals which branched off from it. At the nearby town of Nieuwpoort, there were sluices which controlled the amount of water flowing into the river from the North Sea. They immediately began entrenching themselves. Their defenses along the Yser stretched over a mile between Nieuwpoort and the town of Diksmuide. From Diksmuide southward, their lines connected with the French and British defenses, which now ran all the way to the Aisne roughly 120 miles away!

On October 16th, the German army assaulted the Belgian and French defenses at Diksmuide(the French provided 6,000 Marines and an infantry division to aide the Belgians). The allies were able to hold them off, although heavy casualties were dealt. However, just two days later, the main German offensive was launched. This massive attack stretched from Nieuwpoort, to Arras in France, over 50 miles to the south. Their objectives: seize Calais, Dunkirk, and Boulogne, and therefore deprive Britain of these key coastal harbors; defeat the Belgian army, thus taking the country out of the war; and lastly, execute a massive flanking maneuver, bypassing the allies' massive front line, becoming the victor in the earlier race to the sea.

The German army, in the initial assault, was able to break through the Belgian, French, and British front lines, however, it took three days of intense fighting for them to push the Belgians back to the banks of the Yser. The final bridge was blown up on the 23rd of October, but the Germans were able to establish a bridgehead on the 21st. The German pressure on the Belgians was so great, that on the 25th of October, a decision was made to open the sluices in Nieuwpoort, gradually flooding the entire area between the coastal town and Diksmuide.

The German army, after repeated attacks, was preparing to launch one final major assault to break through the Belgian lines. However, they soon realized the Yser was flooding, and made the decision to fall back. The front stabilized, and the Belgian army was able to hold their ground at the Yser for the remainder of the war.

The Belgian's heroic defense at the battle of the Yser, although not so well known, was nonetheless a crucial battle. Had the Germans broken through, the entire allied front line would be compromised. They would have gained the undeniable upper-hand, and could well have won the war. 

Although this battle was over for the Belgians, further south, the intense fighting still continued... at Ypres.

The Battle of the Yser (October 16 - October 30)