In the meantime, on the extreme right wing of the Army, the troops of General von Beseler had opened the battle on the Yser. During its advance northwards to cross the Yser at the appointed places the III Reserve Corps had encountered strong opposition east of the river-barrier. The men knew they were on the decisive wing of the attack, and they pushed ahead everywhere regardless of loss. In a rapid assault the 4th Ersatz Division captured Westende from the Belgians, although a gallant defence was put up, and in spite of the fact that British torpedo-boats and cruisers took part in the action from the sea with their heavy artillery[21] both during the advance and the fight for the town. Further south the 5th Reserve Division deployed to attack a strongly entrenched hostile position. The 3rd Reserve Jäger Battalion captured the obstinately defended village of St. Pierre Cappelle after severe hand-to-hand fighting, whilst the main body of the division succeeded in pushing forward to the neighbourhood of Schoore. The 6th Reserve Division, commanded by General von Neudorff, also closed with the enemy. It captured Leke, and Keyem, defended by the 4th Belgian Division; but even this Brandenburg Division, for all its war experience, found the task of forcing the crossings over the Yser too much for it.

The fighting on 18th October resulted in bringing us a thousand or two thousand yards nearer the Yser, but it had shown that the fight for the river line was to be a severe one. The Belgians seemed determined to sell the last acres of their kingdom only at the highest possible price. Four lines of trenches had been dug, and it could be seen that every modern scientific resource had been employed in putting the villages on the eastern bank of the river into a state of defence. A great number of guns, very skilfully placed and concealed, shelled the ground for a considerable distance east of the river, and in addition to this our right flank was enfiladed by the heavy naval guns from the sea. Battleships, cruisers and torpedo-boats worried the rear and flank of the 4th Ersatz Division with their fire, and the British had even brought heavy artillery on flat-bottomed boats close inshore.[22] They used a great quantity of ammunition, but the effect of it all was only slight, for the fire of the naval guns was much dispersed and indicated bad observation. It became still more erratic when our long-range guns were brought into action against the British Fleet. Detachments of the 4th Ersatz Division had to be echeloned back as far as Ostend, in order to defend the coast against hostile landings. During the day the General Commanding the III Reserve Corps decided not to allow the 4th Ersatz Division to cross the Yser at Nieuport, on account of the heavy fire from the British naval guns, but to make it pass with the main body of the Corps behind the 5th Reserve Division in whose area the fight appeared to be progressing favourably. The Ersatz Division was informed accordingly. On the 19th another effort would have to be made to force the crossings of the river by frontal attack, for everywhere to the south strong opposition had been encountered. From near Dixmude French troops carried on the line of the compact Belgian Army. It was against these that the new Reserve Corps were now advancing.

On the night of the 18th and morning of the 19th October a strong attack was delivered from the west by the 4th Belgian Division, and from the south-west by a brigade of the 5th Belgian Division and a brigade of French Marine Fusiliers under Admiral Ronarch, against Keyem, held by part of the 6th Reserve Division. They were driven back after heavy fighting. During the 19th the southern wing of the Brandenburg (III) Reserve Corps succeeded in advancing nearer the river and, on its left, part of the artillery of the XXII Reserve Corps came into action in support of it, thereby partly relieving the III Reserve Corps, which until that day had been fighting unassisted.

On the 19th more or less heavy fighting developed on the whole front of the Fourth Army. The XXII Reserve Corps advanced on Beerst and Dixmude and fought its way up into line with the III Reserve Corps. In front of it lay the strong bridge-head of Dixmude, well provided with heavy guns. The whole XXIII Reserve Corps had to be deployed into battle-formation, as every locality was obstinately defended by the enemy. In the advance of the 45th Reserve Division the 209th Reserve Regiment late in the evening took Handzaeme after severe street fighting, and the 212th Reserve Regiment took the village of Gits, whilst Cortemarck was evacuated by the enemy during the attack. The 46th Reserve Division in a running fight crossed the main road to Thourout, north of Roulers, and by the evening had arrived close to Staden. Heavy street fighting in the latter place continued during the night: the enemy, supported by the population, offered strong resistance in every house, so that isolated actions continued behind our front lines, endangering the cohesion of the attacking troops, but never to a serious extent.

The XXVI Reserve Corps encountered strong opposition at Rumbeke, south-east of Roulers; but all the enemy’s efforts were in vain, and the 233rd Reserve Infantry Regiment, under the eyes of its Corps Commander, General von Hügel, forced its way through the rows of houses, many of which were defended with light artillery and machine-guns. A very heavy fight took place for the possession of Roulers, which was stubbornly defended by the French; barricades were put up across the streets, machine-guns fired from holes in the roofs and windows, and concealed mines exploded among the advancing troops. In spite of all this, by 5 P.M. Roulers was taken by the 233rd, 234th and 235th Reserve Infantry Regiments, attacking from north, east and south respectively. Further to the south, after a small skirmish with British cavalry, the 52nd Reserve Division reached Morslede, its objective for the day. On its left again, the XXVII Reserve Corps had come into contact with the 3rd British Cavalry Division which tried to hold up the Corps in an advanced position at Rolleghem-Cappelle. After a lively encounter the British cavalry was thrown back on to the 7th British Division, which held a strong position about Dadizeele.[23]

Thus by the evening of 19th October the situation had been considerably cleared up, in so far as we now knew that the Belgians, French and British not only held the Yser and the Ypres canal, but also the high ground east and north-east of Ypres. Everything pointed to the fact that an unexpectedly strong opponent was awaiting us in this difficult country, and that a very arduous task confronted the comparatively untrained troops of Duke Albert of Würtemburg’s Army. In the meantime the Commander of the Sixth Army, Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria, after a discussion at Army Headquarters with General von Falkenhayn, Chief of the General Staff, decided to renew the attack, as the left wing of the Fourth Army had now come up on his immediate right. In consequence of this decision, the XIII Corps was moved from its position on the line Menin-Warneton and replaced by three Cavalry Divisions of the IV Cavalry Corps. There can be no doubt that the attacks of the Sixth Army, which began on the 20th and were continued with frequent reinforcements of fresh troops, had the effect of holding the enemy and drawing a strong force to meet them. They were not, however, destined to have any decisive success, for the offensive strength of the Sixth Army had been reduced by previous fighting, and it was not sufficient to break through the enemy’s strongly entrenched positions.[24] All the more therefore were the hopes of Germany centred in the Fourth Army, which was fighting further northwards, for in its hands lay the fate of the campaign in Western Europe at this period.

THE OPERATIONS OF THE FOURTH ARMY FROM 20th OCTOBER TO 31st OCTOBER 1914

On 20th October the battle broke out along the whole line, on a front of about sixty miles. The enemy had got into position, and was prepared to meet the attack of Duke Albert of Würtemburg’s Army. On the very day that the British, French and Belgians intended to begin their advance they found themselves compelled to exert all their strength to maintain their positions against our offensive. The British and French had to bring up constant reinforcements, and a hard and bitter struggle began for every yard of ground. The spirit in which our opponents were fighting is reflected in an order of the 4th Belgian Division, picked up in Pervyse on 16th October. This ran: ‘The fate of the whole campaign probably depends on our resistance. I (General Michel) implore officers and men, notwithstanding what efforts they may be called upon to make, to do even more than their mere duty. The salvation of the country and therefore of each individual among us depends on it. Let us then resist to our utmost.’

We shall see how far the soldiers of the Fourth Army, opposed to such a determined and numerically superior enemy, were able to justify the confidence which had been placed in them, a confidence expressed in the following proclamations by their highest commanders on their arrival in Belgium:

Great Headquarters,
14th October 1914.

To the Fourth Army,—I offer my welcome to the Fourth Army, and especially to its newly-formed Reserve Corps, and I am confident that these troops will act with the same devotion and bravery as the rest of the German Army.

Advance, with the help of God—my watchword.

(Signed) William, I. R.

ARMY ORDER.

I am pleased to take over the command of the Army entrusted to me by the Emperor. I am fully confident that the Corps which have been called upon to bring about the final decision in this theatre of war will do their duty to their last breath with the old German spirit of courage and trust, and that every officer and every man is ready to give his last drop of blood for the just and sacred cause of our Fatherland. With God’s assistance victory will then crown our efforts.

Up and at the enemy. Hurrah for the Emperor.

(Signed) Duke Albert of Würtemburg,
General and Army Commander.

Army Headquarters, Brussels,
15th October 1914.

Who can deny that the task set to the Fourth Army was not an infinitely difficult one. It would have probably been achieved nevertheless if the Belgians at the moment of their greatest peril had not called the sea to their aid to bring the German attack to a halt. Let us, however, now get down to the facts.

On 20th October the III Reserve Corps, the battering ram of the Fourth Army, began an attack with its 5th Reserve Division, supported by almost the whole of the Corps artillery, against the sector of the Yser west of the line Mannekensvere-Schoorbakke. The 4th Ersatz Division to the north and the 6th Reserve Division to the south co-operated. By the early hours of the 22nd, the 5th and 6th Reserve Divisions had driven the enemy back across the river in spite of the support given him by British and French heavy batteries.[25] In front of the 4th Ersatz Division the enemy still held a bridge-head at Lombartzyde. At 8.15 A.M. on the 22nd the glad tidings reached the Staff of the 6th Reserve Division, that part of the 26th Reserve Infantry Regiment had crossed the Yser. Under cover of darkness the 1st and 2nd Battalions of this regiment had worked their way up to the north-eastern part of the bend of the Yser, south of Schoore, and had got into the enemy’s outposts on the eastern bank with the bayonet. Not a shot had been fired, and not an unnecessary noise had disturbed the quiet of the dawning day. Volunteers from the engineers silently and rapidly laid bridging material over the canal. In addition an old footbridge west of Keyem, which had been blown up and lay in the water, was very quickly made serviceable again with some planks and baulks. The Belgians had considered their position sufficiently protected by the river, and by the outposts along the eastern bank. By 6 A.M. German patrols were on the far side of the Yser, and the enemy’s infantry and machine-gun fire began only when they started to make a further advance. Three companies of the 1st and two companies of the 2nd Battalion, however, as well as part of the 24th Reserve Infantry Regiment, had already crossed the temporary bridges at the double and taken up a position on the western bank: so that, in all, 2½ battalions and a machine-gun company were now on the western bank.

The enemy realised the seriousness of the situation, and prepared a thoroughly unpleasant day for those who had crossed. Heavy and light guns of the British and French artillery[26] hammered incessantly against the narrow German bridge-head and the bridges to it. Lying without cover in the swampy meadows the infantry was exposed beyond all help to the enemy’s rifle and machine-gun fire from west and south-west. The small force repulsed counter-attacks again and again, but to attempt sending reinforcements across to it was hopeless. Some gallant gunners, however, who had brought their guns close up to the eastern bank, were able to give great help to their friends in their critical situation. Thus assisted the infantry succeeded in holding the position, and during the following night was able to make it sufficiently strong to afford very small prospect of success to any further hostile efforts. During the night several Belgian attacks with strong forces were repulsed with heavy loss, and the 6th Reserve Division was able to put a further 2½ battalions across to the western bank of the Yser bend. On the 23rd we gained possession of Tervaete, and the dangerous enfilade fire on our new positions was thereby considerably diminished. Dawn on 24th October saw all the infantry of the 6th Reserve Division west of the river. A pontoon bridge was thrown across the north-eastern part of the Yser bend, but it was still impossible to bring guns forward on account of the enemy’s heavy artillery fire. The 5th Reserve Division still lay in its battle positions along the river bank north of Schoorbakke, but every time attempts were made to cross the French and Belgian artillery smashed the bridges to pieces. The 4th Ersatz Division suffered heavily, as it was subjected to constant artillery fire from three sides, and to entrench was hopeless on account of the shifting sands and the high level of the ground water. Whenever fire ceased during the night strong hostile attacks soon followed; but they were all repulsed. The withdrawal of the main body of the Ersatz Division behind the 6th Reserve Division to cross the Yser, as General von Beseler had once planned, had become impracticable for the moment, for it had been discovered through the statements of prisoners that the 42nd French Division had arrived in Nieuport to assist the Belgians. The 4th Ersatz Division, which had been weakened on the 18th by the transfer of one of its three brigades to the 5th Reserve Division, could not be expected to bring the new enemy to his knees by the running fight that it had been hitherto conducting. The canal alone was sufficient obstacle to make this impracticable; in addition, the fire of the enemy’s naval guns from the sea prevented any large offensive operations in the area in question. Thus the Ersatz troops were compelled to resign themselves to the weary task of maintaining their positions under the cross-fire of guns of every calibre, to driving back the hostile attacks, and to holding the Belgian and French forces off in front of them by continually threatening to take the offensive. It was not until some long-range batteries were placed at the disposal of the division that its position improved. A couple of direct hits on the enemy’s ships soon taught them that they could no longer carry on their good work undisturbed. Their activity at once noticeably decreased, and the more the German coast-guns gave tongue seawards from the dunes, the further the ships moved away from the coast and the less were they seen.

General von Beseler never for a moment doubted that the decision lay with the 5th and 6th Reserve Divisions, especially as the four Corps of the Fourth Army, fighting further south, had not yet been able to reach the canal-barrier with any considerable forces.

The XXII Reserve Corps, commanded by General of Cavalry von Falkenhayn, had in the meantime come into line south of General von Beseler’s troops, and had already fought some successful actions. It had arrived on the 19th in the district east of Beerst and about Vladsloo, just in time to help in driving back the Franco-Belgian attack against the southern flank of the 6th Reserve Division.[27] That same evening it was ordered to attack from north and south against the Dixmude bridge-head, an exceptionally difficult task. In addition to the fact that the swampy meadows of the Yser canal limited freedom of movement to an enormous extent, the Handzaeme canal, running at right angles to it from east to west, formed a most difficult obstacle. Dixmude lay at the junction of these two waterways, and behind its bridge-head lines were the Belgian ‘Iron’ Brigade under Colonel Meiser, the French Marine Fusilier Brigade under Admiral Ronarch, and part of the 5th Belgian Division, determined to defend the place at all costs. About eighty guns of every calibre commanded with frontal and enfilade fire the ground over which Falkenhayn’s Corps would have to attack. On the 20th, in spite of all these difficulties, the 44th Reserve Division, on the northern wing of the Corps, captured Beerst and reached the canal bank west of Kasteelhoek in touch with von Beseler’s Corps. The 43rd Reserve Division, advancing on the left wing, took Vladsloo and several villages south-east of it on the northern bank of the Handzaeme Canal. By the light of the conflagration of those villages the reach of the canal between Eessen and Zarren was crossed on hastily constructed footbridges, and a further advance made in a south-westerly direction. Eessen itself was occupied, and the attack brought us to within a hundred yards of the enemy. He realised his extremely critical situation,[28] and his cyclists and all possible reserves at hand were put in to the fight. Owing to the severe hostile artillery fire the German losses were by no means slight. On one occasion when our advancing infantry units were losing touch with one another in this difficult country, a big hostile counter-attack was delivered from Dixmude. After a heavy struggle the onrush of the enemy was held up, mainly owing to our artillery, which heroically brought its guns up into position immediately behind the infantry front line.

During the night the 43rd Reserve Division reorganised in order to recommence its attack on the bridge-head from east and south-east on the following morning. Days of terrific fighting ensued. The garrison of the bridge-head had received orders to hold out to the last man, and had been informed that any one who attempted to desert would be shot without mercy by men placed for this purpose to guard all the exits from the town. The Belgians were indeed fighting for their very existence as a nation. Nevertheless by the 21st October the 43rd Reserve Division, which consisted of volunteers from the Guard Corps Reservists, had taken the château south of Dixmude, and Woumen. The opposing sides lay within a hundred yards of each other. Artillery preparation, attack and counter-attack went on incessantly. Our artillery did fearful havoc and Dixmude was in flames. The Franco-Belgian garrison was, however, constantly reinforced, and conducted itself most gallantly. From the north the battalions of the 44th Reserve Division were able to advance slightly and drive the enemy back on to the town, and German batteries were brought up into, and at times even in front of, the infantry front line. Although we were unable to force our way into Dixmude, on the evening of the 23rd our troops were in position all round it.

On the left of the XXII Reserve Corps, the XXIII Reserve Corps, under General of Cavalry von Kleist, had advanced at 9 A.M. on 20th October on the front Handzaeme-Staden in order to reach the canal on the line Noordschoote-Bixschoote. The 45th Reserve Division was on the right and the 46th Reserve Division on the left. After some hours of street fighting Staden was finally surrounded and taken by the 46th Reserve Division. By nightfall a line from Clercken to the eastern edge of Houthulst Forest was reached. On the 21st the Corps had to cross a stretch of country which put these partially trained troops and their inexperienced officers to a very severe test. The great forest of Houthulst with its dense undergrowth made it exceedingly difficult to keep direction in the attack and to maintain communication between units fighting an invisible opponent. Small swampy streams such as the Steenebeck offered favourable opportunities to the enemy to put up a strong defence behind a succession of depressions. Thus our gallant troops after every successful assault found themselves confronted by another strong position: but unwavering and regardless of loss, they continued their advance.

By the evening of the 21st the 46th Reserve Division had completely driven the enemy out of Houthulst Forest,[29] whilst its sister-division had advanced north of the Steenebeck, and with its northern wing supporting the Corps fighting immediately north of it, had pushed forward to beyond Woumen. On the morning of the 22nd the heavy artillery opened fire against the French positions on the Yser canal to prepare the break-through. Unfortunately however only the northern Division was able to reach the sector allotted to the Corps, and an Army Order directed the 46th Reserve Division to the south-west against the line Bixschoote-Langemarck, in order to help carry forward the attack of the XXVI Reserve Corps, which was completely held up in front of the latter place. As a result of this the advance of von Kleist’s Corps also came to a standstill, although it had achieved considerable fame during the day. In spite of a desperate resistance the 210th Reserve Regiment stormed the strongly entrenched village of Merckem and the village of Luyghem lying north of it; a daring attack by the 209th and 212th Reserve Regiments broke through the enemy’s positions on the Murtje Vaart, whilst the 46th Reserve Division attempted to overrun the Kortebeck sector, supported by the concentrated fire of its artillery in position along the south-western edge of Houthulst Forest. The 216th Reserve Regiment took Mangelaere by storm, in doing which its gallant commander, Colonel von Grothe, was killed at the head of his troops. The 1st British Division held a strong position along the Kortebeck, in touch with the French, and artillery of every calibre near Noordschoote enfiladed the German attack.[30] The British themselves speak of our attack as a magnificent feat of arms carried out with infinite courage and brilliant discipline. The men sang songs as they charged through a hail of bullets in closed ranks up to the enemy’s defences. The 212th Reserve Regiment under Colonel Basedow, reinforced and carried forward by fresh detachments of the 209th Reserve Regiment, pushed its way into the strongly fortified village of Bixschoote. The enemy on our side of the canal, on the line Bixschoote-Langemarck-Zonnebeke, was threatened with annihilation. Bixschoote commanded the main road and the canal-crossing to Poperinghe, where the enemy was detraining his reinforcements.[31] The British therefore fought with the courage of desperation: for not only was the fate of the high ground east and north-east of Ypres now in the balance, but also the chance of being able to carry out the great Anglo-French offensive which had been planned. Ypres and the high ground east of the canal were on no account to be lost, and furious counter-attacks were therefore delivered against the intermingled German units. Nevertheless our gallant volunteers pressed on, using their bayonets and the butts of their rifles, until the furious hand-to-hand fighting was finally decided in our favour. At 6.30 that evening Bixschoote was ours. Unfortunately, however, owing to an order being misunderstood, it was lost again during the night: the exhausted attacking troops were to be relieved under cover of darkness, but they assembled and marched back before the relieving force had arrived. The enemy, ever watchful, immediately advanced into the evacuated village and took position among the ruins. Simultaneously a big hostile counter-attack drove the 46th Reserve Division from the high ground south of Kortebeck, which it had captured, and pressed it back beyond the stream again. The spirit and strength of the young and inexperienced troops seemed to be broken, and only a few of the subordinate commanders had yet learnt how to deal with critical situations. Officers of the General Staff and Divisional Staffs had to help to reorganise the men; they immediately turned and followed their new leaders, and were taken forward again to the attack. Thus on the 23rd the high ground south of the Kortebeck was won back by the 46th Reserve Division, but Bixschoote remained lost to us, and Langemarck could not be captured.[32]

On 22nd October, for the first time, our attack was directed from the north against Ypres. If the British and French did not intend to give up their offensive plans, and thereby their last hope of retaking Belgium and the wealthy provinces of Northern France from the hated German, they would have to maintain their positions along the Ypres bridge-head east of the canal between Comines and the coast. For this reason the country round Ypres was the central area of the Anglo-French defence from the beginning to the end of the battle. Our opponents defended this position on a wide semicircle by successive lines of trenches and with their best troops. Every wood, every village, every farm and even every large copse has won for itself a fame of blood. The reinforcements which Field-Marshal French received in abundance he placed round Ypres, but not only for defensive purposes; they were more often used to deliver attack after attack against our young troops who had been weakened by the hard fighting; and on 23rd October they were already being employed in this manner against the 46th Reserve Division.[33] He hoped to use the opportunity of our retirement behind the Kortebeck to break through our line and to roll up the part of the front lying to the north of it as far as the sea, and thus to regain the initiative and freedom of manœuvre on this extreme wing.[34] However, the blow was parried by the 46th Reserve Division. In ragged, badly placed lines the German units, which had scarcely had time to reorganise, brought the hostile masses to a standstill and won back in a counter-attack the ground which they had lost during the night. On this occasion, also, the gunners shared with the infantry the honours of the day. The fire of the guns, brought up into the foremost lines, made wide gaps in the attacking columns and the enemy’s losses must have been terrible. Our own troops had also suffered severely in the constant fighting and under the everlasting hostile artillery fire. Some of our regiments had been reduced to half their strength. But in spite of it the British did not succeed in breaking through between the XXIII and XXVI Reserve Corps.

The XXVI and XXVII Reserve Corps were by this time completely held up in front of strongly entrenched positions on the line Langemarck-Zonnebeke-Gheluvelt and opposed to an enemy who was becoming stronger every day and making the most desperate efforts to regain his freedom of action and begin a big offensive himself. The XXVI Reserve Corps, which advanced on the morning of the 20th, the 51st Reserve Division from the area west of Roulers, and the other Division from Morslede, encountered a stubborn resistance along the ridge Westroosebeke-Passchendaele-Keiberg. Fighting under the eyes of their general, who was himself in the thick of the struggle, the 51st Reserve Division stormed the slope on to the ridge and entered Westroosebeke. The French division defending it was driven out at four in the afternoon and, attacking incessantly, the gallant 51st, supported by the 23rd Reserve Jäger Battalion, reached a line from the railway-station north-west of Poelcappelle to Poelcappelle itself during the evening. The attack was all the more daring through the fact that Houthulst Forest was still in the enemy’s hands, and the flank of the division therefore appeared to be threatened. Meanwhile the 52nd Reserve Division had taken Passchendaele, Keiberg and the high ground between them from the British; the artillery again deserving the highest praise for its co-operation.[35] The attack, however, was brought to a standstill in front of the enemy’s main position at the cross-roads east of Zonnebeke. The XXVII Reserve Corps commanded by General von Carlowitz, formerly Saxon War Minister, lay in close touch with the 52nd Reserve Division on the evening of the 20th. Advancing in four columns and by constant fighting it had forced its way westwards. The Würtemburg Division had succeeded in driving the 7th British Division out of Becelaere after heavy street fighting, and the left wing was bent back on Terhand. Communication was there obtained with the 3rd Cavalry Division, fighting on the right wing of the Sixth Army, which had captured a hostile position north-east of Kruiseik.

On the morning of the 22nd a strong position lay to our immediate front. It followed a line Bixschoote-Langemarck-Zonnebeke-Reutel-Gheluvelt; and the I and IV British, as well as the IX French Corps,[36] all picked troops, had already been located there. They had dug a well-planned maze of trenches behind broad wire entanglements before a single German shell arrived to disturb their work.[37] The few stretches of rising ground in the district had been included in the skilfully selected positions as observation posts, and the defenders were thus able to bring our advancing columns under accurate artillery fire at long range. This was especially the case from the high ground near Zonnebeke, whence the whole ground in front of the position as far as Langemarck could be enfiladed. All these difficulties, however, were not sufficient to deter the offensive spirit of the German troops, and ‘Vorwärts’ was still their watchword: forwards and back with the enemy, so that the rigid western front might once more be mobile. The main body of the XXVI Reserve Corps attacked the fortress of Langemarck[38] from north and east, whilst the XXVII Reserve Corps fought for the upper hand in the woods between Zonnebeke and Becelaere. The great efforts made by the artillery to follow up the infantrymen with its guns and support them with their fire were in vain, owing to the difficult country, and the well-aimed fire from the enemy’s prepared positions reaped a big harvest. Leaders of all grades were killed, and officers of high rank took their places and reorganised the intermingled units.

With the failure of the 46th Reserve Division to gain a decisive victory between Bixschoote and Langemarck on 22nd and 23rd October the fate of the XXVI and XXVII Reserve Corps was also settled. For the time being any further thought of a break-through was out of the question. The troops up till now had met the enemy full of a keen fighting spirit, and had stormed his positions singing ‘Deutschland, Deutschland über alles’ regardless of casualties, and had been one and all ready to die for their country; but they had suffered heavily in the contest against a war-experienced and numerically superior opponent entrenched in strongly fortified positions. Even when the last reserves of the Army, the 37th Landwehr Brigade and the 2nd Ersatz Brigade, had been placed at the disposal of the XXVI Reserve Corps, they could only be used to stiffen the defence. During the night of 23rd-24th October the expected Anglo-French counter-attacks began, and continued throughout the 24th, against the front of the XXVI and the right wing of the XXVII Reserve Corps. By utilising temporary local successes and putting in fresh forces the enemy vainly hoped to prepare the way for a break-through; but the German troops though weakened held up all these furious onslaughts from positions which had never been selected for defence, but were merely those reached at the close of the attack.[39]

The Commander of the Fourth Army was forced to continue ordering all his Corps to attack, in order to co-operate with the Sixth Army which was attacking and, besides this, to pin the enemy’s forces opposed to him to their ground: for in the north a decision appeared to be imminent on the front of General von Beseler’s III Reserve Corps: in addition to the entire infantry of the 6th Reserve Division, which had crossed the canal by the morning of 24th October, the infantry of the 5th Reserve Division and five battalions of the 44th Reserve Division succeeded in crossing the Yser during that day. The enemy was compelled to evacuate the western bank of the canal from St. George to south-east of Stuyvekenskerke, in spite of the fact that there had been one French and four Belgian Divisions[40] opposing the III Reserve Corps, and that the ten howitzer batteries had proved insufficient to engage the Belgian, French and British artillery successfully. In consequence of this inferiority the old and new canal crossings lay under constant concentrated fire, and all our efforts to transport guns over the waterway failed. Many a fine piece of engineering carried out by our indefatigable sappers was destroyed by the enemy’s shells. The supply of ammunition and field-dressings became a matter of the greatest difficulty, as all the roads leading to the rear across the swampy meadows were continuously shelled for a long way back. Nevertheless our front troops held on firmly to their new positions. The next operation was to break through the enemy’s position here once and for all, though it was clear from the beginning that the attack would be a very severe one. Belgian and French working parties had dug a series of positions between the Yser and the Nieuport-Bixschoote railway, from which the ground in front could be commanded with frontal and enfilade fire from skilfully placed machine-guns and well-concealed batteries. On both wings, according to the latest information at hand, strong hostile attacks were threatening us, that is to say, near Nieuport as well as near and to the south of Dixmude. To meet these the Army Commander had replaced the 4th Ersatz Division, which had been echeloned back along the coast as a precaution against hostile landings, by detachments of the Marine Division, and a few troops placed at his disposition by the Governor of Belgium, and had ordered it to march to Thourout. At the same time, by order of General von Beseler, long-range guns were placed to prevent the enemy from concentrating for an attack in the Nieuport district. However, the expected attack took place in the neighbourhood of Dixmude, and was directed against those battalions of the 44th Reserve Division which had crossed to the west of the Yser. The enemy realised the great danger that threatened his bridge-head from the north-west, and put all available Belgian and French reserves into the attack. Thus between five and six battalions from three Belgian regiments and the Marine Fusiliers under Admiral Ronarch, with a strong force of artillery, advanced to the attack of our southern flank. The Belgians themselves describe this attack in the following words: ‘One saw the companies doubling forward in small groups, lying down on the officers’ signal, and then getting up to go forward again until they finally deployed into their attacking lines. But unfortunately they were asked to accomplish a superhuman task, and whole rows of the men were mown down by the machine-guns. Company after company was decimated, and in spite of the energy of their leaders they had to give way, death having taken too heavy a toll of their ranks. The Marine Fusiliers, who attacked with uncommon gallantry, soon shared the same fate. But all this sacrifice was not in vain—it stopped the enemy’s advance.’[41]

It will be understood then that the first thing for the weak and widely separated battalions of the 44th Reserve Division to do on the 25th was to get breathing space and reorganise, even though they were exposed all the time to the heaviest fire from west, south and south-east. Further to the north, however, on the morning of the 25th, the 5th and 6th Reserve Divisions had succeeded in bringing their field-batteries across the river, and as soon as the whole artillery of these two divisions had been concentrated under the expert leadership of General von Ziethen, it began to prepare the way for the infantry attack. By midday both the divisions were advancing steadily towards the railway embankment on the line Ramscappelle-Pervyse. The Belgians had to evacuate position after position. Then suddenly heavy enfilade fire was poured in by the enemy’s artillery about Nieuport; and simultaneously a brigade of the 6th Reserve Division south-east of Pervyse had to be directed southwards in order not to lose touch with the right wing of the 44th Reserve Division. There were no reinforcements to fill up the gaps, and thus the attack came shortly afterwards to a standstill.

A very heavy thunder of guns rumbled incessantly from the south: the German artillery, including 42-centimetre guns, had bombarded Dixmude throughout the 24th October and morning of the 25th, and now the 43rd Reserve Division had begun its assault on the town. It resulted in the most violent street fighting; fast and furious came the bullets from the machine-guns posted in the houses along the edge of the town, and from the shells from the batteries massed west of the Yser, but nothing could hold up our attack. The Belgians have given the following description of the power of the German assault: ‘What plunder must not they have been promised, to allow themselves to be killed in such a way? What drink must they not have taken to give themselves such animal courage? Like devils, thirsting for blood, they storm forward with the howls of wild beasts; lusting to massacre, they tread the wounded under foot and stumble over the dead: and, though shot down in hundreds, they keep coming on. Then follow isolated fights with bayonets and the butts of rifles: some are impaled, others strangled or have their skulls bashed in.’ The fight swayed backwards and forwards till well into the night: guns brought up into the front line fired at point-blank range: both sides put in their last reserves.

During the night, rifles were unloaded, bayonets fixed, and we attacked again. A small German detachment of about fifty men advanced across the Yser bridge, but in endeavouring to assault the enemy’s batteries, it succumbed to greatly superior numbers. Thus the morning of 26th October found the attackers back in their assault-positions: their courage, spirit and indifference to death having added another leaf of fame to the chaplet of the Guards. It was clear, however, that another artillery bombardment was indispensable to success, and it was carried out on the 26th and 27th.

That heavy losses were suffered by the Belgians and the French Marine Fusiliers in the fighting just described is shown by the fact that on the morning of the 26th Senegalese troops who had been hurriedly brought up took over the defence of the bridge-head. A German attack on the 28th was able to make some progress on the southern flank against these fresh troops, but a decision could not be obtained. No further effort was made on the 29th, for there was a shortage of artillery ammunition. The eastern edge of the town was, however, bombarded by trench-mortars, which had just arrived, with good effect.

Army Orders for the 30th prescribed that the XXII Reserve Corps should only leave a weak force of from three to four battalions on the eastern bank of the Yser opposite Dixmude; that Dixmude should be kept under heavy artillery fire; and that the remainder of the 43rd Reserve Division should cross the Yser, north of Dixmude, in order to attack the town from the rear.

North-west of Dixmude, by the evening of the 29th, the troops of General von Beseler and the 44th Reserve Division had worked their way forward some 300 yards towards the railway embankment. Only one brigade of the 4th Ersatz Division was still north-east of Nieuport: all the rest were taking part in the struggle further south, and west of the Yser. Nieuport was shut in on the south: the left wing of the 44th Reserve Division lay west of Beerst, as protection against the strong hostile forces near the river about Dixmude: the Belgians and recently-arrived French forces held the railway embankment between Nieuport and Dixmude. Broad stretches of wire entanglements lay in front of this strong position, and the efforts of our troops had been almost superhuman in their advance over this ground: it was intersected with patches of marsh, dykes often fifteen yards broad, and thick, wired hedges. So strong, however, was the pressure against the enemy that the French were compelled to reduce their forces about Nieuport and north of it to weak detachments, and send constant reinforcements to the area Pervyse-Ramscappelle. A German airman, who was killed on the morning of the 30th, had shortly before his death reported that the enemy were beginning to withdraw. Our assault began at 6.30 A.M., though the ground in the area of the 5th and 6th Reserve Divisions had become extraordinarily swampy. It seemed impossible that the recent rains could have raised the level of the ground-water to such an extent. Nevertheless the attack made considerable progress. The 11th Brigade of the 6th Reserve Division succeeded in forcing its way into the eastern part of the strongly-fortified village of Pervyse, whilst of the 5th Reserve Division, the 48th and 52nd Reserve Regiments reached the railway embankment, and the 48th pushed on beyond it towards Ramscappelle. Although every house had to be attacked, it succeeded in reaching the western end of the village. The 12th Reserve Regiment also made considerable advance.

The resistance of the enemy was broken, and when the 33rd Ersatz Brigade on the northern wing advanced from the north-east against Nieuport, the enemy retired. Airmen reported enemy’s columns retreating towards Furnes. Nothing could stop the victorious advance of General von Beseler’s troops, not even the heaviest guns of the British battleships, cruisers and torpedo-boats, which, from far out at sea, enfiladed the German attack at a range of 20,000 yards, nor the incessant counter-attacks of the Franco-Belgian Divisions. On the evening of the 30th Ramscappelle was completely in German possession, the railway embankment south of it had been reached and even crossed in places; in Pervyse the fight was progressing favourably, and south of it the 12th Reserve Brigade, delayed by the numerous broad dykes, was working forward to the railway. Still further south the 44th Reserve Division was in full advance towards the railway embankment east of Oostkerke, whilst the main body of the 43rd Reserve Division had crossed the Yser, without casualties, and had been sent forward in the direction of Caeskerke.

The attack was to have been continued on the following morning, and General von Beseler intended to withdraw the last part of the 4th Ersatz Division, the 33rd Ersatz Brigade, from the area north-east of Nieuport, for the fire of the enemy’s naval guns from the sea[42] and the difficulties of the country appeared to militate against any prospects of a rapid success there. At 11.30 P.M., however, a General Staff Officer of the 6th Reserve Division reported that the attack could be continued no further owing to the constant rising of the water. What had happened? On the morning of the 30th the advancing troops had been up to their ankles in water; then it had gradually risen until they were now wading up to their knees, and they could scarcely drag their feet out of the clayey soil. If any one lay down for a moment under the heavy artillery, machine-gun and rifle fire, he was lost. The rise of the waters was attributed to the torrential rain of the previous few days, and it was hoped that on the approach of dry weather the excellent system of canals would soon drain it off. But the rising flood soon prevented the movement of wagons with ammunition and supplies, and when the attackers looked back from the railway embankment, it seemed to them as if the whole country had sunk behind them: the green meadows were covered with dirty, yellow water, and the general line of the roads was only indicated by the houses and the rows of partly covered trees. It soon became evident that the enemy must have blown up the canal-sluices, and called in the sea to his aid. The advance of General von Beseler’s III Reserve Corps had been the culmination of the crisis for our opponent; all his reserves had been put in to stop it, but in vain. If the Germans could only succeed in pushing the exhausted Belgians and French out of their way, the road to Dunkirk and Calais was open. Warnings, friendly and otherwise, had been given by the Allies to the Belgians that they must ‘hold out’; but they were no more able to resist the attacks of the victors of Antwerp now than when behind fortress ramparts. Their fighting spirit was broken; so, influenced by the wishes of the British and the French, King Albert finally decided to employ this last desperate means of defence, and place a wide expanse of his fair country under water. The water-level rose slowly and insidiously until, on the evening of the 30th, the Yser north of Dixmude had almost everywhere overflowed its banks. The inundation destroyed buildings as well as soil, but it enabled the worn-out defenders to recover their sore-threatened security.

General von Beseler quickly realised the danger which now awaited his attacking troops on the far side of the canal, behind whom a sheet of water, 2000 to 3000 yards broad, was constantly deepening. The decision was an exceedingly hard one for him to make, yet it had to be done. The attack would have to be given up and the greater part of the western bank of the river evacuated. The order was issued and carried out during the night of the 30th-31st October. In spite of the dangers due to the altered appearance of the country and the consequent difficulty in finding the way, and although the Franco-Belgian artillery kept the Yser crossings under constant heavy fire, the withdrawal was a brilliant success. Not a wounded man nor rifle fell into the enemy’s hands, and the movement was so well covered that the enemy did not notice we had disengaged until it was too late. A small detachment of gallant Brandenburgers under Lieutenant Buchholz remained behind for a long time in Pervyse. In front of them the enemy was sweeping the village with artillery and infantry fire and behind them was the edge of an apparently boundless sea. A French colonel offered Lieutenant Buchholz honourable conditions if he would surrender; but he indignantly rejected the offer: his only answer to the colonel was to slip off with his little band of followers. They rejoined their unit successfully. The enemy only followed up slowly along the roads, with weak detachments of infantry. Our rear-guards remained west of the canal on the line St. George-Stuyvekenskerke, whilst the main body on the 31st took up its new position east of the Yser as follows: the 5th Reserve Division north of the main road St. Pierre Cappelle-Mannekensvere; the 4th Ersatz Division in the area Mannekensvere-Schoore; and the 6th Reserve Division to the south of it. One battalion and one battery of the 4th Ersatz Division remained facing Nieuport, extending northwards to the coast. A new defensive position was selected along the line Westende-Mannekensvere-Schoore-Kasteelhoek: a continuation of the attack was now out of the question, as the water was still rising west of the Yser. On 31st October and 1st November, however, the XXII Reserve Corps again tried to press its attack southwards on the east bank of the river, in order to isolate the Dixmude bridge-head, but here also the ever-rising flood soon prevented movement, and on the evening of the 1st these brave troops also had to yield to the forces of nature and withdraw behind the Yser. This operation was carried out in bright moonlight on the night of the 1st-2nd, and was unmolested by the enemy, for he lay in his position exhausted and heedless. Thus for the time being Dixmude remained in possession of the French.

The Army Commander had issued definite instructions on the evening of the 24th October to the XXIII, XXVI and XXVII Reserve Corps to the effect that they were to maintain and strengthen their positions, and take every opportunity of seizing important points on their immediate front. In the execution of this order the German troops experienced a good deal of heavy fighting during the subsequent days. The XXVII Reserve Corps succeeded in capturing Reutel and holding it;[43] but in the meantime heavy hostile attacks were begun against the XXIII, XXVI and the extreme right wing of the XXVII Reserve Corps. The British, continually reinforced by the arrival of French units, endeavoured to break through, and used all their strength. Indeed, in many places the situation of these German volunteer corps became critical. Thanks to his good observation posts the enemy was able to keep our roads of advance and communications under artillery fire. As the roads were already broken up by the constant rain, the ammunition supply of our artillery, inferior in any case to our opponents’, failed. Nevertheless, in spite of all difficulties our counter-attacks continued. The fighting was especially severe on the front of the XXVI and XXVII Reserve Corps on 25th, 26th and 27th October. In this sector the British and French made a succession of attacks in the direction Poelkappelle, Passchendaele and east of Zonnebeke. The 37th Landwehr Brigade and the 2nd Ersatz Brigade, under the command of General von Meyer, had to be sent up into the fighting line, in addition to detachments of the Marine Division and of the 38th Landwehr Brigade. These Landwehr men, far from being weighed down by their years, gave effective support to the terribly thinned ranks of their younger friends, and the line was restored. In the heat of the fighting on the evening of the 26th General von Meyer was mortally wounded: may his memory be duly honoured.

An exceptionally heavy British and French attack was delivered on the 24th and 25th near Zonnebeke, against the inner flanks of the XXVI and XXVII Reserve Corps. The points of junction of formations are always the weakest parts of the defence, and when the General Staff Officer of the XXVII Reserve Corps asked for the support of the Corps on his right, he received the reply that no infantry could be spared ‘for the enemy....’ And at that moment the telephone circuit failed. There was nothing to do but close the gap between the two Corps by an artillery barrage, and to trust to the skill of the troops and their leaders. The Saxon gunners of the 53rd Reserve Division shelled the advancing enemy as fast as they were able, and by this aid the infantry was finally enabled to come up and close the gap again. At the same time the enemy made a strong attack further to the south. The report came in that he had surrounded Becelaere; but before his supports could assist him, the bayonets of the 54th Reserve Division had driven back his assaulting troops.[44] The Corps was able to hold its old line from the cross-roads east of Zonnebeke through Reutel to Poezelhoek. Comparative quiet followed on the 28th and morning of the 29th, for both sides were very exhausted. On the 28th the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division arrived at Dadizeele as Army Reserve.

The Army Cavalry of the Sixth Army, consisting of eight Cavalry Divisions and several Jäger battalions under General von der Marwitz, was in action on the left of the Fourth Army. It closed the gap between the latter and the infantry of the Sixth Army, which lay half-way between Warneton and Armentières. The enemy could not be attacked here by any form of mounted action; so far from this being possible, ground could be gained only by wearisome fighting on foot, to which the cavalrymen were unaccustomed. Nevertheless they carried out this task in brilliant fashion, and whilst the southern wing, in a bad position and scarcely entrenched at all, stubbornly held up the British who were streaming down from the high ground about Wytschaete and Messines,[45] the 3rd, 7th and Bavarian Cavalry Divisions, with the 4th, 9th and 10th Jäger battalions and five battalions of the 11th Landwehr Brigade brought forward from Lille, advanced under General von Stetten to the assault of the line Kruiseik-Zandvoorde and west of it. This direction was taken in order to be able to attack from the south against the rear of the enemy holding up the XXVII Reserve Corps. The 25th to 29th October were memorable and glorious days for this Cavalry Corps. Among other achievements, the 3rd Cavalry Division was able to capture Kruiseik on the 26th after heavy street fighting.[46] In co-operation with the left wing of the XXVII Reserve Corps, next to which the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment of the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division had been placed, taking a prominent part in the fighting under Colonel List, General von Stetten, on the 29th, carried forward the attack against Gheluvelt, the key of the enemy’s position. More than 600 British prisoners and 5 machine-guns were taken by our victorious cavalry.[47] Simultaneously on this day, the troops of General von Stetten filled another rôle. They were covering the concentration of new German forces which was in the course of completion behind their battle-front.

THE ATTEMPT TO BREAK THROUGH SOUTH OF YPRES

Throughout the fighting of the Fourth Army during October, the Sixth Army under Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria had remained on the offensive on the line Arras-La Bassée—east of Armentières;[48] but although fresh reinforcements had been sent up to that part of the front by the German General Staff, a break-through had not been possible. Both sides had gradually changed their objectives and now merely sought to prevent any movement of the opposing forces from that front to the decisive zone of operations between Nieuport and Ypres. Any weakness in the enemy’s line, however, was utilised to gain new and improved positions from which another effort to break through might be made as soon as possible. Owing to the failure of the offensive south of Nieuport, a decision under the conditions existing there could not be hoped for; the German General Staff therefore began considering a plan for concentrating a strong new army of attack between the Fourth and the Sixth Armies behind the position occupied by the Army Cavalry, and for breaking through with it on the front Werwicq-Warneton, south of Ypres.

On 27th October Lieut.-General von Falkenhayn arrived at the Headquarters of the Sixth Army to discuss this operation. The plan was arranged and orders were issued accordingly. A new ‘Army Group’ was to be affiliated to the Sixth Army, under the command of General von Fabeck, commander of the XIII Würtemburg Corps.[49] It would consist of the II Bavarian and the XV Corps (now on its way up from the south to join the Sixth Army), the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division (still in reserve to the Fourth Army), and the 26th Würtemburg Division (of the Sixth Army, which was about to be relieved by the 48th Reserve Division recently arrived from the Fifth Army). In addition to these formations all the available heavy artillery of the Sixth Army would be brought up to assist, and if necessary the attacks further south would be partially discontinued. The offensive was to take place on the 30th October from the general line Werwicq-Deulemont in a north-easterly direction. In the meantime the 3rd Division of the II Corps was also to be brought up by rail to Lille. The orders of the German General Staff pointed out that the united co-operation of the Fourth and Sixth Armies was an essential condition for the success of the operation. Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria therefore ordered the entire right wing and centre of the Sixth Army to continue their holding attacks, and Duke Albert of Würtemburg ordered a general attack of his Army for the 30th October.

How the flooding of the Yser on the front of the right wing of the Fourth Army brought the offensive of the III and XXII Reserve Corps to a standstill has already been described. From the 1st November the 4th Ersatz Division took over the protection of the line of the flooded area from the coast to Tervaete, whilst the III Reserve Corps was moved southwards to the district Zarren-Staden in order to reinforce the XXIII or XXVI Reserve Corps, as the situation might require.[50] To the XXII Reserve Corps was allotted the task of holding the two French divisions stationed in the Dixmude bridge-head, which formed a constant threat to the German front. The Corps carried out this task admirably.

On the morning of the 30th October the XXIII, XXVI and XXVII Reserve Corps advanced to the attack as ordered. The first-named under General von Kleist succeeded in storming and holding the ruins of Bixschoote. After five hours’ desperate fighting, the 211th and 216th Reserve Infantry Regiments entered the devastated village which had been occupied by two French infantry regiments. Its low-lying situation, and the hopelessness of finding cover among the battered houses, resulted in the victorious German regiments being exposed to a very heavy artillery fire to such an extent, that the casualties in the village were greater than during the assault. In consequence the commander decided to withdraw and take up a line along the northern edge of Bixschoote, leaving in the village itself only sufficient outposts to repulse hostile counter-attacks. The division on the left wing of the Corps also made progress and reached the main road Bixschoote-Langemarck in places. The XXVI Reserve Corps attacked Langemarck with its right wing, but was unable to take it. In spite of gallant efforts only a few hundred yards of ground were gained by the evening of the 31st, when these useless attacks were stopped by order. The centre and left wing of this Corps as well as the right wing of the XXVII Reserve Corps were held to their positions by superior hostile artillery fire, and also by mass attacks of the British and French during the 30th and 31st. The II and IX French Corps had just arrived, and in the presence of General Joffre an attempt to break through our line was to be made on this sector of the front.[51] The German defenders, however, held stoutly to their positions, and thus enabled the offensive of the Army Group of General von Fabeck to take place. In conjunction with this the centre and left wing of the XXVII Reserve Corps, under its new commander, General von Schubert, simultaneously advanced in the direction of Gheluvelt.

During the night of the 27th-28th October the 26th Infantry Division was relieved in its battle-position west of Lille by the 48th Reserve Division, and by the evening of the 29th the assembly of the Army Group Fabeck was completed without disturbance.

The heavy artillery placed at the disposal of the Army Group consisted of 8 batteries of mortars, 20 battalions of heavy field-howitzers, each of 3 batteries, and a 30·5 cm. coast defence mortar.[52] In addition to the troops already mentioned, the 1st Cavalry Corps, the four Jäger battalions of the Army Cavalry and the 11th Landwehr Brigade were put under the command of General von Fabeck. On the night of the 30th October this new army of attack relieved the two northern Cavalry Corps, and took over their outpost lines. On the following morning the offensive began.[53] The XV Corps under General von Deimling attacked south of the Menin-Ypres road, with its left wing on Zandvoorde, the II Bavarian Corps was on its left, with its left wing on Wambeke; further south again was the 26th Infantry Division with its left wing on Messines. In co-operation with these the 1st Cavalry Corps with the 4th and Guard Cavalry Divisions, strengthened by two battalions of the XIX Saxon Corps, which was attacking to the left of it, was ordered to advance on St. Yves and Ploegsteert Wood. The 6th Bavarian Reserve Division moved to the line Menin-Werwicq. The Army Cavalry which had been relieved was withdrawn to act as reserve to the Sixth Army, one Cavalry Corps being placed behind the right wing of the Army to be at hand to fill up a slight gap which existed between the Fourth Army and the Army Group Fabeck should it be necessary.

The enemy had intercalated part of the XVI French Corps between the 7th Division of the IV British Corps and the British Cavalry Corps, before the advance of von Fabeck’s Army; the II and IX French Corps had also recently arrived[54] on the northern side of the Ypres salient.[55] Again, therefore, the enemy had a numerical superiority[56] in what was the second and severest part of the battle on the Yser. The British in their reports have added together all the German Corps which were brought up piecemeal for the fighting on the Yser and at Ypres, both at this period and later on; and they describe the situation so as to give the impression that they had held up with inferior numbers the simultaneous attacks of all these Corps from the outset. They go further and use the figures obtained in this way to turn their defeat into a victory. They boast of having held out against great odds, gladly forgetting that their original intention both before and during the battle had been to overrun our positions and drive us back to the Rhine.