By 11am on the 11th of November 1918 there wasn’t a building left undamaged in the Belgian municipality of Ypres. For four years this region had been at the centre of numerous offensives and under almost constant bombardment from the German artillery that occupied the surrounding hills. One Canadian Sergeant J.A. Brice wrote home in 1917:
I don't suppose there is any place on earth in quite such a mess as the surface of the earth surrounding Ypres. For over six miles in depth the land is nothing but a sea of shell- craters, the majority of which are full of water. Live in this for a few days and you begin to argue, “If this is what we are fighting for, for heaven's sake let us give it to Fritz and at the same time apologize for it being in such a mess.”
So why did the Allied forces risk so much to hold this hellish crucible of a town, set constantly alight by German guns?
In 1914 the world had gone to war. Penned in by France on one side and Russia on the other Germany looked to swiftly seize Paris, knocking France from the war, before turning on the Slavic half of the Dual Alliance before the ‘Russian Steamroller’ could be mobilised. This plan involved a sweeping thrust through Belgium and Luxembourg so as to come at Paris from the north and west.
Violating the sovereignty of neutral Belgium, however, came at a price as this brought Britain into the war against Germany. Unlike the other major belligerents of 1914 Britain wasn’t committed to take any military action. Though closely allied with France since 1904, even going so far as to formulate co-operative military strategy on the continent, when war came Britain was at odds as to how she should act and what her role should be in the coming conflict. The population, Parliament, and Cabinet remained divided as France and Europe looked on.
On the 3rd of August German troops invaded Belgium and Luxembourg after the small nations refused to allow the German army to march through to France. The 1839 Treaty of London had guaranteed the perpetual neutrality and independence of Belgium. Britain called on this document as she threatened Germany with war if she did not withdraw her troops immediately.
Though probably mainly concerned with the security of the Channel Ports, on the 4th of August 1914 Britain entered into the First World War in defence of ‘Gallant Little Belgium’. Furthermore, Britain would not limit her commitment to naval or limited ground operations; by early September 1914 the full might of the British Expeditionary Force was deployed in France and Belgium. In this way Belgium became Britain's casus belli and the raison d'etre for many of the men and women who would serve from 1914-1918.
Despite the combined efforts of the Belgian, French, and British armies, Germany continued her relentless advance. Not yet confined to the trenches the opposing cavalries and infantries clashed in large running battles as Germany advanced right up to the River Marne, just outside of Paris. After Marshal Joffre’s ‘Miracle at the Marne’ the Germans were pushed back. This retreat only last so long, however.
At the battle of the Aisne the German line held and both sides began to dig in. As the vast trench systems took shape the German and Allied armies were also busy trying to out manoeuvre each other. Over almost two months the iconic Western Front was formed as both sides clashed and subsequently dug in on their ‘Race to the Sea’. The Battle of Yser at the end of October brought the opening war of movement to a close; the lines were drawn and wouldn’t change too drastically until 1918.
Ypres was a vital point in this line of trenches. Forming a salient that protruded into the German lines Ypres was the point that had to be broken if the Germans wished to advance along the coast and capture more of the Channel Ports; the vital points of contact and supply between Britain and her allies and armies in Europe. Similarly Ypres offered Britain her best opportunity to retake the Chanel Ports along the Belgian coast, bolstering Britain’s position while denying Germany U-Boat bases. Possibly more important than its strategic location, however, was Ypres’ symbolic value.
Britain had gone to war in 1914, at least ostensibly, in defence of Belgian neutrality and independence. While it was only one of the many reasons for going to war, saving ‘Gallant Little Belgium’ gave purpose to many of the millions of men who volunteered for service in the British and Commonwealth forces. By the end of the ‘Race to the Sea’, however, Germany controlled all of Belgium bar a small strip from Ypres to the sea.
As the rhetoric became more extreme and propagandistic and Britain painted herself as the defender of freedom against the tyrannical and militaristic German Empire, Ypres became even more important to the national psyche. Now giving up on Ypres would not only be giving up on ‘Gallant Little Belgium’ but it would also be a surrender of everything that Britain supposedly stood for. So from the moment their first forces arrived on October 14th 1914 till November 11th 1918 and despite numerous attacks and a constant rain of German shells from the surrounding hills, the British refused to let a single German jackboot onto the streets of Ypres.
Before the Allied forces arrived in the area, however, the First World War first came to the city of Ypres when German troops entered the town on the 7th of October, cutting telegraph lines and levying all manner of supplies. These troops had all left the city by the next day and no other German soldier would pass through any of Ypres’ gates until 1940. The following week, the 14th of October, saw Henry Rawlinson, commander of the British IV Corps, and his troops reach Ypres.
The arrival of the British in the area was part of a much larger campaign by combined French, British, and Belgian forces under the command of Field Marshal John French and Marshal Ferdinand Foch. But the Allies’ aims weren’t entirely in concert with each other: the British were concerned with relieving Antwerp and securing the Chanel Ports while the French were more focused on securing their northern flank. Overall national concerns were in concert, however, and the Allied armies worked reasonably well together as they pushed deeper into still contested territory.
Though John French refused to break from the Belgian forces in the north he had also agreed to Foch’s plan to advance eastward, with the aim of capturing the town of Menin, south-east of Ypres. Attempts to both shore up their own lines and make further gains in Flanders, however, overextended the Allies’ forces. This would prove almost catastrophic once Erich von Falkenhayn, the new Chief of the German General Staff, launched his offensive on the 20th of October.
The European powers that went to war in 1914 had, mostly, expected a short war of movement defined by massive battles across open fields. They had armed themselves accordingly, which meant a focus on low-trajectory field artillery. Only Germany came armed with large numbers of howitzers and siege artillery, which they would need to defeat the fortified Belgian and French cities that lay in the way of their advance.
While these guns would prove advantageous once the war of trenches began, on the 10th of October 1914 they helped to bring about the surrender the city of Antwerp—Belgium’s last stronghold behind German lines. The fall of Antwerp allowed Falkenhayn to gather the German Fourth Army close to Menin in preparation for an assault against Ypres. Intelligence reports indicating this large massing of troops were largely disbelieved by French and the Allied offensive continued.
General Horace Smith-Dorrien’s II Corps, positioned to the north of Ypres, was preparing to advance and so had little or no defensive preparations in place on the 20th of October when five corps of the German Fourth Army descended on them. Despite their unpreparedness the various Divisions that made up II Corps acquitted themselves well in the ensuing combats; all but the 5th Division, who were forced to abandon La Bassée, held their positions throughout the German attacks that day and night. This allowed for the British I Corps, under General Douglas Haig, to take up their positions in Ypres.
October 21st saw an increase in the German offensive and large numbers of II Corps were forced to withdraw to more defendable positions. At the same time the line was held at Messines and Haig began to bring I Corps to bear in the engagement. Over the next days, however, it became apparent to the British just what the extent of their situation was. Seven battle-weary divisions of the British Expeditionary Force had to hold a front 36 miles long against a German force of eleven infantry-eight fresh to the field-and eight cavalry divisions. Field Marshal French decided to take a defensive stance.
Over the next 32 days the BEF would prove the worth of the professional soldier and the Haldane army reforms as their actions immortalised the ‘Brave Old Contemptibles’. While the German and French armies were made up of conscripted men led by a professional officer class the British army was made up of volunteers whose profession was soldiery. The extensive and superior training of the BEF proved invaluable as they held off much larger German forces, often without the support of artillery or machine guns; though their amazing fire-discipline was sometimes mistaken for machine gun fire.
Though it is undeniable that the First Battle of Ypres would have been lost without the BEF they were not the sole defenders of the Belgian front. The German Fourth and Sixth Armies assaulting the line to the north and south of Ypres respectively was far superior in numbers to the French, British, and Belgian forces they were fighting. Though a great deal has been made of the heroism and exemplary conduct of the BEF during the First Battle of Ypres, the overall victory was dependent on all three of the Western Allies. Without French reinforcements, the assistance and support of the Indian troops deployed in the area, or Belgium’s opening of the dams Ypres might well have been lost.
In the end, however, Ypres became a site sacred to British lore; much like Gallipoli and Verdun would for Australia and France. The fields surrounding this ancient town quickly became known as the place where the plucky BEF stood against Prussian militarism and their ‘million man army’, sacrificing themselves to save Belgium’s last bastion from the Teutonic advance. Though many of their number did survive, Ypres did prove to be the tomb of the BEF as the remaining professional soldiers were dispersed amongst the incoming waves of Kitchener’s armies of amateur volunteers. These final actions were, however, vital to the halting of the German offensive and ideal fodder for growing legends.
November brought worsening weather and the promise of winter just around the corner, forcing Falkenhayn to call a halt to the German offensives later that month. October and November had seen massive amounts of casualties as both sides fought tooth-and-nail over roads, hamlets, hills, forests, or any other tactically advantageous position. During these battles, especially in the first days, Germany held a distinct numerical and materiel advantage. Despite this the First Battle of Ypres was an Allied victory; though it came at a very high cost.
The Allied victory was in large part due to a German inability or unwillingness to capitalise on their advantages and press breaks in the Allied lines. This wasn’t, however, simply incompetency of command. The rapid advances in weaponry and technology in the proceeding decades had left the defender with a distinctive advantage in combat. The changed face of warfare also meant that the officers and commanders were being forced to rapidly adjust to new and changing styles of war, making many of them more reserved in their judgement and actions.
This worked very much in favour of the BEF whose small numbers were able to hold their precarious positions, at least long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Many tales abound about every man in the BEF, including cooks and orderlies, being pressed into holding the front line and German prisoners being astounded and incredulous as they were marched through British lines. One anecdote has a German blurt ‘But where are your reserves?’ after being walked through the thin line of haggard and beleaguered soldiers holding the front. ‘You’re lookin’ at ‘im chum’ quipped an exhausted British gunner sitting by his field gun.
-The Battle of Vimy Ridge by Richard Jack
After Falkenhayn ordered an end to the offensive in the Ypres salient both sides set about digging in and fortifying their positions. In many ways this battle represented the conflict of 1914: large and ongoing battles of movement over open ground with heavy casualties on both sides with an eventual retiring to trenches as both sides began to dig in. The Ypres theatre and the subsequent battles that would be fought here would come to represent the Western Front.
From 1915-1918 the area would be dominated by trenches and artillery fire that would see the landscape transformed into something akin to the surface of the moon. The Second Battle of Ypres, 1915, became infamous after the Germans deployed poisonous gas on a large scale for the first time. The Allies fell back en masse as the creeping could of choking gas swept through their lines. So effective was this action that the German’s were unable to seize all of the land it freed up. In the end the rupture in the line was stemmed and the 1st Canadian Division proved the undeniable strength of the Colonial Armies as they beat back the advancing Germans.
1917 saw renewed fighting in the Ypres salient as Britain and her allies launched an offensive in the area in an attempt to break through to the Belgian coast. Popularly known as the Battle of Passchendaele, the Third Battle of Ypres came to embody the image of futility and heartbreak on the Western Front as a muddy alien-landscape populated by the carcases of shrapnel filled trees and tired men huddled in shallow water-logged holes. Passchendaele proved to be one of the most controversial British offensives of the First World War.
Haig, now Commander-in-Chief, insisted on maintaining the offensive for more than three months despite poor weather and ground conditions, high numbers of casualties, and the fact that the attacks were often uphill against a well entrenched enemy. Haig was convinced that the unwillingness to maintain and press the offensive had cost Germany victory in 1914 and was determined not to make the same mistake. The politicians and French high-command held different opinions, however, and Haig's decision to attack and maintain the offensive was highly divisive, and remains so today.
In the end, however, Ypres finished as it started; with the Allies weathering a tremendous onslaught before beating back their German foes in great battles of movement. The German Spring Offensive of 1918 broke the trench deadlock and pushed the Allies back to ‘hellfire corner’ where ‘the invader was brought to a standstill’. The subsequent Allied counter-offensive beat the Germans further back than ever before until overstretched supply lines and German reinforcements halted the attack in October 1918. These battles became known as ‘The Forgotten Battles of Ypres’ and yet might be the most important of all actions in this theatre.
Listen back to 'Talking History' as Patrick and a panel of experts journey back almost a century to one of the most famous battlefields in the world. Hear all about this infamous salient that swallowed the bodies and lives of so many men from around the world. Why was the town of Ypres and the surrounding area so important? What was the rationale behind the tactics and continued fighting in the region? And was it worth all the lives lost through five years of fighting?
