battle of ypres

The First Battle of Ypres was “The Race to the Sea”. The Allies and Germans weren’t really concerned about the sea; they were both looking for a way to destroy the enemies’ defenses off the front line. The so-called “race” began very slowly. The Allies snuck up the left; while the Germans edged up the right. By now General Erich von Falkenhayn had replaced Von Moltke the aging General who had implemented the Schlieflen plan. Von Falkenhayn was the Prussian Minister of war; he had guts and nerves, which the other previous general lacked. Von Falkenhayn had moved the German army at a rapid pace, making t

The Emperor used his 1st and 4th Bridges of Prussian guards just like Napoleon had used his Guards for the final attack on Waterloo. The Prussian Guards had used their parade march to enter, but the British troops had fired and killed most of the Germans. The 1st Brigade and the left brigade of the 3rd division had received much of the casualties. However, they broke through the Allied front at several places and made their way to the woods in the west. The 1st regiment had made their way past the Nonne Bosch Wood but the 2nd Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry defeated them.

On November 15th, 1914, the Germans had the final attack on Ypres. They had an occasional assault along the whole line towards Messines ridge. On November 16th, 1914, the Germans had tried to take Ypres, which ultimately failed, but they continued bombing and shelling Ypres until its Cloth Hall and its great Church of St. Martin were in ruins. More French reinforcements had come up and relieved the exhausted British troops from the trenches, which they had been living in for four obstinate weeks.

The Allies in Ypres first experienced Duke Albrecht of Württemberg’s Fourth Army on October 19 and 20. The battle began with a nine-day German attack, which was only brought to a standstill with the appearance of French reinforcements and the premeditated flooding of the Belgian front. Belgian troops released the gates of the dykes holding back the sea from the Low Countries. The flood covered the last ten miles of trenches in the north, and later demonstrated an obstruction to the movement of allied troops and equipment. The main attack was on the front lines south of La Basée Canal, where they attacked the British Expeditionary Forces. The German forces had outnumbered the British Forces three to one men. As well, many of the German conscripts were fresh and well rested for the battle, so they also had more power then the British. On October 20, the Germans attacked outpost, which overlooked Lilles. The British were caught by surprise and were beleaguered.

The French were unaware of the loss of the 2nd Royal Irish on the 20th, moreover, they didn’t know that their 2nd Sherwood Foresters were destroyed until late on the 21st. General De Mitery was informed by his IV corps that the French and Belgian were holding, however, they were continuously attacked by German forces. A new headquarters appeared, the French General d’Urbal now was put in command of all French Units in Belgium, including a division sent to reinforce the Belgian lines.

As the “Race to the Sea” began in late September and early October, the German Army could not forget about the town of Antwerp, which was crucial to their success. The Belgian Field Army had retreated in to the fortified city of Antwerp for protection. The Belgians had a relatively weak force consisting of 65 000 Field Army troops, and another 80 000 troops in other units. The troops had dug out trenches, which were damp, dangerous and shallow, easily hit by artillery fire. The Belgians did their best to help the Allied forces against the struggle with Germany. On September 28, 1914, the Germans hit the southeast side of Antwerp. The city had been attacked, first by bombardments from the German super-heavy siege guns, and secondly by the infantry. The Germans had convinced the Belgians that they would lose and would have to retreat again. However, the Allied forces had told the Belgians to defend Antwerp for a few more days before they would send some reinforcements. However, hardly any troops arrived, causing the Belgians to lose control of Antwerp.

Some topics in this essay:
Expeditionary Forces, Germans FitzClarence, Coldstream Guards, Menin Road, Germany September, Army Belgium, Field Army, Expeditionary Force, Le Pilly, Allies Germans, menin road, front lines, 2nd royal, messines ridge, fourth army, british expeditionary, front line, germans attacked, salient ypres, duke albrecht, 2nd royal irish, sir john french, duke albrecht württemberg, british expeditionary forces, germans tried ypres,