Part 8

_Return by the same road to =Moerdijck=, turn left beyond the bridge, pass through =Moere= (2 kms.), and after crossing the light railway, take the road on the right which follows the railway to =Leke= village (5½ kms.). Beyond the_ ruins of the church, _take the right-hand road to =St. Pierre-Cappelle= (4 kms.)_, whose church is in ruins. _Continue straight along the Nieuport road_, noticing the many observation-posts and concrete shelters. _Throughout the region crossed by the itinerary, on both sides of the Yser, the ground has been completely devastated by trenches, shelters and bombardments. The villages have vanished. Today these places are the resort of pilgrims. =Spermalie= (2 kms.) is next reached._

_Beyond the bridge, at the fork, take the right-hand road (in bad condition) to =Mannekensvere=._

A few heaps of stones and _débris_ are all that remains of Mannekensvere. _To visit +St. Georges+, cross the Yser by a small wooden foot-bridge, near the place where the Pont de l'Union used to stand. (It is impossible for vehicles to cross the river). Between the Yser and St. Georges, follow a "boyau" (by-trench) to_ the first Belgian and German lines, marked by many concrete shelters pierced with loop-holes.

Mannekensvere was situated on the right bank of the Yser. The Pont de l'Union, which crossed the Yser 3 kms. from Nieuport, connected it with St. Georges, situated a little further back, on the left bank, along the Nieuport-Bruges Road. These two villages and the bridge were among the principal targets of the Germans. On October 18, 1914, Mannekensvere, an advance-post of the Belgian 2nd Division, was carried by the Germans, but recaptured shortly afterwards by the Belgian 7th Infantry Regiment (Major Evrard). Unfortunately, the German heavy artillery made the position untenable on the following day, and Major Evrard was forced to re-cross the Pont de l'Union, which he blew up. St. Georges, on the contrary, was captured only on October 23, after the crossing of the Yser by the enemy, and the loss of Groote-Hemme Farm which covered it from the south.

_Return to +Spermalie+, where turn to the right._

The whole of the region now about to be crossed was flooded throughout the war. Today, the waters have receded, leaving it covered with reeds.

_=Schoore= (1 km.)_, completely razed, _is next reached_.

Schoore was situated slightly to the right of the Yser, on the road to Bruges. The Belgian 1st Division had its advance-posts there. The village was captured on October 18, 1914, by a battalion of the German IIIrd Corps, after a four hours' bombardment.

_Cross the Yser at =Schoorbakke= (2 kms.)_

This village had a bridge across the Yser, at the end and to the west of the great bend in the river, beginning at Tervaete.

This important strategical point was early threatened by the enemy. After the furious combats of October 15-22, the grand assault was launched on the night of the 22nd. A battalion of the Belgian 4th Infantry Regiment, though practically hemmed in by the enemy, defended it heroically, and only evacuated the position at dawn on the 23rd _(see p. 12)_.

_Between the Yser and the shelters bordering its left bank, a foot-path on the right leads to +Groote-Hemme Farm+ (1 km. 300.)_

_Keep straight along the road. The first road on the left leads to =Stuyvekenskerke= (1½ kms.)_ of which only a few broken walls remain.

_To the left of the church there is a temporary footway along the road_; today the latter is recognizable only by the stumps of the trees which formerly bordered it. _The footway leads to the site on which stood_ the Château of Vicogne, _and further on, to =Tervaete= (Photo, p. 117.)_

From this village, the Yser describes a wide curve towards the west which ends at Schoorbakke. At Tervaete, a bridge spanned the Yser. From the right bank the enemy were able to enfilade and even attack the Allies' defences on the left bank, in the rear, and effect a crossing of the river at that point. This explains the frequency and fierceness of the German attacks on Tervaete, which was first lost then recaptured on October 22, 1914, being finally captured by the Germans the next day _(See p. 12)_.

_From Stuyvekenskerke, return to the road previously followed, turning left towards +Pervyse+. Shortly before reaching Pervyse are_ the remains of an elevated footway, which formerly crossed the inundated ground. _After crossing what used to be the permanent way of the Dixmude-Nieuport railway, the village of =Pervyse= is reached (3½ kms.)_ The railway embankment formed the boundary of the inundated area, and was fortified. Shelters and graves are still to be seen all the way along. There was an observation-post on the top of the railway-station, to the left of the road.

Pervyse, in ruins, was made famous by the heroic resistance of the French Marines who beat off the enemy's fierce onslaughts of October and December 1914.

The houses bordering the road at the entrance to the village were turned into machine-gun blockhouses, thus barring the way.

_Beyond the church is a crossing; the road on the right leads to =Ramscappelle= (4½ kms.)_ which played an important part in 1914. On October 30, 1914, a fierce German thrust ended in the capture of the village--already on the point of being inundated--from the Belgian 5th and 6th Infantry Regiments. The loss was one of the greatest importance, as no lines of resistance had been prepared in the rear. The recapture of Ramscappelle was therefore an indispensable if very difficult operation. _(See p. 15.)_

_The left-hand road leads to =Dixmude=. =Caeskerke= (5½ kms.), a station on the Dixmude-Nieuport railway, is next reached._ The Headquarters of Admiral Ronarc'h were established there in October 1914, and it was this fact which caused it to be bombarded by the Germans, whose shells quickly reduced it to ruins.

_Beyond Caeskerke, cross the Yser; before reaching the bridge, on the left, along the riverside, is_ a trench with numerous shelters, known as the "Boyau de la Mort" (Death Trench). It was enfiladed by machine-guns posted in the flour-mill on the opposite bank of the Yser _(on the right, near the bridge)_, which the Germans had converted into a fortress. _(Photo p. 124.)_

_The tourist next reaches =Dixmude= (2½ kms.), arriving at the Grand' Place._

DIXMUDE.

=Dixmude= was a small ancient town of some 4,000 inhabitants, situated in the midst of fields on the right bank of the Yser.

It was entirely destroyed. Of the town's monuments and buildings, traces of the parish-church of St. Nicholas only remain _(on the left side of the square)_. The chevet dated from the 14th century, the rest of the building being early 16th century. The church contained a magnificent rood-loft of finely carved white stone (1540). Above the high altar was a fine _Adoration of the Wise Men_, by Jordaens (1644). The rich ancient furnishings comprised: a marble font with a bronze cover (1626), choir-stalls, pulpits, a "Calvary" altar, a carved oak organ-loft, wrought copper chandeliers, candlesticks, etc.

From the heap of stones and débris--the remains of the church tower--there is a good view of the ruined town. In the same square stood the Hôtel-de-Ville, Gothic in style, built about 1870. It was entirely razed _(Photo below)_.

_The left-hand road leads to the bridge over the Handzaeme Canal_, one of the most picturesque parts of Dixmude. Close by, to the left of the road, stood the +Béguinage+, comprising some twenty houses grouped around a small chapel, and a fine garden. The place is now overrun with weeds.

The Defence and Capture of Dixmude.

Dixmude was the scene of most desperate fighting from October 15 to November 10, 1914. The French Naval Brigade--6,000 men commanded by Admiral Ronarc'h--with a brigade of the Belgian 3rd Division under General Meiser, and a few battalions of Senegalese troops, held out heroically for a month against enemy forces six times more numerous and supported by masses of heavy artillery.

On October 16, along the roads encumbered with refugees from the region of Thourout, the Marines, in their retreat from Melle to Ghent, reached Dixmude in the pouring rain, accompanied by the Belgian batteries under Major Pontus. Under enemy pressure the advanced positions of the town were abandoned.

At that time, the river formed the only line of defence against the enemy thrust, there being no trenches, shelters, or wire entanglements.

In spite of great fatigue, due to the forced marches, the Marines and Infantry, with the help of some companies of Belgian Engineers, organised defences in the vast plain. Trenches were made round the town, 1 km. beyond its outskirts, whilst the bridges, footways and dikes of the Yser Canal were fortified at the same time.

The defences of the bridgehead of Dixmude were divided into two sectors, separated by the Caeskerke Road.

Having no aeroplanes or heavy artillery, the 6,000 French Marines, with 5,000 Belgians of the Meiser Brigade--11th Regiment (Col. Leermans) and 12th regiment (Col. Jacques)--were attacked by three German Army Corps.

After an unsuccessful feint attack on October 16-17, the Germans, having meanwhile received reinforcements and siege artillery from Antwerp, renewed their assault with increasing violence.

On the 20th, at 11 a.m., the first big shell fell in the town. In conformity with the Burgomaster's orders, the civilians left the town, except the Carmelite Nuns and a few other persons, who were forced to leave a few days later.

The first shells fell on the church, which was burnt. Fires broke out everywhere and soon destroyed the town. The troops stoically awaited the attack, which came simultaneously from the north, east and south.

The assaulting columns were in massed formation, sixteen lines deep. They were literally mown down, and after a desperate struggle their scattered remnants were thrown back on their starting positions.

The attack continued on the following days, without appreciable enemy gain. Whenever, by force of numbers, they penetrated the defences, reserve sections of Marines drove them back at the bayonet's point.

Dixmude was none the less in imminent danger. German troops crossed the Yser at Tervaete, and slipped along the left bank of the river with the intention of turning the position. In the thick of the battle and in spite of the incessant frontal attacks, Admiral Ronarc'h dispatched two battalions to the threatened point. Although the men were "half-dead with the cold and lack of sleep", a front was improvised between the Yser Canal and the embankment of the Nieuport-Dixmude railway. The manœuvre was a difficult one, but by prodigies of heroism the new line stood firm and became fixed.

On the 24th, a bombardment of unprecedented intensity was opened on the town and its defences, including the station of Caeskerke, where the Admiral's headquarters were situated, but the defenders held their ground unflinchingly under the terrible deluge of flying splinters. Towards evening, the enemy made a tremendous effort against the bridgehead of Dixmude. Eleven assaults in the north and north-east sector, and fifteen assaults in the south-east sector were successively repulsed. The German dead accumulated in heaps, right up to the Allies' trenches. The struggle continued hand-to-hand until midnight, in pitch darkness, the men floundering blindly in the mud.

Exhausted by their tremendous efforts the enemy gave way. Dixmude was still inviolate, but on the morrow, as soon as the morning mists had risen, the bombardment began again along the whole line. Little by little the town fell into ruins.

On the night of the 25th, a company of German infantry managed to slip into the town. About a hundred of them crossed the bridge-road and in close formation made a dash for Caeskerke, with fife and drum at their head. That the men were drugged, explains their foolhardy exploit. A few prisoners, including several Belgian doctors, Commandant Jeanniot and some marines were captured. Held up soon afterwards, the Germans attempted to get back to their lines, shooting most of their prisoners at dawn. The doctors and a quarter-master alone were spared, being eventually delivered by a section of French Marines.

The troops under Colonel Jacques, exhausted by the struggle, were relieved by two battalions of Senegalese and a battalion of the Belgian 1st Line Regiment.

Keeping up their daily bombardment, the enemy now directed their main effort between Nieuport and Dixmude. However, they were held by the inundations which soon spread southwards. Moreover, the ceaseless rain had transformed the ground into a veritable sea of mud, which gradually invaded the trenches. Shivering with cold and fever, and up to their knees in slime, the Marines still stood firm.

The Capture of Dixmude.

On November 10 the Germans, infuriated by their repeated checks, attacked again with overwhelming forces. Part of the defences in the southern sector, between the railway and the Eessen road, held by Belgian infantry, gave way beneath the shock, bringing about the fall of the sectors on either side, held by the Senegalese troops. The line was pierced in the centre. The enemy swarmed through the breach, crossing the Handzaeme Canal to the north, while to the south, in the direction of the cemetery, they attacked the companies of Marines who continued to resist desperately. The Germans entered the town, the fight continuing from street to street and house to house, with countless surprises and ambuscades. Unarmed prisoners were made to march in front of the assailants, who proceeded to attack the positions on the Yser. Amongst them was Naval-Lieutenant Sérieyx, who, wounded in the arm, had just fought with his men to the last cartridge.

On being ordered by the German Commandant to indicate the fordable places in the river, one of which was only some fifty yards away, the French officer, to gain time, made a complicated sketch of the position, placing himself and his men the while in front of the Germans. Becoming impatient, the German ordered the Frenchmen to call on the defenders of the canal to surrender.

"But how can you expect them to surrender", was the calm rejoinder, "seeing that there are ten thousand of them". In reality, they numbered about two hundred.

At this point, heavy rifle fire to the north drew the attention of the enemy elsewhere, seeing which, the wounded officer, exhorting his men to follow him, jumped into the river and swam over to the other side.

When night fell, the bridges and flour-mill--a powerful blockhouse in reinforced concrete--were blown up, the whole of the Franco-Belgian troops having meanwhile been withdrawn behind the embankment of the Yser Canal, which they held under gunfire. The Germans sought to organise the ruins of the unfortunate town, whose destruction was now being completed by the Allies' artillery.

The inundations reached Dixmude, forming an impassable barrier for the enemy.

On November 26, 1914, the French Naval Brigade, which later further distinguished itself on other fields of battle, and whose flag was eventually decorated with the _Légion d'honneur_ _(fourragère)_, was mentioned in the Army Orders, in the following terms:

_Gave proofs of the greatest energy and devotion in the defence of a most important strategic position._

Until October 1918, the enemy's front lines followed the banks of the canal and the Death Trench, dominated by the ruins of the flour-mill situated upstream from the destroyed bridge-road. For four years, violent raids and bombardments kept this sector, successively held by French Marines, Territorials, Zouaves, and Belgian Infantry, in a perpetual state of activity.

Finally, in September 1918, during the great Liberty Offensive, the Belgian 4th Division attacked the banks of the Yser Canal, turned Dixmude from the east, and in a single rush reached the banks of the Handzaeme Canal. On September 29, Dixmude, reduced to a chaotic waste covered with shapeless masses of débris and tangled barbed wire, and cut up entirely with trenches, was retaken by the Belgians.

On January 25, 1920, in the presence of King Albert, President Poincaré conferred the French _Croix de Guerre_ on Dixmude, with the following mention.

"Won undying fame in the first days of the War by heroic, never-to-be-forgotten combats. Proved herself worthy of this glory by the fortitude with which she daily supported bombardments and fires, confident that her sacrifices were helping to save the Country and the Common Cause."

_From the canal, return to the Grand'Place and take the Roulers Road, turning into the first by-road on the left; 3 kms. beyond the level-crossing, leave the Clercken Road leading to Houthulst Wood, on the right, and keep straight on to =Eessen= (3½ kms.)_ The belfry of the ruined church was long used by the Germans as an observation-post _(Photo above)_.

_In front of the church, turn left and cross the railway. The road leads to =Vladsloo=_ (large German cemeteries). _Behind the church, turn left. On reaching the high road, turn left and enter the village of =Beerst= (5 kms.)_

Beerst and, further north, Keyem served as advance posts in October 1914 to the Belgian 4th Division which was then defending Tervaete. Violently attacked on October 18, they were lost and retaken, being finally abandoned on the morrow. In a desperate effort to save Beerst, the French Marines captured it twice at the point of the bayonet, covering themselves with glory, but all to no purpose. Beerst was completely ruined. Many cellars, transformed by the Germans into fortified shelters, may still be seen.

_On reaching the road to Dixmude, turn left, pass through Dixmude (3½ kms.) and leave the town by the road previously followed. Take the first road on the left to =Loo= (1½ kms.)_

This small, ancient town is situated on the banks of the Yser canal. Its large 15th-16th century Gothic church, formerly an abbey, contains paintings and several fine tombs.

_Keeping straight ahead beyond the Grand'Place, in which stands_ the Renaissance Hôtel-de-Ville, _the tourist will notice, immediately on the left, an +Old Gate (Westpoort)+_, a vestige of the ancient fortifications. A sycamore tree, probably some four or five centuries old, near by, is said by the inhabitants to have been used by Julius Cæsar as a picket for tethering his horse.

_Return to the Grand'Place, turn to the right, and cross the Yser. =Reninghe= (5 kms.) (razed) is next reached. To the right of the Square, take the street along which runs the local railway, leaving the church on the left. Before turning, the tourist will notice just beyond the church_ a small château dating from 1648 _(Photo below)_. _Follow the railway as far as =Oostvleteren= (4 kms. 300), where cross the Furnes road to reach =Westvleteren=, 1 km. 300 further on. Turn to the left, beyond the church of the latter village, keeping straight on to =Poperinghe= (10 kms.), via =Eikhock=._

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF THE PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS GUIDE

A

Aachen Battery, 56, 57 Adinkerke, 36 Antwerpen Battery, 57 Augusta Battery, 83

B

Beerst, 126 Beseler Battery, 57 Blankenberghe, 74 Bruges 85, 113

C

Caeskerke, 118, 122, 123 Cecilia Battery, 58 Clercken, 126 Coxyde, 37

D

Dixmude, 118, 126 Dudzeele, 85 Duinbergen, 84 Dunkirk, 24, 32

E

Eessen, 126 Eikhock, 127

F

Freya Battery, 83 Friedriechsart Battery, 82 Furnes, 38, 41

G

Ghistelles, 112 Groden Battery, 75 Groote-Bamburg Farm, 53 Groote-Hemme Farm, 115, 116

H

Hafen Battery, 74 Halve-Barreel, 112 Herta Battery, 74 Heyst-sur-Mer, 83, 85 Hindenburg Battery, 70 Hondschoote, 34, 35

J

Jabbeke, 112 Jacobinessen Battery, 72, 73

K

Kaiserin Battery, 74 Kaiser Wilhelm II Battery, 84 Kanal B Battery, 83 Knocke-sur-Mer, 84, 85

L

La Panne, 36, 37 Le Coq, 74 Leke, 114 Leugenboom, 113 Lombartzyde, 43, 53 Loo, 126, 127

M

Mannekensvere, 45, 114, 115 Mariakerke-Bains, 58 Middelkerke-Bains, 57 Mittel B Battery, 75 Moerdijck, 112, 113 Moere, 114

N

Nieuport, 42, 51

O

Oost-Dunkirk, 42 Oostvleteren, 127 Ostende, 59, 68

P

Pervyse, 116, 117 Pommern Battery, 113 Poperinghe, 23, 127

R

Ramscappelle-lez Bruges, 85 Ramscappelle (near Nieuport), 117, 118 Reninghe, 127 Rosendael, 33

S

Saint-André, 112 Saint-Georges, 46, 114, 115 St Pierre Cappelle, 114 Schoorbakke, 116 Schoore, 115 Spermalie, 114, 115 Steenstraate, 49 Stuyvekenskerke, 117

T

Tervaete, 116, 122 Tirpitz Battery, 58, 63, 64

V

Varssenaere, 112 Vladsloo, 126

W

Wenduyne, 74 Westende, 54, 55 Westkerke, 112 Westvleteren, 127 Wulpen, 42

Z

Zeebrugge, 75, 81 Zeppelin Battery, 75 Zuydcoote, 34