The first phase of the fighting began on 20 October with an attack by the German Sixth Army (Crown Prince Rupprecht) and the Fourth Army along the whole front. The Fourth Army was to break through on the Yser between Ypres and Nieuport, and envelop the Allies' northern flank. Held by the Belgian army, which had not yet recovered from the retreat from Antwerp, this part of the front witnessed the most intensive fighting of the first phase of the battle. The Belgians put up much stronger resistance than had been expected but could not hold their position. They fell back to the Dixmunde-Nieuport railway line as the Germans crossed the Yser on 24 October. Further progress was brought to a halt when, five days later, the Belgians opened the sluices at Nieuport and let in the sea in front of them. Elsewhere on the line to La Bassée the British and French maintained their positions.
The German action was renewed on 30 October on a smaller scale on the front from Gheluvelt, five miles to the east of Ypres, to the Messines Ridge. To the north of this line, where I Corps (Haig) was positioned, the situation was very uncertain for a time and at Gheluvelt itself the Germans broke through, although they were soon driven out again. The regular waves of enemy attacks proved very costly to both sides, the Germans themselves referring to 'the murder of the children of Ypres'. To the south the British Cavalry Corps (Allenby) was driven from Messines Ridge. Allied reinforcements were moved to the front around Ypres to stabilise the Allied position and to prepare for the next attack.
The third major assault which began on 11 November, covered and even narrower area. The centre of the attack was astride the Menin Road, with Ypres itself being the principle objective. South of the road the British successfully withstood the continuous German attacks, but to the north they broke through. Fortunately the Germans hesitated at this critical point even though there was nothing infront of them apart from a line of British guns. A counter-attack by an improvised force, which included cooks and batmen, was a success and Ypres, a symbol of Allied resistance, was saved.
Although the crisis was over, fighting continued until 24 November, the last day of the Battle of Ypres. Casualties were severe on both sides with the loss of irreplaceable professional manpower. The British suffered losses of 50,000 men killed of wounded; the French and Germans casualties were much higher. As the fighting subsided, open combat was replaced by the trench, which dominated the Western Front until 1918.
