What happened in the Battle Of Ypres, World War 1?
Ypres is in SW Belgium near the French border. This is where the war was fought in the trenches and lots of soldiers died, many from poisonous gas At the outset of the battle, French and Foch both retained the hope of launching an offensive of their own. They believed a coordinated attack would enable the Allies to recapture the industrial city of Lille, Belgium, followed swiftly by Brussels. The new German Army Chief of Staff, Falkenhayn, quickly corrected their optimistic beliefs. Falkenhayn’s Flanders Offensive began on 20 October when he ordered an advance to break through the Allied line and capture the ports of Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. He struck the Belgian defences on the Yser River between Dixmude and Nieuport. The already weakened Belgian Army fought valiantly, but the German actions forced Belgium’s King Albert to open the sluices that held back the sea. On 27 October, the Belgians flooded the land between their positions and the Germans’ along the twenty-mile strip of
