_Photos, pp. 19-21._
The front-line became fixed in the partially inundated maritime plain
of Flanders, in the oozy soil of which it was impossible to make
any trenches. The defence-works, _boyaux_, and battery emplacements
consequently took the form of superstructures, strengthened with
piled-up sacks of earth _(photos, pp. 19-21)_.
Being above the ground, these defences were easily marked down by the
German gunners and levelled with each bombardment. Thus the fruit of
weeks of hard work was wiped out again and again.
The ground, soaked with the frequent rains and churned up by the
shells, quickly became a vast quagmire which swallowed up everything.
[Illustration]
During the first winter, all the heavy materials used in the
construction of the shelters, etc., as well as the food and munitions
had to be carried by the men,--combatants, stretcher-bearers and
fatigue parties alike wading knee-deep in the slime.
Little by little, the situation improved. Narrow-gauge railways were
laid down to bring up supplies and munitions to the front lines.
Stronger and more comfortable shelters were built, together with
casemates and concrete observation-posts right up to the front lines.
Nieuport-Ville was connected to Nieuport-Bains by two tunnels through
the dunes, propped, brick-paved and lighted by electricity. Along
the coast were deep lines of barbed wire. Concrete cupolas sheltered
naval guns. Further south, in the dunes, stretched lines of carefully
camouflaged huts, parks, stores and rest camps. In places, along the
Yser, the inundations did not give absolute protection. Isolated farms
built on elevated points and the roads along the dikes rose out of the
water, like so many islets. These fiercely disputed points formed a
line of small posts and advance guards in front of the main line of
resistance, being connected with that along the railway embankment by
long foot-bridges built on piles. The line of resistance followed the
railway, then curved inwards to the left bank of the Yser, finally
passing in front of the town.
This line was strengthened by two other lines which took in
Ramscappelle, Pervyse, Lampernisse and St. Jacques-Cappelle. A second
system of defence-works ran in front of and behind Loo Canal.
The sector of the inundated plain was held throughout by the Belgian
Army. That of the dunes and Nieuport was held in 1914-1915 by the
French Tirailleurs, Zouaves, and dismounted cavalry, grouped under
the command of General de Mitry, and the brigade of Marines; in 1916,
by a division of the 36th Corps (General Hély d'Oissel); in 1917, by
regiments of the British 4th Army (General Rawlinson) which attacked
along the coast in co-operation with British warships.
Finally, the Belgian Army, completely reformed and newly equipped, took
over the entire sector of the Yser, and extended its lines as far as
the outskirts of Ypres.
[Illustration: +General Gillain.+
_Chief of the General Staff of the Belgian Army._]
The enemy front was held by the German Marine Corps and Landwehr units.
For four years, the whole sector in front of the Yser Plain remained
relatively quiet, with occasional daring raids or short bombardments.
Before Dixmude and Nieuport, the operations were more active. The
"Boyau de la Mort", in front of Dixmude, cost the Belgians some losses,
the trench, which ran alongside the Yser, being enfiladed. The enemy's
rifle fire came mostly from the Flour Mill _(photo, p. 124)_, a large
concrete building on the banks of the Yser, which it was difficult to
destroy with the heavy artillery, on account of its proximity to the
Belgian lines (about thirty yards away).
The liveliest part of the sector was that in front of Nieuport.
In 1914-1915, the troops under General de Mitry, and later the French
Marines, succeeded in clearing the town, by capturing the great dune
north of St. Georges and various redoubts on the east.
In 1917, the Germans attacked units of the British 4th Army, which was
then taking up its positions, and recaptured the dunes as far as the
Yser Channel.
[Illustration: +Line of Defence between Nieuport and Lombartzyde+
_(held by the Territorials.)_]
[Illustration: _At top of page:_ +Two German Blockhouses wrecked by
shellfire.+ _Underneath:_ +Line of Defence before Lombartzyde.+ _On
the left (inset):_ +Belgian trench along the Yser, with splinter-proof
Shelters.+ _On the right (upper):_ +Advance boyau on the coast, near
the Grande Dune.+ _On the right (lower):_ +German Temporary Bridge
partly captured during a raid, with chevaux-de-frise separating the
Allied and enemy lines.+]
[Illustration: _At top of page:_ +Donkeys bringing up
supplies.--Machine-gun Dog Teams.+
_In the middle:_ +Building road on piles.--Making a log road.+
_At bottom of page:_ +Isolated Post surrounded by water, and raft used
for revictualling same.--Front-line Post before the inundated plain.+]