The small town of Nieuport is of very ancient origin. As early as the
9th century its site was occupied by a castle built by the Counts of
Flanders to defend the coast against the Normans. The burgh, first
known as Santhoven, took the name of Nieuport _(Neoportus)_ after the
inhabitants of Lombaertzyde had migrated there. Situated on the Yser,
the town served as a port for Ypres, and was an important business
centre. It was besieged by the English in 1383 and by the French in
1489.
After a long period of stagnation, the enclosing walls were pulled down
in 1860. However, with laudable respect for the past, the Municipality
saw to it that the charming old-world aspect of the place was carefully
preserved, by severely controlling the plans of all new constructions,
and by prohibiting the use of materials not in harmony with the
buildings already existent.
Nieuport, of which nothing remains but a few scattered ruins, was the
scene of desperate fighting.
With Dixmude, it was one of the two main centres in the Yser defences,
these two towns being, in fact, the bastions of the line of resistance.
Amongst other things, Nieuport possessed an elaborate system of
lock-gates and sluices, by means of which the water in the canals
throughout maritime Flanders was regulated.
It was easier to defend than Dixmude. The canals and water-courses
which united in its port, separated the town from the enemy. It could,
moreover, be more effectively protected by the guns of the Allied Fleet.
In October 1914, the Belgian 2nd Division held the outlying defences at
Lombartzyde and Mannekensvere (east of St. Georges).
On October 19, it was attacked by the German 4th Reserve Division.
Three consecutive attacks against Lombartzyde having failed, the enemy
began to shell Nieuport with their heavy artillery.
Renewing their attacks, the enemy captured Lombartzyde, but were unable
to debouch. Crushed by the bombardment, Nieuport fell into ruins.
From October 18 to 25, in spite of the heavy bombardment, the Belgian
7th Infantry Regiment held the banks of the Yser, to the east, in front
of St. Georges, near the Union Bridge, which the Germans, debouching
from Mannekensvere, tried in vain to carry. The Belgian batteries,
often without cover, stubbornly supported the defenders. On several
occasions, guns were hauled up on the river bank into the infantry
lines, whence their direct hits smashed the farmhouses and German
machine-guns concealed in them.
[Illustration: +Panorama of the ruins of Nieuport, seen from King
Albert's Hôtel.+]
The enemy crossed the Yser at Schoorbakke, outflanking St. Georges from
the south, which had to be evacuated.
Instantly, batteries of the Belgian 5th Brigade, brought up by hand,
opened a rapid fire at short range with high explosive shells upon
St. Georges and the approaches to the canal, where the enemy were
concentrating.
[Illustration: +The Defences of Nieuport+]
Mowed down where they stood, the assailants vainly attempted to debouch
from the village, where piles of their dead lay among the ruins. The
14th Line Regiment, which had meanwhile relieved the 7th, was able to
withdraw in good order.
At nightfall, the batteries were gradually withdrawn behind the railway
whence they helped first to hold, then to force back the German attack
upon Ramscappelle.
The defenders being now exhausted, and the enemy's attack gathering
strength, the Belgian General Staff gave orders to flood the area
between the Yser and the railway embankment. The road to Calais, via
Nieuport, was thus definitely barred to the invaders.
The Germans revenged themselves by bombarding Nieuport, attempting at
the same time to slip along the dunes of Lombartzyde, towards the town,
in order to seize the locks. Before the unflinching resistance of the
defenders supported by the fire of the British and French monitors, the
attack broke down.
[Illustration: +Temporary Foot-bridge across the Yser at Nieuport.+]
[Illustration: +Nieuport, the Grand'Place and the Markets, before the
War.+
_(Photo Nels.)_]
At the beginning of November Lombartzyde, in the northern sector, was
the scene of uninterrupted fighting, with alternating advances and
retreats.
In December a powerful offensive, having for its objective the capture
of the German defences along the Belgian sea-coast, was begun, with
General de Mitry in command of the Nieuport forces.
[Illustration: +Ruins of the Grand'Place in 1919.+ _(See photo above.)_]
On December 16, the French carried the western outskirts of Lombartzyde
in a single rush, and reached the first houses of St. Georges. The
enemy, however, resisted desperately, and progress was slow. By
the end of the month, the Moroccan Brigade succeeded, with great
difficulty, in reaching the Grande Dune. On January 7, the 4th
Regiment of Zouaves scaled the Mamelon Vert. A few days later the
French Marines, who had been relieved in the Steenstraate sector, by
Tirailleurs and dismounted cavalry units of the 2nd Corps, attacked
the Grande Dune and Lombartzyde. After extremely desperate fighting,
entailing heavy losses, the Grande Dune was captured.
[Illustration: +Nieuport. The ruined church.+]
The attack was stayed, and the French clung to the thin strip of land
on the right bank of the Yser.
The bombardment of Nieuport increased in violence. Each morning,
the huge 16½in. shells wrecked the houses and public buildings, and
crushed in the cellars where the defenders had taken shelter. One
after another, the 12th century Church, the Abbey on the Dunes, the
"+Halles+" with their graceful belfry, and the massive Templars' Tower
crashed to the ground.
Meanwhile, the battle continued to rage all around the town.
On May 9, a German attack from Lombartzyde to St. Georges was broken,
and on the following day the French marines carried "W" and Union
Farms, with fine dash, and destroyed the enemy's blockhouses.
[Illustration: +Nieuport. Ruins of the Hôtel-de-Ville.+]
In 1916 (January 24), after a bombardment of more than 20,000 shells,
the Germans attempted to debouch from their positions near the mouth of
the Yser. Repulsed with heavy loss, they once more deluged the unhappy
town with shells.
In 1917, the British prepared their great Spring and Summer offensives,
extending from east of Arras to the region of Ypres, and relieved their
French comrades in the sector stretching from St. Georges to the sea.
They had hardly taken up their positions, when the Germans attacked
(July 10). Thrown back into their trenches before Lombartzyde, the
enemy renewed their attacks with increased violence, and forced back
the British in the direction of Nieuport. The latter managed, however,
to keep a bridgehead at the exit from the town.
Meanwhile, in the Dunes sector, two British Battalions, in spite of
their gallant resistance, were forced back upon the river. Of these,
only four officers and seventy men escaped, by swimming across during
the night.
The Germans on the right bank of the river occupied the Dunes.
The pressure on Nieuport increased, but the Yser remained impassable.
In 1918 (September 28), the great liberating offensive, under the
command of King Albert, was launched in the plains, to the east of
Dixmude, and Ypres. On October 16, the Belgian 5th Division, east of
Nieuport, charged from the famous islets in front of the Yser. The
enemy, badly shaken, retreated, closely followed by the Belgians, who
harried their rear-guards and completely swept the coast to a point
beyond Ostend.
Nieuport, terribly ravaged by four years of the fiercest fighting at
its very gates, was at last delivered.
On January 25, 1920, in the presence of King Albert and the
Burgomaster, President Poincaré conferred the _Croix de Guerre_ with
the following mention on the indomitable city:
_"Martyred City, involved in all the vicissitudes of a desperate
struggle lasting four years, Nieuport maintained intact her faith in
the future, in spite of all her trials._
_Her ruins bear witness to the heroism of her defenders and to the
bravery of her inhabitants."_
[Illustration: +Nieuport. Furnes Canal Lock+ _(Nov. 11, 1915)_
_Inset:_ +Lock-Keeper Geraert, who flooded the Plain+ _(See p. 51.)_]
[Illustration: +The Templars' Tower.+ _Before the War, in November
1915, and in 1919._]
_On reaching the wharves, take the first street on the right, then the
second on the left, to the Grand'Place, in which the Collegiate Church
of Notre-Dame used to stand._
Consecrated in 1163, this Gothic edifice had retained portions of the
original 12th century church. The northern doorway was 15th century,
and the main entrance 16th century. The tower was somewhat massive.
In the interior, a 15th century rood-loft, the high altar (1630), the
17th century stalls (by Desmet), a 15th century pulpit, an ancient
tabernacle (by Jean Aert of Bruges-1733), and several old tombs, were
noteworthy.
Nothing remains of the church but broken fragments of walls and
the ruined belfry. In the surrounding graveyard, among the broken
tombstones, Belgian and French soldiers lie buried. Their graves were
often devastated by the shells.
In the same square stood the 14th-15th century =Cloth-Hall=, whose
belfry was restored in recent times. Only a portion of the façade
remains.
_At the end of the Square, opposite the Markets, take Rue du Marché,
then the first street on the right (Rue Longue). At the corner of these
two streets is_ the =Hôtel-de-Ville= (in ruins) which used to contain
portraits of the kings of Spain and the arch-dukes.
_Continue to the end of Rue Longue, where, on the right, are_ the ruins
of the =Templars' Tower=. The square donjon is all that remains of
a commandery which formerly belonged to the Templars, and which was
destroyed during the siege of 1383. Behind, are vestiges of the ancient
city ramparts.
_Return to the port by the first (very wide) street on the right,
which leads to the Ostend Road Bridge across the Yser. To the right of
the bridge are_ the =Nieuport locks= which served, during the War, to
inundate the surrounding country, being opened at high water and closed
at low water _(see photo, p. 50)_.
[Illustration: +Lombartzyde. Avenue de la Reine, before the War+
_(Photo Nels.)_]
=From Nieuport to Ostend.=
_1½ kms. further on, the tourist reaches the site on which Lombartzyde
used to stand_ (2 kms.); the scarcely visible ruins are now overrun
with grass and weeds. A few huts and a wooden church have recently been
built.
[Illustration]
Lombartzyde (the Lombards' Corner) owed its name and prosperity to
the merchants and bankers, many of them Lombards, who settled there
in the Middle-Ages. The town was, however, soon deserted in favour of
Nieuport. Its large plain church, of no particular interest, contained
a statue of the Virgin, much venerated by the fisher-people, who often
visited it in the summer-time. Lombartzyde, formerly a sea-port, was
later cut off from the sea by the Dunes, and Lombartzyde-Bains--the
seaside portion of the town--grew up there. The steam-trams running
between Nieuport and Ostend may be taken to reach it.
[Illustration: +Lombartzyde. Avenue de la Reine, in 1919.+ _(See photo
above.)_]
[Illustration: +Lombartzyde. Graves and trenches on the site of the
Church (entirely razed).+]
Situated about 1 km. in front of Nieuport, on the right bank,
Lombartzyde was occupied on September 15, 1914, by the advanced posts
of the Belgian 2nd Division.
In danger of being turned, it had to be abandoned on the 20th, at about
3 p.m., together with Groote-Bamburg Farm, likewise situated in front
of Nieuport.
For a short time the town was reoccupied by the French, but finally
remained in German hands. Neither the attack on the Grande-Dune in
December 1914, nor the Belgian advance to the outskirts of the town a
little later, could drive the enemy out.
Groote-Bamburg Farm, formerly belonging to the lay monks, lies to the
east of Lombartzyde; _there is no carriage road, but a foot-path,
starting opposite the church, leads there in 20 minutes_. Of the farm,
nothing remains but a maze of trenches, wire entanglements and concrete
shelters.
_Opposite the church, the old Avenue de la Reine (photos, p. 52) leads
to_ the Dunes, the importance of whose defences will become apparent
_(photo below)_.
[Illustration: +Lombartzyde. The Mamelon Vert.+]
[Illustration: +Road to Westende Bains.+ +ARROW NO. 1:+ _Turning to the
left, tourists leave the main road from Westende to Ostend (See sketch
below.)_]
[Illustration: +ARROW NO. 2:+ _Turn to the right, towards the ruins of
a large hotel._]
[Illustration: +ARROW NO. 3:+ _Take the road to the left, passing near
this hotel._]
_Keep along the road to Westende (1½ kms.), a small village situated on
the road from Nieuport to Ostend; steam-trams run between the latter
towns._
The village was entirely razed, and the site cut up with trenches.
_Westende-Bains is 1 km. further along the coast._
The Germans installed themselves in both places, which accordingly
became targets for the British monitors.
_Beyond Westende-Village, take the rough road on the left (photo
above). Before reaching the ruins of Westende-Bains (2 kms.) (photo
above), turn to the right, then take the left-hand road leading to the
sea dike (photo above), which follow on the right, in the direction of
Ostend._
_Before setting out for Ostend, visit_ the ruins of =Westende-Bains=,
intersected with trenches.
[Illustration: _Road from Westende to Westende-Bains. The arrows
correspond with those on the photos above._]
[Illustration: +Westende-Bains. Machine-Gun Post and Electrified Barbed
Wire.+]
The cellars of the houses were consolidated, and turned into shelters
and battery positions.
All along the dike, and along the whole coast runs a line of
barbed-wire, through which the Germans caused a high-tension electric
current to pass _(photo above)_.
_Follow the dike_, bordered on the right with trenches, numerous
observation-posts and concrete machine-gun shelters.
[Illustration: +Westende-Bains. The sea-front.+ _Among the ruins of the
houses: 88 m/m guns in shelters._]
[Illustration: +Middelkerke-Bains.+ _The Promenade along the dike. On
the left, in the foreground: The Entrance to the Kursaal._
_Below: The Kursaal, used by the Germans as an observation-post._]
+Middelkerke-Bains+ _(3 kms.)_, formerly a small seaside resort, is
next reached. All the hotels and villas are in ruins, their fronts
having been either ripped open by shells or blackened by fires. The
Germans organised powerful defence-works there, in view of Allied air
raids and the possible landing of troops. Observation and signalling
posts, as well as shelters for machine-guns and searchlights are to be
seen all along the dike.
The Kursaal, an isolated building standing in front of the village,
was turned into a blockhouse, facing seawards; same includes two
superimposed observation-posts, a signalling post, and machine-gun
shelters.
_Continue along the dike_, noticing the observation-posts, machine-gun
and small calibre artillery emplacements, _as far as the ="Aachen"
Battery= on the right_.
This is the first of the formidable coast-defence batteries organised
by the Germans. The itinerary takes the tourist to most of these
batteries, all of which were fitted with heavy guns.
They were served by standard or narrow-gauge tracks, some having as
many as three tracks of different gauges.
At the time of the Armistice the Germans blew up a large number of the
shelters, before leaving, and destroyed most of the guns which they had
been unable to evacuate.
They also removed all apparatus from the observation and telemetric
posts.
[Illustration: +Blockhouse of the Aachen Battery+
_(north-east of Middelkerke-Bains.)_]
An enormous blockhouse, situated on the left of the "+Aachen+"
+Battery+, contained an observation-post and the post-of-commandment
of the officer in charge of the firing. Near by, are the four 6in.
armour-protected guns on concrete platforms, with concrete personnel
and ammunition shelters on either side. In front of the battery, near
the beach, were anti-aircraft machine-gun posts.
[Illustration: +General View of the Aachen Battery+ _(north-east of
Middelkerke-Bains.)_]
The "Aachen" Battery was connected by infantry defence-works to the
next or ="Antwerpen" Battery=, situated on top of the dune. The latter
comprised four 4in. guns in armoured turrets, with sand-covered
concrete shelters behind. In front, on the dike, are machine-gun
emplacements.
The _="Beseler" Battery=, next reached_, comprises four 6in. guns on
concrete platforms, with circular armour-plate protection. On each side
two elevated emplacements served as telemetric and observation-posts.
_Further on is_ a large infantry entrenchment, with a shelter on
the dike for the searchlight, and an emplacement on either side for
machine-guns or small calibre artillery.
[Illustration: +One of the Beseler Battery's guns.+]
[Illustration: +One of the Cecilia Battery's guns.+]
[Illustration: +The Cecilia Battery+, _photographed from an aeroplane
at 13,000 feet, in July, 1916_.
☙ ☙ ☙]
_Next comes_ the ="Cecilia" Battery=, similar to the "Beseler" Battery,
except that the guns are longer, and the armour-plate protection
rectangular.
_Having passed_ a series of observation-posts, including that of the
="Tirpitz" Battery=, with its telemetric installation and machine-gun
shelters, _the tourist enters =Mariakerke-Bains= (6 kms.)_, a small
seaside resort in the suburbs of Ostend.
_Follow the tram-lines along Avenue Léopold, separated from the dike by
a row of houses, to =Ostend= (2½ kms.) coming out opposite the entrance
to_ the old +Wellington Fort+.
☙ ☙ ☙
[Illustration: +Observation-Post and Telemetric Station of the Tirpitz
Battery, near Mariakerke-Bains.+ _(See pages 63-64.)_]