Pneu Michelin

“ Here, where peace and prosperity reigned, the inundations and war have left a vast expanse of reeds, in which the roads, ruined farmhouses and a few broken trees stand out dismally.
The plain is bounded on the west by a line of wind-formed sand dunes planted with oyats. These dunes extend along the straight unbroken coast. To the east of Dixmude rises a series of heights, which, marking the beginning of the solid ground, are continued further east by the long unbroken crest of Clerken. ”

“ Each summer, before the War, the Western Beach, with its vast expanse of golden sands, its countless bathing-machines and coloured tents, offered, in the bright sunshine and clear air, an extraordinarily animated and gay scene. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The plain between Dixmude and Nieuport, being level with the sea, is protected at Nieuport against high water by a system of locks (sketch opposite) . The canals and the Yser are dammed by embankments. The railway itself runs along a wide straight dike three to six feet in height.
Under bombardment, Belgian Engineers transformed this railway embankment into a water-tight dike, by stopping up all the openings through which the roads passed and then made wide breaches in the embankments of the drainage-canals, so as to allow the water to spread. ”

“ In whatever positions I place you, look ahead, and consider as a traitor to the Motherland whoever speaks of retreat, without the formal order having been given.
The time has come for us, with the aid of our powerful allies, to drive the enemy from our dear country, which they invaded in contempt of their word and of the sacred rights of a free people. ”

“ During the Great War of 1914-1918, Dunkirk was an extremely important revictualling centre for the Allied troops. It also played a great part in helping to keep the mastery of the North Sea, and as such, was constantly bombarded by the enemy. It was to reach Dunkirk and Calais, that the Germans made their furious thrusts at Ypres and on the Yser. Of all the towns not directly in the front-line, Dunkirk was probably the one which suffered most. ”

“ Behind the church is a large Franco-Belgian cemetery, containing the grave of the Belgian poet Verhaeren. After the Armistice, his remains were transferred to his native town.
Keep straight on along the La Panne road; 600 yards beyond the Dunkirk-Furnes railway, a small foot-path on the right leads to a military cemetery. La Panne is next reached (3 kms.) . This small seaside resort was one of the least modern places on the coast. Follow Avenue de la Mer as far as the dike, to the left of which are three villas which were occupied during the war by King Albert and his staff. ”

“ The flotilla put to sea during the day. When about twelve miles off Zeebrugge, the boats parted company, each taking up its assigned position. The Vindictive, Iris and Daffodil advanced behind a smoke screen to within a few cable-lengths of the mole, when a change of wind dispersed the smoke, leaving them fully exposed to view. Enemy sirens immediately gave the alarm. Searchlights, rockets and star-shells lit up the scene, and the air was immediately filled with the roar of artillery and the crackling of machine-guns. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Subjected for three years to violent and frequent bombardments, Dunkirk was able, thanks to the admirable coolness and courage of her inhabitants, to maintain and develop its economic life in the interests of National Defence, thereby rendering invaluable service to the Army and Country. This heroic city is an example to the whole nation. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The supreme battle was about to begin. To hold the enemy's thrust against Dunkirk and Calais, the Belgian Army, supported by the Allies, once again resolutely placed itself across his path and barred the way.
From the sea to Zuydschoote (8 km. North of Ypres) , the Belgian Army was at first obliged, with the help of only 6,000 French Marines, to hold a twenty-two mile front.
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The unequal strength of the opposing forces seemed to warrant the enemy's expectations of crushing in the Allied front and breaking through to the Channel ports. ”

“ 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) .
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Lombartzyde. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The right wing of the German IVth Army, under the command of the Prince of Württemberg, marched via Bruges towards Dunkirk. This newly formed army was partly composed of young men belonging to the German aristocracy, volunteers and former students, worked up to frenzied patriotism by the German victories.
These admirably equipped troops were supported by at least 500 guns of all calibres, to which was soon added the heavy siege artillery that had just crushed the forts of Antwerp. ”

“ The 5th Division and the Marines fell back upon their original positions before Dixmude, their retreat bringing about the fall of Beerst and Keyem, whose defenders withdrew beyond the Yser.
On the 20th the Germans threw themselves against the advanced positions of Lombartzyde. The defenders were supported by the artillery of the British monitors, whose guns swept the coastline. To the south-east of Lombartzyde, Groote-Bamburg Farm was first lost, then reoccupied after a spirited counter-attack. ”

“ 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) . ”

“ 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 [Pg 121] 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. ”

“ Thanks to the herring fisheries on the Flemish coast—a flourishing industry in the Middle-Ages, but since abandoned—Ostend grew and prospered. The construction of defence-works at the end of the 16th century, by Guillaume-le-Taciturne, conferred on the town the dangerous honour of becoming the last rampart of the Utrecht Confederation against the Spaniards of the southern provinces, and resulted in one of the longest and bloodiest sieges (1601-1603) recorded in history. This three years' struggle cost one hundred thousand lives and reduced the town to ruins. ”

“ It is now a promenade bordered with fine buildings, some eighty yards in length by thirty in width. The masonry embankment rises thirty feet above the foundations and is protected by four massive breakwaters.
At low water, only about 200 yards of the beach is uncovered, or about half as much as at the Western Baths, where the shore forms an angle immediately to the left.
In front stretches the New Western Dike, set further back than the old one, and prolonged as far as Mariakerke. The sea-wall at Ostend has thus a total length of 31⁄2 kms. ”

“ A nest of submarines with their shelters of reinforced concrete.
These were the only shelters, built by the Germans at Zeebrugge, which they failed to destroy before retreating.
Cars can go to the end of the wharves on the mole. Right and left of the entrance to the jetty are two 6in. guns on concrete platforms (photo, p. 75) . Next comes the open-work part, repaired by a temporary bridge built in the first instance by the Germans to replace that part of the jetty destroyed by Lieut. ”

“ The population of 200,000 dwindled away to 50,000, and at last the place came to be known as "Bruges-la-Morte".
Bruges. The Governor of Flanders and the Burgomaster of the City welcoming King Albert, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Leopold in the Grand'Place.
Under the Republic and the Empire, the city, under French domination, became the capital of the Department of the Lys, and later, under Dutch rule (1815-1830) , of Western Flanders. When, later, the kingdom of Belgium was constituted, it retained this rank. ”

“ The Sacristy contains some fine 16th century sacerdotal ornaments named after Marie of Burgundy.
The Cathedral of St. Saviour.
Cathedral of St. Saviour.
This church, with its massive tower, rises abruptly on the left. The cemetery which formerly surrounded it has been transformed into a public garden surrounded with railings and heavy modern pilasters. The church was built in 1183-1228 in the fine primitive Gothic style of the period, on the site of an ancient sanctuary which was destroyed by fire. Vestiges of its stone foundations are still visible in the tower. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Crouching in their shallow half-formed trenches, or in the muddy ditches, with no shelters, ill-fed, and fully exposed to the inclement weather, the men nevertheless stood firm. In their tattered muddy uniforms, they scarcely looked human. The number of wounded during the last thirteen days was more than 9,000, that of the killed and missing over 11,000. The numbers of sick and exhausted ran into hundreds. The units were reduced to skeletons. The losses in officers were particularly heavy; in one regiment only six were left. ”

“ The town was practically destroyed by the bombardments; most of the houses are in ruins, but the church is still standing.
To visit the Baths (2 kms.) take the road on the right, beyond the church, noticing the numerous shelters in the dunes. Coming back from the dike, take the first road on the left to Nieuport-Bains (4 kms.) The road crosses a region covered with defence-works, trenches and wire entanglements, alternating with shelters and battery positions. The battle zone began there. All vestiges of life and vegetation have disappeared. ”

“ Wealth abounded. The rich foreign merchants built sumptuous mansions, several of which still exist. Bruges attained the height of its prosperity in the 15th century, under Burgundian rule. Favoured by the long reign of Philippe-le-Bon, "the Great Duke of the West", the arts, today the glory of the old city, flourished exceedingly.
Decadence set in, chiefly owing to the retreating of the sea and the gradual filling up of the creeks and harbours with sand. Trade steadily declined, whilst in the 16th century, political and religious troubles hastened the [Pg 87] downfall of the city. ”