October 19 - The First Battle of Ypres Begins

This Day in History: 19 October 2020

 

19 October 1914

 

106 years ago, today, the First Battle of Ypres began, with Allied and German forces fighting to control the city and gain advantageous positions on the north coast of Belgium, during World War I. A protracted period of fierce combat was initiated, as the Germans opened their Flanders offensive and the Allies resisted, as they sought their own opportunities to attack. Until November 22, when the winter weather forced the battle to stop, the fighting continued, with both sides suffering heavy losses. The area between both positions became known as the Ypres Salient, where some of the war's bitterest and most brutal struggles would take place.

 

Prior to the battle, the German advance through Belgium and eastern France was weakened by Allied victory in the Battle of the Marne, beginning the 'Race to the Sea'. Each army attempted to outflank the other on their northward journey, building trench fortifications as they went. After the Germans captured Antwerp, the city's remaining Belgian forces withdrew to Ypres to reinforce the Belgian and French defences. The Germans, meanwhile, were preparing to launch the first phase of an offensive aimed to break the Allied lines and to capture Ypres and other channel ports. This manifested itself in the forms of the numerous Battles of Ypres.

 

Want to find out more about the First Battle of Ypres? Click here for more information, or here for more about the Second Battle of Ypres.