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In the early afternoon a German counter-attack at the junction of the Entente armies on the Steenbeek was repulsed. The position gained by the French was not easily defensible, consisting of craters half-full of water, which dissolved into rivulets when connected. Contact with the rear was difficult to maintain over the moonscape of shell-holes, many of them wide and of great depth but the French infantry had been issued supplies for four days to minimise the difficulty. The German 2nd Guard Reserve Division advanced through Houthoulst Forest towards the junction of the Fifth and French First armies but the attack bogged down in deep mud. A prisoner said that in his company of about 150 men, barely fifty reached attacking distance and most of those took cover in shell-holes. The first four days of August were exceptionally rainy, which added to the difficulty of maintaining troops in the ground captured on 31 July. On 4 August despite the mud, the First Army advanced east of Kortekeer Kabaret and took two farms west of the road from Woumen to Steenstraat. On 26 July 37 British fighters engaged fifty Albatros scouts near Polygon Wood. During the mêlée, four German reconnaissance aircraft were able to slip over the line and reconnoitre. Next evening eight British aircraft over Menin lured about twenty Albatros scouts to Polygon Wood, where 59 British fighters were waiting. Allied and German aircraft in the vicinity joined in the dogfight and after an hour the surviving German aircraft withdrew. The British decoys shot down six German aircraft and the ambushers another three while the British lost two aircraft. On 27 July a British reconnaissance aircraft detected an apparent German tactical withdrawal, which enabled XIV Corps to occupy 3,000 yards (2,700 m) of the German front line. Next day the fine weather allowed the British to conduct a large amount of air observation for counter-battery fire and to detect numerous German batteries which had been moved. By 31 July, the Allied air concentration from the Lys River to the sea consisted of 840 aircraft, 330 being fighter aircraft.

The French contribution comprised three Groupes de Chasse (fighter groups) including Groupe de Combat 12 (Les Cigognes) of four escadrilles, two bomber squadrons, three artillery observation squadrons and seven observation balloons. Operations to deprive the Germans of air observation over the attack front were curtailed by poor weather on 29 and 30 July. On 31 July, low cloud returned and stopped the air operation in support of the ground offensive. Small numbers of aircraft were sent out to seek targets of opportunity and a small amount of contact patrolling was managed at very low level, giving some information about the progress of the ground battle and leaving thirty British aircraft damaged by bullets and shells. At noon the advance on the II Corps front had been stopped by the local German defenders and their artillery. The arrival of the British advance further north on the green line, 500 yards (460 m) beyond the Steenbeek on the XIX Corps front at about 11:00 a.m. took a long time to be communicated to the British divisional headquarters because of mist, slow going by runners, cut signal cables and poor reconnaissance results from contact-patrol aircraft, caused by troops being unwilling to light flares while overlooked by German defences. Around 3:00 p.m. Gough ordered all XIX Corps troops to advance to the green line, in support of the three brigades which had reached it. Delays persisted and a German force approaching from behind the Broodseinde–Passchendaele ridge was not seen by British aircraft. A message from a ground observer did not reach 15th Division headquarters until 12:53 p.m. and rain began soon after, cutting off the view of advanced British troops by artillery observers. A German creeping barrage began at 2:00 p.m. along XIX Corps front, then German troops attacked the flanks of the most advanced British positions. The 39th Division was pushed back to St Julien, exposing the left of the 55th Division, just as it was attacked frontally over the Zonnebeke spur by six waves of German infantry, preceded by a barrage and three aircraft which bombed and machine-gunned British troops.

The defensive power of the German Eingreif Divisions had been underestimated and the attacking divisions, having easily advanced for 1 mi (1.6 km) in three hours, had been exposed to observed machine-gun and artillery-fire for the rest of the day, most of the British casualties being incurred after the advance. The postponements of the attack prolonged the preliminary bombardment for six days and wet ground, particularly in the Bassevillebeeek, Hanebeek and Steeenbeek valleys had become crater-fields that filled with water when it rained. The German artillery concentration behind the Gheluvelt Plateau had been most effective against the artillery of the II and XIX corps, firing high-explosive and mustard gas bombardments, which caused many casualties to the British gunners, who could not be rested during the preparatory period, firing a record amount of ammunition but having to distribute it as far back as Flandern I. In 1996, Prior and Wilson wrote that the French First Army, XIV Corps, XVIII Corps and XIX Corps advanced about 3,000 yards (2,700 m) took two German defensive positions and deprived the Germans of their observation posts on Pilckem Ridge, a "substantial achievement" despite the later repulse of the XVIII and XIX corps from the areas of the green and red lines. II Corps on the Gheluvelt Plateau had only advanced about 1,000 yards (910 m) beyond the Albrecht Stellung but took Bellewaarde Ridge and Stirling Castle. The training of the Fifth Army troops had enabled them to use Lewis guns, rifle grenades, trench mortars and tanks to overwhelm German pill boxes, where the artillery had managed to neutralise the defenders of a sufficient number in advance. Casualties were about the same, unlike 1 July 1916 when the British had only inflicted a few thousand on the Germans. The Fifth Army captured about 18 square miles (47 km2) on 31 July compared to only 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2) on the First day of the Somme.

The British Official History recorded Fifth Army casualties for 31 July – 3 August as 27,001, of whom 3,697 were killed. Second Army casualties 31 July – 2 August were 4,819 with, 769 killed. The 19th Division lost 870 casualties. German 4th Army casualties for 21–31 July were c. 30,000 men. J. E. Edmonds the British official historian, added another 10,000 lightly wounded to the total, practice which has been questioned ever since. in 2014, Greenhalgh recorded 1,300 French losses in I Corps. According to Albrecht von Thaer, a staff officer at Group Wytschaete, units may have survived physically but no longer had the mental ability to continue. In 1931, Gough wrote that 5,626 prisoners had been taken. German artillery kept up a heavy fire on the new British front line and along with the rain caused great difficulty in consolidating the captured ground. In the Second Army area, on 1 August, a German counter-attack on the front of the 3rd Australian Division reached the Warneton Line, before being stopped by artillery and machine-gun fire. A planned attack by the 19th and 39th divisions on 3 August, to regain the portion of the first objective (blue line) was cancelled when a battalion moved forward and occupied the ground unopposed. The 41st Division captured Forret Farm on the night of 1/2 August and the 19th Division pushed observation posts forward to the blue line. Operation Sommernacht, a German Stormtroop (Stoßtrupp) attack, took place on 5 August at 5:00 a.m., on the front of the 41st Division in the X Corps area. Hollebeke village was captured and posts established near Forret Farm, under cover of a heavy and accurate artillery bombardment in thick mist. British SOS flares were too wet to light, the barrage cut the telephone lines and visual signalling failed. About 100 Stormtroops rushed Forret Farm and a nearby trench. Three posts were organised by the neighbouring 19th Division battalion, that counter-attacked the Germans from three directions, despite the Germans getting a machine-gun into action.

Tactical developments The preliminary operation to capture Messines ridge (7–14 June) had been followed by a strategic pause as the British repaired their communications behind Messines ridge, completed the building of the infrastructure necessary for a much larger force in the Ypres area and moved troops and equipment north from the Arras front. After delays caused by local conditions, the Battles of Ypres had begun on 31 July with the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, which was a substantial local success for the British, taking a large amount of ground and inflicting many casualties on the German defenders. The German defence had nonetheless recovered some of the lost ground in the middle of the attack front and restricted the British advance on the Gheluvelt Plateau further south. British attacks had then been seriously hampered by unseasonal heavy rain during August and had not been able to retain much of the additional ground captured on the plateau on 10, 16–18, 22–24 and 27 August due to the determined German defence, mud and poor visibility. Sir Douglas Haig ordered artillery to be transferred from the southern flank of the Second Army and more artillery to be brought into Flanders from the armies further south, to increase the weight of the attack on the Gheluvelt Plateau. The principal role was changed from the Fifth to the Second Army and the boundary between the Second and Fifth armies was moved north towards the Ypres–Roulers railway, to narrow the frontages of the Second Army divisions on the Gheluvelt Plateau. A pause in British attacks was used to reorganise and to improve supply routes behind the front line, to carry forward 54,572 long tons (55,448 t) of ammunition above normal expenditure, guns were moved forward to new positions and the infantry and artillery reinforcements which arrived, practised for the next attack. The unseasonal rains stopped, the ground began to dry and the cessation of British attacks misled the Germans, who risked moving some units away from Flanders.

Heavier equipment bogged in churned mud so had to be brought forward by wagons along roads and tracks, many of which were under German artillery observation from Passchendaele ridge, rather than being moved cross-country. The I Anzac Corps had 205 heavy artillery pieces, one gun for every 9 metres (9.8 yd) of front and many field artillery brigades with 18-pdr guns and 4.5-inch howitzers, which with the guns of the other attacking corps were moved forward 2,000 yd (1,800 m) from 20–24 September. Assembled forward of the artillery were heavy Vickers machine-guns of the divisional machine-gun companies, 56 for the creeping machine-gun barrage and 64 "SOS" guns for emergency barrages against German counter–attacks and to prolong the barrage towards the final objective. The frontages of VIII and IX Corps were moved northwards so that X Corps could take over 600 yd (550 m) of front up to the southern edge of Polygon Wood, which kept each of the frontages of the two Australian divisions of I Anzac Corps to 1,000 yd (910 m). The 39th Division took over from the 41st Division ready to attack Tower Hamlets (on the Bassevillebeke spur), the 33rd Division replaced the 23rd Division beyond the Menin Road and the 5th and 4th Australian divisions replaced the 1st and 2nd Australian divisions in Polygon Wood. A German attack on 25 September between Menin Road and Polygon Wood occurred as the 33rd Division was taking over from the 23rd Division and for a time threatened to delay preparations for the British operation, due next day. Some ground was captured by the Germans and part of it was then recaptured by the 33rd Division. Plumer ordered that the flank guard protecting the I Anzac Corps on 26 September be formed by the 98th Brigade of the 33rd Division while the 100th Brigade recaptured the lost ground. Plan of attack Dispersed and camouflaged German defences, using shell-hole positions, pillboxes and the holding back of much of the German infantry for counter-attacks, had meant that as British advances became weaker and disorganised by losses, fatigue, poor visibility and the channelling effect of waterlogged ground, they met more and fresher German defenders.

The number of units leapfrogging through to the next objective was increased and the distance to the final objective further reduced, to match the increasing density of German defences; the creeping barrage was arranged to move more slowly to the final objective. Particular units were allotted to "mop-up" and occupy areas behind the most advanced troops, to make certain that pockets of Germans overrun by the foremost troops were killed or captured, before they could emerge from shelter and re-join the battle. The formation used by the infantry was altered, so that those in the leading waves were further apart and followed by files or small groups, ready to swarm around German defences uncovered by the skirmish lines, each unit keeping a sub-unit in close reserve, brigades a reserve battalion, battalions a reserve company and companies a reserve platoon. Increased emphasis was placed on Lewis-guns, rifle-fire and rifle-grenades. Hand-grenades were given less emphasis in favour of more rifle training. The proportion of smoke ammunition for rifle grenades and Stokes mortars was increased, to blind the occupants of German pillboxes as they were being surrounded. All units were required to plan an active defence against counter-attack, using the repulse of German infantry as an opportunity to follow up and inflict more casualties. X Corps was to advance to create a defensive flank on the right, attacking with the 33rd and 39th divisions either side of the Menin road. The I Anzac Corps with the 5th and 4th Australian divisions would make the main attack on the remainder of Polygon Wood and the southern part of Zonnebeke village in two stages, 800–900 yd (730–820 m) to the Butte and Tokio pillbox and after a one-hour pause for consolidation, make a final advance beyond the Flandern I Stellung and the Tokio spur. To the north, V Corps of the Fifth Army with the 3rd and 59th divisions was to reach a line from Zonnebeke, to Hill 40 and Kansas Farm crossroads, using the smoke and high explosive barrage (rather than shrapnel) demonstrated by the 9th Division on 20 September.

The brigade reached the final objective from just short of the Flandern I Stellung on the right and the edge of Zonnebeke on the left and gained touch with the 5th Australian Division further south. At 1:20 p.m. air reconnaissance reported German troops east of Broodseinde ridge and at 3:25 p.m. as the German force from the 236th Division, massed to counter-attack it was dispersed by artillery fire. The northern brigade advanced to the final objective against minor opposition, moving beyond the objective to join with the 3rd Division to the north, which had pressed on into Zonnebeke. Attempts by the Germans to counter-attack at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. were stopped by the protective barrage and machine-gun fire. Fifth Army The southern boundary of the Fifth Army lay approximately 800 yd (730 m) south of the Ypres–Roulers railway, in the V Corps area. The 3rd Division attacked either side of the line at 5:50 a.m. The right brigade met little resistance but was briefly held up, when crossing the Steenbeek. The advance slowed under machine-gun fire from Zonnebeke station on the far side of the railway as Zonnebeke was entered. North of the embankment the left brigade attacked at 5:30 a.m. in a mist. The attack reached the first objective, despite crossing severely boggy ground at 7:00 a.m. The advance resumed and reached the western slope of Hill 40, just short of the final objective. A German counter-attack began at 2:30 p.m. but was stopped easily. A bigger attempt at 6:30 p.m. was defeated with rifle and machine-gun fire, as the British attack on Hill 40 resumed, eventually leaving both sides still on the western slope. 59th Division attacked with two brigades, the right brigade advancing until held up by its own barrage and took Dochy Farm at 7:50 a.m. One battalion found a German barrage laid behind the British creeping barrage, which crept back with it and caused many casualties. The advance continued beyond the final objective to Riverside and Otto Farms but when the protective barrage fell short, Riverside was abandoned.

British counter-attack patrols easily observed the advance and as the lines of German troops breasted Broodseinde ridge at 2:30 p.m., a huge bombardment enveloped them. German field artillery with the infantry was hit by artillery-fire, which blocked the roads, causing delays and disorganisation. German infantry had many casualties, as they advanced down the slope in good visibility. The 236th Division lost so many men that it was only able to reinforce the troops of the 3rd Reserve Division, found east of the Zonnebeke–Haus Kathé road on Grote Molen spur, chasing a few Australian souvenir hunters out of Molenaarelsthoek. The 4th Bavarian Division had to find a way across the mud and floodings of the Paddebeek east of Kleinmolen spur, losing 1,340 casualties to reach the survivors of the 3rd Reserve Division (Polygon Wood–Kleinmolen) and the 23rd Reserve Division (Kleinmolen–St Julien). A renewal of the British attack at 6:00 p.m. and the German counter-attack over Hill 40 and Kleinmolen met, the mélee leaving both sides where they began. British artillery fire slowed the advance of the Eingreif units, which took up to two hours to cover one kilometre and arrived at the front line exhausted. The 17th Division had replaced the 16th Bavarian Division as the Eingreif division covering the forces near Zandvoorde, just before the battle began. At 10:00 a.m. movement orders arrived and parts of the division advanced north-west towards Terhand, where the first layer of the British barrage (directed by artillery-observation aircraft) was met, delaying the arrival of advanced units in their assembly areas until 1:00 p.m.. The order to advance took until 2:00 p.m. to reach all units and then the advance resumed through crater fields and the British bombardment, having to disperse to avoid swamps and the worst of the British artillery fire. Polderhoek was not reached until 4:10 p.m. and as soon as the first battalions crossed the skyline near Polderhoek Château they were hit by artillery and machine-gun fire from three sides and the counter-attack "withered away".

The German attacks stopped at 8:30 p.m. and after a quiet night, troops from X and I Anzac corps occupied Cameron House and the head of the Reutelbeek valley near Cameron Covert. The German Official History later recorded that the German counter-attacks found well-dug-in (eingenistete) infantry and in places more British attacks. Aftermath Analysis Each of the three German ground-holding divisions attacked on 26 September had an Eingreif division in support, which was twice the ratio of 20 September. No ground captured by the British had been regained and the counter-attacks had managed only to reach ground held by the remnants of the front-line divisions. Second Army Intelligence estimated that ten divisional artilleries had supported the German troops defending the Gheluvelt Plateau, doubling the Royal Artillery casualties compared to the previous week. Casualties The British had 15,375 casualties; 1,215 being killed. In Der Weltkrieg the German official historians recorded 13,500 casualties from 21–30 September, to which J. E. Edmonds, the British official historian controversially added 30 percent for lightly wounded. The 4th Australian Division suffered 1,717 casualties and the 5th Australian Division had 5,471 dead and wounded from 26–28 September. Commemoration Though smaller than in 1917, Polygon Wood is still large. The remains of three German pillboxes captured by the Australians lie deep among the trees but few trench lines remain. The Butte is still prominent and mounted on top of it is the AIF 5th Division memorial, the usual obelisk. It faces the Butte's military cemetery at the other end of which is a New Zealand memorial to the missing of the sector, the Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial. Subsequent operations On 27 September in the X Corps area, the 39th Division stopped three German counter-attacks with artillery fire. In the 33rd Division area, after a report that Cameron House had been captured, a battalion attacked past it and reached the blue line.

The 98th Brigade to the north attacked towards the 5th Australian Division against determined German resistance, reaching the Australians at Cameron Covert at 3:50 p.m. After an intense barrage on the 3rd Division in the V Corps area, astride the Ypres–Roulers railway, the Germans attacked at Bostin Farm and were repulsed after severe fighting. A lull followed until 30 September, when a morning attack by regiments of the fresh 8th and 45th Reserve divisions and the 4th Army Sturmbattalion, with flame-throwers and a smoke screen, on the 23rd Division (X Corps) front, north of the Menin Road was defeated. Another German attempt at 5.30 a.m. on 1 October, with support from ground-attack aircraft, pushed two battalions back 150 yd (140 m); three later attacks were repulsed. Further north the Germans attacked the 7th Division at 6:15 a.m. and were stopped by artillery and small arms fire. A renewed attack at 9:00 a.m. also failed and when preparations for a third attack were seen at Cameron Covert and Joist Trench, an artillery bombardment stopped all activity. Joist Farm was lost by the 21st Division during a German attack on Polygon Wood and Black Watch Corner and the line stabilised east of Cameron House. German attacks near the Menin Road on the 37th Division front in IX Corps and the 5th Division (X Corps) on 3 October failed. The two Battles of Ramadi were fought between the forces of the British and Ottoman Empires in July and September 1917 during World War I. The two sides contested the town of Ramadi in central Iraq, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad on the south bank of the Euphrates River, where an important Ottoman garrison was quartered. The town's strategic position on the road between Aleppo and Baghdad made it a key British target during the Mesopotamian campaign, but the hostile climatic conditions meant that it took two attacks over the course of three months for the town to fall. The first battle in July 1917 resulted in a British defeat. This was caused by a combination of factors, including extreme heat that caused more casualties than enemy fire, bad weather, faulty British communications, and an effective Turkish defence. Ramadi ラマーディー

Maude considered postponing the operation, but was advised by General Alexander Cobbe to go ahead on the grounds that the weather was unlikely to get cooler in the immediate future and that all possible precautions were being taken to minimise the impact of the heat. A column was assembled at Fallujah consisting of the 7th (Ferozepore) Brigade, two cavalry squadrons, fourteen artillery pieces, four armoured cars and half a sapper and miner company. Three aircraft were also designated to support the force, which was led by Lt Col Charles Levenax Haldane. The biggest challenge facing the British was how to get the force to Ramadi, as the heat made it impossible to march there from Dhibban, even at night. It was decided to transport them in motor vehicles, ferrying them up to their attacking positions and hopefully delivering them in a fresh enough state to mount an attack. This marked the first serious effort to use motorised infantry in the Mesopotamian theatre. 127 Ford vans and lorries were employed to transport the men, 600 at a time, travelling by night and with tents to shelter against the sun during the daytime. Ice would also be carried to ensure that any cases of heatstroke could be treated immediately. Course of the battle Dhibban was occupied without a fight on the night of 7/8 July and the rest of the force arrived there from Falluja on 10 July. A small detachment remained behind to guard Dhibban while the rest pressed on to the Madhij Defile, 11 km (7 miles) to the west. They reached it in the late evening and occupied it without opposition, though Turkish rifle fire was encountered soon afterwards. At 01:00 on 11 July, the advance resumed to Mushaid Point, about 3.2 km (2 miles) east of Ramadi. The column did not reach it until 04:45 due to heavy sand along the route. As the force moved through gardens and farms on the outskirts of Ramadi, the Turks opened fire with six artillery guns, two machine guns, and numerous rifles. By this time two of the three British aircraft had developed mechanical problems due to the heat evaporating the water from their radiators and had been forced down. The armoured cars and infantry could make no progress in the face of artillery and machine-gun fire.

The Turkish artillery proved far more accurate than expected, repeatedly disabling the British wireless communications. Reinforcements were sent up at 06:45 but could make no further progress. To make matters worse a dust storm began at 08:00 and continued for most of the rest of the day. British communications broke down and the storm prevented effective counter-battery fire. This in turn made it impossible for the British infantry to attack, as they faced an advance across nearly 1 km (1,000 yards) of open ground in searing heat. The heat also made it impossible to organise a withdrawal during the daytime, so the troops dug in and endured the conditions with water being supplied from the Euphrates. Suggestions that the Turks might be about to withdraw came to nothing and, at 03:15 the following day, the British commander decided to withdraw under the cover of darkness. Although the Turks did not attack the withdrawing British, around 1,500 pro-Turkish Arabs mounted an attack but were "beaten off and severely punished as soon as it got light." They continued to mount sniping attacks against the British as they made their way back to Dhibban, which they reached at 21:30 on 13 July. Casualties and aftermath The battle had been a costly failure, exacerbated by the severe weather conditions and the unexpectedly strong Turkish resistance. The British suffered 566 casualties, of whom 321 – over half – were caused by the heat. Enemy fire thus accounted for less than half of the British casualties. Some men died of heat stroke, while others were reported to have died of thirst or gone mad. Second Battle of Ramadi Background The second, ultimately successful, British effort to take Ramadi was mounted in September 1917. By this time the Turks had assembled a joint Turco-German force called the Yilderim ("Thunderbolt") Army Group, under the command of the German General Erich von Falkenhayn. The aim was to mount an attack into Iraq, marching down the Euphrates via Hīt and on to Baghdad.

Course of the battle At 21:45 on the night of 27 September, the infantry advance began with a march to the Mushaid Ridge, which they occupied with little opposition. Instead of continuing along the river bank, however, the 12th and 42nd Indian Brigades swung left to the Euphrates Valley Canal between the Euphrates and Lake Habbaniyah. They secured the dam across the canal by 15:00 on 28 September. Their advance in the intense heat was made possible by a water supply chain that Brooking had established using 350 Ford vans, which transported over 63,000 litres (14,000 gallons) of water on 28 September alone. Meanwhile, the 6th Cavalry Brigade had ridden across the desert to the south and west of Ramadi and reached the road 8 km (5 miles) west of the town by 16:00, where they dug in to block any Turkish retreat. With artillery support, British forces advanced up two ridges to the south of Ramadi in the face of Turkish machine gun, rifle and artillery fire. Both were taken by the early afternoon of 28 September. The garrison's last escape route was now the Aziziya Bridge just to the west of Ramadi and, as the battle continued into the night under bright moonlight, a column of Turkish infantry sought to fight its way out of the trap at 03:00 on 29 September. Heavy British machine gun and artillery fire repelled them and drove the survivors back to Ramadi after an hour and half of fighting. The 39th Garhwal Rifles attacked the bridge, charging Turkish guns firing over open sights, and took it by 07:30 despite suffering heavy casualties; only 100 men from the three assaulting companies made it through. The Garhwali advance convinced the Turkish defenders that the battle was lost. At 09:15, large numbers of Turks began surrendering to the Garhwalis at the bridge; by 09:30, as the rest of the British force advanced towards the mud walls of Ramadi, "white flags went up all along the enemy's line". By 11:00 the Turkish commander, Ahmed Bey, and the rest of the garrison had surrendered. The Turkish surrender came just in time, as a powerful sandstorm began shortly afterwards which reduced visibility to a few metres; had it struck earlier, the garrison could easily have slipped away.

Operations to inflict greater losses on British infantry under the instructions of 22 September were to continue, with more bombardment by field artillery and by using at least half of the heavy artillery's ammunition for observed fire on infantry positions in captured pillboxes, command posts, machine-gun nests, tracks and field railways. Gas bombardment was to be increased on forward infantry positions and artillery emplacements whenever the winds allowed. Every effort was to be made to induce the British to reinforce their forward positions, where the German artillery could engage them. Between 26 September and 3 October, the Germans attacked and counter-attacked at least 24 times. On 1 October, two regiments from the 4th Reserve and the 8th divisions and the 4th Army Sturmbattalion under the command of General von Gabain (17th Division), attacked Polygon Wood. The attack began at 5:30 a.m. in the area taken over from the Australians by X Corps. The 21st and 7th Divisions and the neighbouring Australian battalion to the north, forced most of the German infantry under cover in shell-holes and in no-man's-land, with massed small-arms fire. The German attack advanced a maximum of 140 yd (130 m) at Cameron Covert, for which the 210 Reserve Infantry Regiment lost 356 casualties. An attempt to renew the advance after more artillery-fire failed. Unternehmen Hohensturm, a bigger German organised counter-attack, intended to recapture the area around Zonnebeke which had been planned for 3 October, was postponed for a day. In IX Corps the 37th Division attacked with two brigades, the 19th Division on the right co-operating with an artillery and machine-gun barrage and a smoke screen. The right brigade pivoted on the southern flank amid much German small-arms fire but captured the first objective on the Tower Hamlets (Bassevillebeek) spur. German counter-attacks and fire from Joist Trench and Berry Cottage then pushed the right flank units back to their start line. The left brigade was fired on from a pillbox and Lewis Farm, which had been missed by the bombardment and which hindered an attack on dugouts along the north end of Gheluvelt wood. The brigade dug-in in short of the final objective, Tower Trench was captured but then abandoned, also due to the fire from Lewis Farm

In X Corps, the 5th Division attacked with two brigades. By coincidence the German 19th Reserve Division was about to attack and was caught in the British bombardment. The right brigade was delayed by fire from the 37th Division area, believed to be from Lewis Farm and a defensive front was established facing the pillbox. The centre of the brigade were able to keep pace with the barrage and consolidated the objective by 12:30 p.m. The battalion on the left attacked between the Scherriabeek and Reutelbeek towards Polderhoek Chateau, advancing 700 yd (640 m), with the assistance of a tank before being halted and having to dig in. To the north, the left flank brigade was fired on from Cameron Covert and scattered pillboxes as it advanced. After a long delay Cameron Copse was captured with the help of three tanks moving down the Reutel road. The final objective at Juniper Hill was reached but was then abandoned, due to being exposed to machine-gun and artillery fire. The attackers sidestepped to the north of the Reutel road and linked with troops from the 21st Division. German troops counter-attacked eight times and regained Polderhoek Spur, leaving the new front line along the west of Cameron Covert and just short of Château Wood. Two brigades of the 21st Division attacked at 6:00 a.m. onto ground held by the German 19th Reserve Division, backed by part of the 17th Division, the Eingreif division between the Menin Road and Polygon Wood. The going varied from marsh to hard ground, which could support the four attached tanks and caused shells to ricochet. The right brigade advanced under heavy machine-gun fire and took Joist Farm before being obstructed by marshy ground and pillboxes to the right. British bombing sections attacked the pillboxes and cut off Juniper Trench to reach the objective. Fire from a blockhouse at the east end of Reutel caused a delay until it was knocked out by a tank. A counter-attack from the south-east was dispersed around noon by artillery and small-arms fire. The left brigade crossed the Polygonebeek and captured a portion of Juniper Trench and a pillbox. At Judge Trench the brigade consolidated; a further advance came under fire from Judge Copse but was able to dig in and hold the ground.

Battle of Nonne Bosschen Fanciful painting of the 2nd Ox & Bucks, Nonne Bosschen, defeating the Prussian Guard, 1914 (W.B. Wollen) The French XVI Corps reached the area from St Eloi to Wytschaete on 1 November, to reinforce the cavalry Corps and the IX Corps attacked further north near Becelaere, which relieved the German pressure on both flanks of I Corps. By 3 November, Armeegruppe Fabeck had lost 17,250 men in five days and of 84 infantry battalions in the BEF which had come to France with about 1,000 officers and men each, 75 had fewer than 300 men, of which 18 battalions were under 100 men strong, despite receiving replacements up to 28 October. Foch planned an offensive towards Messines and Langemarck for 6 November, to expand the salient around Ypres. The attack was forestalled by German attacks on the flanks from 5–9 November. On 9 November, the Germans attacked the French and Belgians between Langemarck and Dixmude, forcing them back to the Yser, where the Belgians blew the crossings. After a lull, the German attacks resumed in great force from 10–11 November, mainly on the 4th Army front from Langemarck to Dixmude. On 10 November, ​12 1⁄2 German divisions of the 4th and 6th Armies, Armeegruppe Fabeck and XXVII Reserve Corps attacked from Nonne Bosschen (Nun's Copse) and the edge of Polygon Wood, to Gheluvelt and across the Menin Road to Shrewsbury Forest in the south. On 11 November, the Germans attacked from Messines to Herenthage, Veldhoek woods, Nonne Bosschen and Polygon Wood. Massed small-arms fire repulsed German attacks between Polygon Wood and Veldhoek. The German 3rd Division and 26th Division broke through to St Eloi and advanced to Zwarteleen, some 3,000 yd (2,700 m) east of Ypres, where they were checked by the British 7th Cavalry Brigade. The remains of II Corps from La Bassée, held a 3,500 yd (3,200 m) front, with 7,800 men and 2,000 reserves against 25 German battalions with 17,500 men. The British were forced back by the German 4th Division and British counter-attacks were repulsed. Next day, an unprecedented bombardment fell on British positions in the south of the salient between Polygon Wood and Messines. German troops broke through along the Menin road but could not be supported and the advance was contained by 13 November. Both sides were exhausted by these efforts; German casualties around Ypres had reached about 80,000 men and BEF losses, August – 30 November, were 89,964, 54,105 at Ypres. The Belgian army had been reduced by half and the French had lost 385,000 men by September, 265,000 men having been killed by the end of the year.

In 1986, Unruh, wrote that 40,761 students had been enrolled in six reserve corps, four of which had been sent to Flanders, leaving a maximum of 30 percent of the reserve corps operating in Flanders made up of volunteers. Only 30 percent of German casualties at Ypres were young and inexperienced student reservists, others being active soldiers, older members of the Landwehr and army reservists. Reserve Infantry Regiment 211 had 166 men in active service, 299 members of the reserve, which was composed of former soldiers from 23–28 years old, 970 volunteers who were inexperienced and probably 18–20 years old, 1,499 Landwehr (former soldiers from 28–39 years old, released from the reserve) and one Ersatzreservist (enrolled but inexperienced). Casualties In 1925, Edmonds recorded that the Belgians had suffered a great number of casualties from 15–25 October, including 10,145 wounded. British casualties from 14 October – 30 November were 58,155, French losses were 86,237 men and of 134,315 German casualties in Belgium and northern France, from 15 October – 24 November, 46,765 losses were incurred on the front from the Lys to Gheluvelt, from 30 October – 24 November. In 2003, Beckett recorded 50,000–85,000 French casualties, 21,562 Belgian casualties, 55,395 British losses and 134,315 German casualties. In 2010, Sheldon recorded 54,000 British casualties, c. 80,000 German casualties, that the French had many losses and that the Belgian army had been reduced to a shadow. Sheldon also noted that Colonel Fritz von Lossberg had recorded that up to 3 November, casualties in the 4th Army were 62,000 men and that the 6th Army had lost 27,000 men, 17,250 losses of which had occurred in Armeegruppe Fabeck from 30 October – 3 November. Subsequent operations Main article: Winter operations 1914–1915 Winter operations from November 1914 to February 1915 in the Ypres area, took place in the Attack on Wytschaete (14 December). A reorganisation of the defence of Flanders had been carried out by the Franco-British from 15–22 November, which left the BEF holding a homogeneous front from Givenchy to Wytschaete 21 mi (34 km) to the north. Joffre arranged for a series of attacks on the Western Front, after receiving information that German divisions were moving to the Russian Front. The Eighth Army was ordered to attack in Flanders and French was asked to participate with the BEF on 14 December. Joffre wanted the British to attack along all of the BEF front and especially from Warneton to Messines, as the French attacked from Wytschaete to Hollebeke. French gave orders to attack from the Lys to Warneton and Hollebeke with II and III Corps, as IV and Indian corps conducted local operations, to fix the Germans to their front.

On 2 August 1914, the Belgian government refused passage through Belgium to German troops and on the night of 3/4 August the Belgian General Staff ordered the 3rd Division to Liège to obstruct a German advance. The German army invaded Belgium on the morning of 4 August. Covered by the Third Division, the Liège fortress garrison, a screen of the Cavalry Division and detachments from Liège and Namur, the Belgian field army closed up to the river Gete and by 4 August, the First Division had assembled at Tienen, the Fifth Division at Perwez, the Second Division at Leuven and the Sixth Division at Wavre, covering central and western Belgium and communications towards Antwerp. German cavalry appeared at Visé early on 4 August, to find the bridge down and Belgian troops on the west bank; the Germans crossed at a ford and forced the Belgians to retire towards Liège. By evening, it was clear to the Belgian High Command that the Third Division and the Liège garrison were in the path of a very large invasion force. With information that five German corps and six reserve corps were in Belgium and with no immediate support available from the French army and British Expeditionary Force (BEF), the Belgian field army was ordered to withdraw towards the National Redoubt on the evening of 18 August and arrived on 20 August. At an engagement between the First Division and the German IX Corps near Tienen, the Belgians had 1,630 casualties. The Belgian government of Charles de Broqueville left Brussels for Antwerp and the Belgian capital was occupied unopposed on 20 August, as the Belgian field army completed its retirement to Antwerp. The German Siege of Namur ended with a Belgian capitulation on 24 August, as the field army made a sortie from Antwerp towards Brussels. The Germans detached the III Reserve Corps from the 1st Army to mask the city and a division of the IV Reserve Corps to occupy Brussels. On 1 October, General Hans Hartwig von Beseler ordered an attack on the Antwerp forts Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Walem and the Bosbeek and Dorpveld redoubts by the 5th Reserve and Marine divisions. By 11:00 a.m. Fort Walem was severely damaged, Fort Lier had been hit by a 16-inch (410 mm) shell, Fort Koningshooikt and the Tallabert and Bosbeek redoubts were mostly intact and the intervening ground between Fort Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Dorpveld redoubt had been captured. A counter-attack failed and the Fourth Division was reduced to 4,800 infantry. The Belgian commanders ordered the left flank of the army to withdraw to a line of defence north of the Nete, which covered the gap in the outer defences and kept the city out of range of German super-heavy artillery. Proclamations warning the inhabitants that King Albert I and the government would leave Antwerp were put up during the day.

Early on 9 October, German troops found some forts of the inner ring empty; Beseler ended the bombardment and summoned the military governor, General Victor Deguise, to surrender. About 30,000 men of the Antwerp garrison surrendered and the city was occupied by German troops. About 33,000 soldiers of the garrison (c. 30 percent of the Belgian Army) fled north to the Netherlands, where they were interned for the duration. During the siege of Antwerp, the German and French armies fought the Battle of the Frontiers (7 August – 13 September) and then the German armies in the north pursued the French and the BEF southwards into France in the Great Retreat, which culminated in the First Battle of the Marne (5–12 September), followed by the First Battle of the Aisne (13–28 September). A series of reciprocal attempts by the Franco-British and German armies to envelop the northern flank of the opposing army, the Race to the Sea took place through Picardy, Artois and Flanders (17 September – 19 October. The "race" ended on the North Sea coast of Belgium, when the last open area from Dixmude to the North Sea was occupied by Belgian troops from Antwerp. British and French forces in Belgium covered the retirement of the Belgians and British from Antwerp. The 1st, 3rd and 4th divisions reached Ostend, the 5th and 6th divisions arrived at Torhout and Diksmuide and the Antwerp garrison troops moved to an area north-west of Ghent. The Germans 4th Ersatz Division and Landwehr troops at Lokeren and Moerbeke turned east towards Ghent before the withdrawal was discovered. The III Reserve Corps and the 4th Ersatz Division were then ordered to turn west and advance on Kortrijk, to prolong the main German front, before being sent towards Ghent and Bruges, with orders to reach Blankenberge and Ostend on the coast. On 11 October, German troops were detected advancing on Ghent, by which time the Belgian fortress troops had joined the field army. A withdrawal from Ghent from 3:00–10:00 p.m. began, after which German troops entered the city. Several bridges were demolished during the retirement, although crowds of civilians on the main road and rail bridges led to them being left intact. Captains of the French Fusiliers marins at the Yser By 18 October, the Belgian, British and French troops in northern France and Belgium had formed a defensive line, with the British II Corps in position, with the 5th Division from La Bassée Canal north to Beau Puits, the 3rd Division from Illies to Aubers and three divisions of the French Cavalry Corps (General Louis Conneau) deployed from Fromelles to Le Maisnil, the British III Corps with the 6th Division from Radinghem to Epinette and the 4th Division from Epinette to Pont Rouge, the BEF Cavalry Corps with the 1st and 2nd Cavalry divisions, from Deûlémont to Tenbrielen, the British IV Corps with the 7th Division and 3rd Cavalry Division from Zandvoorde to Oostnieuwkirke, the French Groupe Bidon and the de Mitry Cavalry Corps from Roulers to Cortemarck, the 87th and 89th Territorial divisions from Passchendaele to Boesinghe and then the Belgian field army and fortress troops from Boesinghe to Nieuport.