First Battle of Ypres

The First Battle of Ypres, also called the First Battle of Flanders (French: 1re Bataille des Flandres), was the last major battle of the first year of World War I (1914); actually a series of battles, starting on 19 October and ending, according to the various histories, on 13 November (French), 22 November (British) or 30 November (German). This battle and the Battle of the Yser marked the end of the so-called Race to the Sea. The First Battle ... more

The First Battle of Ypres, also called the First Battle of Flanders (French: 1re Bataille des Flandres), was the last major battle of the first year of World War I (1914); actually a series of battles, starting on 19 October and ending, according to the various histories, on 13 November (French), 22 November (British) or 30 November (German). This battle and the Battle of the Yser marked the end of the so-called Race to the Sea. The First Battle of Ypres included: The British were building up for a push on Menin, but were unaware of a buildup by the Germans for their own offensive. The British Expeditionary Force, under the command of Field Marshal Sir John French, was redeployed north from the mobile fighting of the first two months of the war to join two divisions of reinforcements recently landed in Belgium. They advanced east from Saint-Omer, met and halted the German Army at the Passchendaele Ridge to the east of the Belgian town of Ypres. The First Battle of Ypres was preceded... less