Bonjour
Autres informations sur cette bataille navale et terrestre :
The battle for the advanced posts :
the Royal Navy intervenes
18th October
The battle opened on 18th October, with a heavy bombardment all along the Belgian lines, followed by German infantry probing into the forward defences. The first serious clash occurred when a group of Belgian cyclists and lancers were shelled out of Sint Pieters Kapelle, lying a little east of Schore. After a fierce, two hour combat, the German infantry moved into the ruins of the hamlet. At 9am on the same morning, the Belgian 2nd Division made first contact with the attacking forces of the 3rd Reserve Korps just to the east of Westende. The attack here threatened to break through, but was brought to a shattering standstill by heavy shelling from British warships lying off the coast. For during the night of the 17th/18th October,
Admiral Hood had brought up
three monitors, the HMS’s Severn, Humber and Mersey. (
These ships were flat-bottomed and with a very shallow draught, being originally designed for the Brazilian navy operating in the estuary waters of the Amazon. They were heavily armoured, and carried two 6-inch guns and two 4.7-inch howitzers each, in addition to machine guns. Later, when attacked by torpedo, they avoided destruction, as German torpedoes generally travelled at a depth of around twelve feet. The monitors drew only four feet.) The Germans, shocked, withdrew to Oostende. The naval shelling causes great losses among men and horses. Over the next days of the battle, the Royal Navy played a key part, keeping the coastal strip under constant fire, causing casualties and disruption to German operations. For example, on the 23rd, a Royal Navy flotilla bombarded German positions in Oostende, following an unsuccessful attempt by a German submarine on the destroyers
HMS’s Wildfire and
Myrmidon. A British naval balloon, moored beyond German shelling at Koksijde, directed operations. Further inland, and beyond the range of the monitors, the villages of Leke, Schore and Schoorbakke received their baptism of fire from the German heavy artillery. At Mannekensvere, the Belgian 7th Linie held on under fire all day, but were forced to withdraw in the evening. They counterattacked with the bayonet the following morning, but were brought to a halt by the weight and accuracy of the shelling.The advance posts of the 4th Division at Keiem were lost to units of the 6th Reserve Division, but the 8th and 13th Linie attacked and recovered them at the point of the bayonet. The 6th Division were ordered to thin the ranks holding out further south to provide reinforcements at Keiem, and at other posts under similar threat. The position was increasingly precarious, and the Germans threatened to engulf the Belgian positions on the right bank of the Yser, north of Diksmuide. The 4th Division committed its last reserves to assist the defence of the bridge at Tervate, and the 3rd Division were committed to strengthen the defences in front of Nieuwpoort. At this point, the French came to the assistance of the Belgians by relieving the 6th Division on the Ieperlee. The line held by the 40,000 effective men of the Belgian field army was reduced to 28km.To the south of Diksmuide, there was much better news. The right wing was firmly held by the cavalry of de Witte and de Mitry, from Kortemark to Roeselare.
tiré du site :
http://www.1914-1918.net/bravebelgium.htm
A bientot
