Stalemate: The Race to the Sea and the First Battle of Ypres

In October 1914, the first of many clashes over the historic city of Ypres began, setting up the stalemate in Flanders. Discover the story of the First Battle of Ypres here.

The First Battle of Ypres

The Western Front in 1914

Image: A Royal Navy Armoured Car unit on the Menin Road, October 1914 (IWM (Q 57194))

The war on the Western Front in 1914 was still one of movement and manoeuvre.

Vast armies were clashing on battlefields across northern France and Belgium, each vying for territory and flanking opportunities. 

In August, a tide of German infantry, cavalry and artillery had swept across both countries, initially smashing aside the Allied opposition.

The Allies of France, the British Empire and the Kingdom of Belgium were sent into retreat with a heavy cost to both sides. Hundreds of thousands of men had already been wounded. Thousands had already been killed.

Following the Battle of Mons, the British Expeditionary Force’s first major First World War engagement, the Allies were forced into the Great Retreat.

Pulling back over a hundred miles from the frontiers, the French and British armies stemmed the tied at the Battle of the Marne, stopping the German armies only a short distance from Paris.

Now, it was the German Army’s time to retreat. And so began a series of manoeuvres and skirmishes known as The Race to the Sea.

The Race to the Sea

Image: Allied and German flanking manoeuvres during the Race to the Sea (public domain)

The Race to the Sea is a bit of a misnomer in that the competing powers weren’t trying to reach the French and Belgian coasts ahead of one another.

Instead, it was mostly a series of attacks from each side trying to turn the other’s flank, something neither force was able to achieve. The armies essentially ran out of room. 

A German attack on 24 September forced the French into defensive positions. At the same time, the BEF was making its way through French lines of communication, and so Allied offensive operations began piecemeal.

A joint French and British offensive between Lille and Antwerp saw the Allies reach positions near the River Lys, but German counteroffensives halted them.

As the armies made their way across France and Belgium, they began to build trench networks and fortifications.

The Race to the Sea is thought to have finished around 17 October. Belgian army units had occupied the last open area from Diksmuide to the North Sea, fleeing from the capture of Antwerp by the German Army on 10 October.

A series of indecisive encounters across Artois and Flanders then took place, culminating in the bloody clash in and around the ancient Flemish city of Ypres.

Fighting at Ypres

Image: Troops of the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards resting near Gheluvelt, October 1914 (IWM (Q 57218)

The first elements of the British Expeditionary Force arrived at Ypres on 8 October. 

As they had to move through French lines of communication, the BEF had to travel at night in order to disguise its movements from the German Army.

By 19 October, the British had arrived in force, occupying a 35-mile-long line in the centre of the Allied lines. Indian Army troops were also part of the British Imperial forces arrayed on the Western Front in its earliest days.

The Indian troops would fight with distinction alongside their British counterparts during the First Battle of Ypres, particularly at the first Battle of the Messines Ridge. 
 
As trench networks were dug and fortifications built, the Ypres Salient was beginning to form.

The Allies chose to dig in in such a way because their lines could be easily defended from the low ridge of higher ground to the east of Ypres.

However, it was vulnerable to attack from the then-superior German artillery.

The Battle of the Yser

Image: "The Battle of the User: Admirable Resistance of Belgian Soldiers"  Tolmer & Co, 1914 (Public Domain)

General Falkenhayn, Chief of the German General Staff, began his offensive on the 20 October. 

His goal was to split open Allied positions around Ypres to capture the channel ports of Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. 

Capturing Ypres would be key to controlling the channel ports.

The Germans attacked the Belgian army which was holding a line across the Yser River between Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort. 

The Belgian Army had already been weakened by weeks and months of fighting. The valiant stand of the Belgian Army on the Yser has entered folklore, but ultimately, the Belgians had to rely on nature to stem the German assault.

Despite holding valiantly, the ferocity of the German attack caused Belgian King Albert, Commander-in-Chief of his nation’s armed forces, to order the opening of sluices keeping seawater at bay in the Belgian lowlands.

With water rushing over the land, a two-mile-wide barrier was placed in front of the Germans, causing Falkenhayn to rethink his plans. 

The Belgian Army sustained 18,000 casualties at the Yser, but crucially secured the Allied flank.

The Battle of Langemark

Image: The German Night Assault on the English Trenches Near Langemarck, G.C. Koch (Public Domain)

Now it was the BEF’s turn to withstand a German assault.

The BEF had begun to advance on 19 October, heading towards Roeselare and Menin. 

The British and French Commanders, Marshal Ferdinand Foch and Field Marshal Sir John French, felt the conditions were right to go on the attack.

French cavalry was occupying land around Langemark to the northeast of Ypres, reinforced by the British IV Corps. I Corps, commanded by Sir Douglas Haig, was due to arrive on 21 October with orders to attack that day.

The weather on the 21st restricted reconnaissance opportunities. Four new German reserve Corps were now approaching the Allied positions at Langemark. The Allies were now heavily outnumbered, facing five and a half German infantry corps and four corps of Cavalry.

Roughly seven British divisions and five Allied cavalry divisions stood at Langemark.

Seemingly oblivious to the major force facing it, IV Corps began its attack on the 1st. Initial progress was good, but attacks from the German 4th and 6th Armies stymied the British advance. 

At Armentieres, Messines and Langemark, German forces battled with their Allied counterparts. The 7th British Division, part of IV Corps, was attacked at Langemark itself but was able to repulse the attacks.

The French cavalry to the north of the British positions had been pushed back to the Yser. On 23 October, British troops moved forward to close the gap until relieved by the French IX Corps north of the salient.

Even though I Corps was relieved, Polygon Wood, one of the most famous tracts of woodland in the Ypres Salient, was temporarily lost by the British 7th Division.

The 2nd Division came forward to join in French-led counterattacks, but the situation was still dire. The BEF sent the remnants of I Corps to reinforce IV Corps. 

German attacks to the south, again against the beleaguered 7th Division, took place on the 25 and 26 of October. The line briefly crumbled until reinforcements were brought forward to plug the gap and prevent a rout.

Battle of Gheluvelt

Image: Troops of the 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards resting near Gheluvelt, October 1914 (IWM (Q 57218))

The 4th Army’s attacks at Langemark began to break down by 28 October. Reorganising their forces, the German Army began to probe further south.

The German XXVII Reserve Corps began to attack the Gheluvelt crossroads on the Menin Road at dawn on 29 October. By nightfall, the crossroads had been captured and some 600 British PoWs captured.

French attacks further north, recaptured land taken in the days earlier. Despite this, advances from the newly assembled German Armeegruppe Fabeck, brought the Germans to within just 1.9 miles of Ypres itself, ploughing into I Corps.

BEF troops were pushed out of Zandvoorde, Hollebeke and Hollebeke Chateau but German attacks at Messines, Wytschaete and St Yves were repulsed.

The British were able to rally at Zandvoorde, but had suffered savage casualties, as had the Indian Army troops brought into the battle. 

On 31 October, the German Army managed to break through but a ferocious counterattack, spearheaded by the 2nd Worcestershires, restored the situation.

All the while, in the face of their tenuous situation, the British continued to display the high degree of marksmanship, rate of fire, and discipline of its highly trained, professional soldiers.

Disaster at Hooge

The divisional commanders of the British 1st and 2nd Divisions had occupied Hooge Chateau just two miles from the Ypres frontline.

With reports that sections of the British front had been broken on 31 October, divisional commanders and their staff had gathered at the manor house to discuss the situation.

A German reconnaissance plane flew over the manor in the morning, spotting the line of parked staff cars outside the building, indicating this was a place of significant interest or a headquarters.

The Germans also had positions overlooking Hooge Chateau to the east, so may have spotted the gathering earlier.

Image: Lieutenant-General Samuel Lomax, one of the highest-profile casualties of the First Battle of Ypres (public domain)

At 1:30 pm, the first German shells landed at Hooge Chateau. Occupants rushed to the garden-facing French windows to observe the damage.

Suddenly, a second shell burst near the wide windows, showering the observers with debris, metal, and glass, as well as massive concussive force.

A third shell hit the building but caused no more injuries.

In the moments after the shelling, the high number of casualties became clear. 

Lieutenant-General Samuel Lomax, 1st Division Commander, was severely wounded and evacuated to the nearest casualty clearing station. His chief of staff Colonel F W Kerr, and his second most senior staff officer Major George Paley were killed.

Lomax was eventually invalided back to the UK, but he succumbed to his wounds some six months later.

2nd Division was not spared. Its command structure was severely damaged by the shell burst. Senior officers Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Percival, Captain Rupert Ommanney, and Major Francis Tench were killed, devastating the 2nd Division’s divisional staff.

Other fatalities include Captain Graham Shedden of the Royal Garrison Artillery and Captain Robert Giffard. 

The First Battle of Ypres continues

Image: Northumberland Hussars (7th Divisional Cavalry) resting near Ypres (IWM (Q 57206))

The German army had captured the whole of Messines Ridge by early November, but the timely arrival of French reinforcements checked their further advance.

Meanwhile, the Allies had established their lines east of the village of Kemmel, including the important high ground at Mount Kemmel.

A lull ensued. Could the First Battle of Ypres be over?

The Indian Corps had come up to relieve II Corps at La Bassée-Neuve Chappelle, freeing up the British Infantry to take over from the shattered 7th Division.

The break also allowed the Germans to retool and reorganise. A further six divisions were sent to the Ypres Salient, including a division of the Prussian Guard. 

On 10 November, renewed German offensives drove the French from Diksmuide.

Attacks intensified as the Germans sought to penetrate the woodland known as Nonne Bosschen near the Menin Road.

The Prussian Guards managed to break through the BEF 1st Division’s left flank, but once more the British salvaged the situation with two spirited counterattacks.

Firstly, the Royal Scots Fusiliers engaged their opponents near the Menin Road, driving them back. The second, by the 2nd Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, halted the Prussian’s advance, driving them out of the Nonne Bosschen.

In preparation for the Ox and Bucks attack, the brigade commander officer Brigadier-General Charles FitzClarence VC was raked with rifle fire and killed.

Further heavy attacks were made by the German Army in the coming weeks. A massive bombardment hit British lines in front of Messines and Polygon Wood, precipitating another German advance but they were quickly checked.

Aftermath of First Ypres

Image: German Prisoners of War are escorted into Ypres (IWM (Q 57254))

With the weather beginning to cool, and rain setting in, even a little snow on 15 November, the First Battle of Ypres wound down.

By November 20, the first winter frosts were beginning to set in. The physical strain of warfare, coupled with the frigid conditions, was taking a toll on men on both sides.

Hastily dug trenches were beginning to fill with water. Troops were falling asleep standing up at their posts if they hadn’t been picked off by snipers stalking opposite trench lines.

Come 22nd November, the battle for Ypres was over. 

Now, the trench networks and static warfare that have come to characterise the war on the Western Front was beginning to set in. Trenches now ran from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border.

Any hopes of a quick war had been dashed. German troops dug in on the high ground surrounding the city and the burgeoning Ypres Salient. 

Over the course of the First World War, four more major battles would be fought in and around Ypres with over a million casualties. The slaughter was only just beginning to heighten.

Casualties of the First Battle of Ypres

Casualty estimates vary, but the First Battles of Ypres was a bloody ordeal for all sides.

In 1925, historian James Edmonds stated that the British Expeditionary Force sustained 58,155 casualties in the period 14 October – 30 November during the height of the battle and the subsequent actions. 

This number includes the Indian Army elements at the Battle of Ypres.

Historian Jack Sheldon in 2010 refuted this, stating that the BEF took roughly 54,000 casualties. Given the small size of the BEF, relative to the German and French armies, this was huge. 

Up to First Ypres, the BEF had now taken close to 100,000 losses, killed, missing, captured, or wounded.

French losses are estimated between 50,00-80,000 losses. The Belgian Army also took heavy damage, with over 21,000 casualties.

The German Army, with its numerical superiority and on the attack for most of the battle, paid a heavy price. Casualty numbers have been given between 80,000-130,000 men. 

Roughly a third of these were young, student recruits. Due to the death and injury of so many young men, essentially fresh out of education, First Ypres is also known as the Kindermord or “massacre of innocents” in Germany. 

Many of these soldiers are buried at the sombre German cemetery at Langemark.

Brigadier-General Charles FitzClarence VC

Image: Brigadier-General Charles FitzClarence VC (Public Domain)

As we touched on earlier, several high-profile staff officers and senior commanders were either mortally wounded, injured or killed outright at the First Battle of Ypres.

Among their number was Anglo-Irish Brigadier-General Charles FitzClarence VC.

FitzClarence was born in Bishopcourt, County Kildare, the son of Captain George FitzClarence and his wife Mary. He was also the grandson of the 1st Earl of Munster.

FitzClarence started his military career in 1886, joining the Royal Fusiliers, but his career progress was hampered by recurring bouts of illness. 

As such, he performed mostly administrative and staff roles until he volunteered as a Special Service Officer at Mafeking in South Africa during the Second Boer War.

In 1889, the young officer performed several actions, including the defence of an armoured train and subsequently counterattack, a trench raid, and gallant leadership at Game Tree, which saw him awarded the Victoria Cross.

His ferocity in battle earned FitzClarence the nickname “The Demon”. 

At the time of the First World War, FitzClarence replaced Brigadier-General Ivor Maxse as commander of the 1st Guards Brigade. 

Journalist and writer Captain Valentine Williams MC described FitzClarence and the Guards’ role at First Ypres in Blackwood’s Magazine: 

“The Coldstream and Scots Guards' battalions of FitzClarence's brigade, in trenches north of Gheluvelt, suffered terribly in a German attack, delivered in a dense mist on the morning of the 27th along the Menin Road.

“The odds against the British were crushing, for on that day some 24,000 Germans were arrayed against about 5,000 exhausted British troops. 

“In two days, the Scots Guards lost 10 officers, and 370 men killed and wounded. But the result of the day's fighting was that the British line stood firm and unbroken, while the Germans had sustained enormous losses”

Unfortunately, FitzClarence, despite his fighting spirit and inspired leadership, would not survive First Ypres. 

He was killed in the attack of the Prussian Guards on 11 November 1914, when, leading from the front, he was struck down by a burst of rifle fire.

As his body was never recovered, Brigadier-General Charles FitzClarence is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.

Lieutenant Prince Maurice Victor Donald of Battenburg

Image: Prince Maurice of Battenberg (Public Domain)

Despite being half-German, Prince Maurice of Battenberg spent the majority of his life in England. 

One of Queen Victoria’s many grandsons, the Prince was one of the highest-profile casualties of the Great War and the only British Royal to die in the conflict.

He was born in 1891, the youngest son of Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest child, and Prince Henry of Battenberg. As a young man, the Prince had a taste for fast cars and motoring, racking up speeding fines as a military cadet.

Prince Maurice enrolled in the Military Academy Sandhurst, subsequently joining the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. At the time of First Ypres, the Prince was a Lieutenant with the King’s Rifles, serving with the 1st Battalion.

On 27 October, the King’s Rifles crossed from Zonnebeke to Broodseinde, to stop the German infantry holding high ground called the Keiberg nearby. 

The German soldiers spotted their British opponents early but held off from attacking until they got closer. Soon, the British riflemen were engulfed in a fusillade of small arms and cannon fire, ripping them to shreds.

Crown Prince Maurice was struck by shrapnel and mortally wounded. Offered aid by his platoon sergeant, the prince succumbed to his wounds, age 23.

Before the establishment of Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries and memorials, it was customary for soldiers to be buried close to where they fell. However, Lord Kitchener and King George V, Maurice’s cousin, requested the prince’s body returned home. 

Princess Beatrice of England refused because she knew that her son would have wanted to be buried with his friends and comrades.

Prince Maurice was buried in the municipal cemetery of Ypres. His tomb is located among civilian graves, right next to the entrance to the Ypres Town Cemetery Extension, today marked with a CWGC headstone.

Commemorating the Commonwealth dead of The First Battle of Ypres

Because of its strategic importance, the number of battles and skirmishes fought around the Ypres Salient, and the sheer volume of casualties in this sector, there are many Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries and memorials around Ypres and West Flanders.

Over 10,000 Commonwealth soldiers buried or commemorated in Belgium were killed between 19 October – 22 November 1914.

Ypres Town Cemetery and Extension

Image: Ypres Town Cemetery Extension

Ypres Town Cemetery was used by the BEF for burials starting from October 1914. Located close to the Menin Gate, the cemetery contains some 145 burials of the Great War. Of these, 120 burials date from First Ypres.

Among the war graves at Ypres Town Cemetery is that of Prince Maurice of Battenburg, the only British Royal to die in combat during the First World War.

Situated close to Ypres Town Cemetery is Ypres Town Cemetery Extension, which holds over 500 war graves.

125 date from the First Battle of Ypres, including the five staff officers killed in the shelling of Hooge Chateau (Percival, Paley, Kerr, Chevenix-Trench and Ommanney).

Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

Image: The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in the snow

The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial is one of the most iconic Commonwealth War Graves war memorials in the world.

Spanning the Menin Road, down which hundreds of thousands of Allied and Commonwealth soldiers would pass during the war, it commemorates over 54,000 missing servicemen from the Ypres Salient

Of that total, nearly 7,000 date from the bloody fighting of the First Battle of Ypres.

The Menin Gate is currently undergoing a thorough restoration to ensure these servicemen are commemorated in perpetuity.

Poperinghe Old Military Cemetery

Image: Poperinghe Old Military Cemetery

The town of Poperinghe (now Poperinge) was of great importance during the First World War because, although occasionally bombed or bombarded at long range, it was the nearest place to Ypres (now Ieper) which was both considerable in size and reasonably safe.

It was at first a centre for Casualty Clearing Stations, but by 1916 it became necessary to move these units further back and field ambulances took their places.

The earliest Commonwealth graves in the town are in the communal cemetery, which was used from October 1914 to March 1915. 

The Old Military Cemetery was made in the course of the First Battle of Ypres and was closed, so far as Commonwealth burials are concerned, at the beginning of May 1915. The New Military Cemetery was established in June 1915.

The Old Military Cemetery contains 450 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War - 137 date from the First Battle of Ypres.

Visit Commonwealth War Graves in Ypres

Our new Ieper Visitor Centre stands at the heart of commemoration in Belgium directly across from the Menin Gate.

It makes the perfect starting point when visiting the WW1 battlefields and the cemeteries and memorials when those who fell are today commemorated. Our multi-language team are on hand. You can: 

• Discover more about our cemeteries and memorials in Ieper and the work of our teams in Belgium and around the world.
• Visit our gift shop - All proceeds are directly invested in our educational and outreach projects worldwide.  
• Purchase your biodegradable wreath – We can even keep it safe for you until the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. 
• Undertake research on the CWGC database – You can discover if we commemorate your relative or let us assist you with a research project and help find the graves you’re looking for. 
• Join a guided tour of the Menin Gate - Learn more about the iconic memorial and discover some of the stories of the Commonwealth casualties commemorated there. 

We hope to see you in Ieper!