Ypres 1914 Langemarck

These three Battleground Europe books on Ypres 1914 mark the centenary of the final major battle of the 1914 campaign on the Western Front. Although fought over a relatively small area and short time span, the fighting was even more than usually chaotic and the stakes were extremely high. Authors Nigel Cave and Jack Sheldon combine their respective expertise to tell the story of the men – British, French, Indian and German - who fought over the unremarkable undulating ground that was to become firmly placed in British national conscience ever afterwards.??When, in October 1914, the newly created German Fourth Army attacked west to seize crossings over the Yser, prior to sweeping south in an attempt to surround the BEF, two things prevented it. To the north, it was the efforts of the Belgian army, reinforced by French troops, coupled with controlled flooding of the polders but, further south, the truly heroic defence of Langemarck, for three days by the BEF and then by the French army, was of decisive importance. The village stood as a bulwark against any further advance to the river or the town of Ypres. Here the German regiments bled to death in the face of resolute Allied defence and any remaining hope of forcing a decision in the west turned to dust.

These three Battleground Europe books on Ypres 1914 mark the centenary of the final major battle of the 1914 campaign on the Western Front. Although fought over a relatively small area and short time span, the fighting was even more than usually chaotic and the stakes were extremely high. Authors Nigel Cave and Jack Sheldon combine their respective expertise to tell the story of the men British, French, Indian and German - who fought over the unremarkable undulating ground that was to become firmly placed in British national conscience ever afterwards.When, in October 1914, the newly created German Fourth Army attacked west to seize crossings over the Yser, prior to sweeping south in an attempt to surround the BEF, two things prevented it. To the north, it was the efforts of the Belgian army, reinforced by French troops, coupled with controlled flooding of the polders but, further south, the truly heroic defence of Langemarck, for three days by the BEF and then by the French army, was of decisive importance. The village stood as a bulwark against any further advance to the river or the town of Ypres. Here the German regiments bled to death in the face of resolute Allied defence and any remaining hope of forcing a decision in the west turned to dust.

The battle for Ypres in October and November 1914 represented the last opportunity for open, mobile warfare on the Western Front. In the first study of First Ypres for almost 40 years, Ian Beckett draws on a wide range of sources never previously used to reappraise the conduct of the battle, its significance and its legacy.

Ypres was a medieval town known for its textiles; however, it became infamous during the Great War with trench warfare, poison gas and many thousands of casualties. As the German Army advanced through Belgium, it failed to take the Ypres Salient. On 13 October 1914, German troops entered Ypres. On looting the city, the Germans retreated as the British Expeditionary Force advanced. On 22 November 1914, the Germans commenced a huge artillery barrage killing many civilians. In 1917, the Third Battle of Ypres commenced making it an exceptionally dangerous place to live. In 1918, a German major offensive was launched, but the British held firm. Ypres was finally safe in late September 1918 when German troops withdrew from the Salient. Today the battlefields of Ypres contain the resting place of thousands of German and British soldiers. This book explores the first and second battles of Ypres through narrative, eye-witness accounts and images.

Ypres 1914: An Official Account Published by Order of the German General Staff by Otto Schwink provides a detailed account of the events in Ypres in 1914 from the German perspective. Schwink's narrative offers readers a unique insight into the strategies, challenges, and experiences of the German forces during this pivotal time in history.

The WWI military expert presents his authoritative study of the German Army’s operations during the First Battle of Ypres. Soon after the First World War broke out in 1914, Allied and German forces attempted to outflank each other in a series of battles along the Western Front. Some of the most intense fighting came in Flanders, Belgium, at the First Battle of Ypres. It was during this battle that generals on both sides confronted the end of maneuvering as they became locked into positional warfare. Historian Jack Sheldon is a renowned expert on the German Army during WWI. In this groundbreaking study of the First Battle of Ypres, he presents a tactical narrative of German operation at the regimental and battalion level. Focusing on the battles around Ypres against the British Expeditionary Force, Sheldon also analyses the fighting against the French and Belgian armies. This book also features the first complete account of German army operations in the battles north of Lille in the late autumn of 1914. Drawing on extensive research into German sources, Sheldon presents the testimony of German participants, shedding light on the experiences of the fighting troops at regimental level and below. He supports this material with historical context and commentary, as well as evidence from senior commanders.

“An official German account, written close to the action, of the early Great War battles of the Yser and first Ypres in the autumn of 1914. Interesting revelation of German attitudes to the two battles that stopped their steamroller advance through Flanders. The full title of this book is "The Battle of the Yser and of Ypres in the Autumn 1914" and it gives equal coverage to both. It was written by a Captain Otto Schwink, a General Staff Officer, in 1917 - too close in time to the operations it describes to have permitted proper research and so provide a more objective account. It was intended primarily for public consumption and was how the German General Staff wished the campaign to be seen. Nevertheless, it is interesting to read the other side’s point of view and balance is to some extent restored by the series of footnotes provided throughout the narrative by our own Historical Section (Military Branch).”—N&M Press Reprint