The First Battle of

Ypres
( Battle of Flanders )

October 19 , 1914 – November 22 ,

1914

Ypres , Belgium
Race to the Sea…
The town of Ypres in Belgium was
one of the most important cities in Belgium.
It was so important because it was the only
part of Belgium that still had a monarch and
it was also a gateway city to the English
Channel.
The reason why Germany wanted
to capture Ypres was the English Channel,
if the Germans could get into the Channel
they would surround England and
eventually take it over.
When Germany set off to capture
Ypres it set forth a “Race to the Sea”. It was
a race between the British and the
Germans.
“The First Battle of Ypres, which
commenced on October 14 when Eric von
Falkenhayn the German Chief of Staff, sent
his armies into Ypres.”
1
 Countries Involved
France Germany – The reason why Germany
was involved in the First Battle of Ypres
was because they wanted to capture
Ypres to get to the English Channel.

British
Belgium – The reason why Belgium was
India in the Battle was that they were defending
there land.

UK, India, France – These countries German

Empire
came to back Belgium because they were
United
Kingdom allied with them. United Kingdom on the
other hand had a great reason for backing
Belgium. If Germany took over Ypres they
could easily surround Britain via the
English Channel.
Belgium
The Battle of Langemarck
(21-24 October 1914)

The Battle of Langemarck began

as an encounter battle, between troops
of the British I corps and German troops,
both advancing to make an attack. It
ended with the Allies on the defensive
around Ypres, holding off the first of a
series of fierce German attacks that
would be typical of the remained of the
battle of Ypres.
Battle of Gheluvelt
October 29-31, 1914
Here we had the poorly equipped and out numbered
(over 2:1) British Expeditionary Force (BEF) facing
the might of the German army.

Allies charged the Germans, taking them by surprise and halted the
Germans march on Ypres. This action alone probably saved the
town of Ypres.

The first battle saw the Germans

trying to break through the British
defenses to take Ypres.

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dccfarr/summary.htm
 The Second Battle of Ypres
April 22 – May 25, 1915

During the second battle of Ypres, there were four smaller battles fought.
The Battle of Gravenstafel (April 22 – 23)
The Battle of St Julien (April 24 – May 4)
The Battle of Frezenberg (May 8 – May 13)
The Battle of Bellewearde (May 24 – May 25)
Western Front
 The Battle of Frezenburg

May 8th – may 13th

The Germans moved their artillery and troops forward to

a place opposite the enemy, the Frezenburg ridge. The
battle began when the Germans bombarded the allied
troops. This disrupted the troops that were holding the
trenches, however the Germans were forced back after
the first and second assault. During the third German
assault, they did manage to push the defenders back but
soon they were stopped. They also attacked with another
gas cloud, but made little progress. After six days of
fighting the Germans managed to gain 2000 yards.
 The Battle of Bellewearde

May 24th – May 25th

The Germans made another gas attack on a 7.2 km front.

The British were able to endure the first few attacks but
eventually were forced to retreat to a new location. The
British attacked but were unsuccessful. The failed attacks
allowed the Germans to gain 1000 yards. This was the last
battle before the Germans put an end to the fighting
because it was going nowhere for either side.
The Battle of Gravenstafel
“On the evning of April 22, 1915, the
German army launched an offensive on
the French sector of the Allied positions
around the Ypres sailient with the aid of a
new weapon: poisonous gas”This was the
first use of a new German weapon on the
Western Front. This gas attacked turned out
to be very effective against the enemy, the
French soldiers. This was the introduction to
chemical warfare to the Western Front.
However, when the Canadians were asked
to hold the line which was being attacked,
they were successful in doing so. The
number of killings were high, and little
ground was gained but the Canadians did
manage to delay the German’s efforts. The
Canadians did manage to hold the line.
World War I, H.P,
Willmottt
New York: Dk publishing,
2007
 The Battle of St Julien
On the morning of April 24th , the Germans made another gas
attack. This time however, the cloud of gas went directly to the
allied lines, just west of the village St Julien. In order to survive the
troops were told to urinate on their hankercheifs and hold them to
their face. However, this was not enough to survive the German
attack and as a result the Germans took over the village.
 Warfare

The Second Battle of Ypres is known for the first use of gas warfare on the
Western Front. Gas was first introduced on the Eastern Front earlier in the war, but it
had little effect. Germans were the first to use chlorine gas on the western front
during their attack on the allies.
Different forms of artillery were used by both sides during the battle as well.
The riffle was a very common weapon at this time. Planes were also used during the
second battle. After the chlorine gas was introduced, different types of chemical
warfare developed.
 Aftermath

It was the end of spring when the second battle of

Ypres came to an end. The town of Ypres would
once again remain stable for the time being.
In the end, the allies had about 60, 000 casualties
and the Germans had about 35,000.
The town of Ypres had been largely reduced to piles
of rubble. 3
The next major battle in Ypres was in the fall of
1917. This was the third battle of Ypres, also known
as Passendale.

Duffy, Michael. “Battles: Second Battle of

Ypres, 1915.” 2000. <www.firstworldwar.com>