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Battle of the Lys and the Escaut

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Battle of the Lys and the Escaut, 1918
Part of theHundred Days Offensiveof theFirst World War

British and Belgian soldiers outside a German cafeteria called "Kaiser Kaffee" in Menin, October 1918.
Date20 October – 11 November 1918
Location
East Flanders,Belgium
50°51′N03°36′E/ 50.850°N 3.600°E/50.850; 3.600
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
BelgiumBelgium
British Empire
France
United States		 German Empire
Commanders and leaders
BelgiumKing Albert I
United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandHerbert Plumer
French Third RepublicAntoine Baucheron de Boissoudy		 German EmpireErich Ludendorff
German EmpireCrown Prince Rupprecht
German EmpireFriedrich Sixt von Armin
German EmpireFerdinand von Quast

TheBattle of the Lys and the Escautwas the third and last phase of theSecond Battle of Belgium(French:2ème Bataille de Belgique) or the Ypres-Lys Offensive, and took place in Belgium between 20 October and 11 November 1918.

Background[edit]

In August 1918, the Allied Command launchedan offensiveacross the Western Front. In Belgium theGroupe d'Armées des Flandres(GAF) was formed under the command of KingAlbert I of Belgium,with the French GeneralJean Degoutteas Chief of Staff, comprising twelve Belgian divisions, ten divisions of the BritishSecond Armyand six divisions of the FrenchSixth Army.

In the first phase of the offensive, the German4th Armywas defeated in theFifth Battle of Ypres(28 September – 2 October)and Passchendale was retaken.[1]Mud and a collapse of the supply-system had stopped the advance in early October but by the middle of the month the GAF launched the second phase of the offensive, theBattle of Courtrai.[2][3]The French tookRoulers,the BelgiansOstend,BrugesandZeebruggeand the BritishCourtrai,LilleandDouai.[4]

The advance exhausted the Allied troops and the37thand91stdivisions of the US Army were sent to Belgium to support the third phase of the offensive, which had as its goal driving the Germans east of theEscaut (Scheldt) River.

Order of Battle of the Allied Army (North to South)[edit]

The following forces were assigned to the Allied army:[5]69

Battle[edit]

In the North, the Germans had taken up positions behind theDeinze-Bruges Canaland put up fierce resistance against Belgian attacks between 20 and 31 October. On 2 November, the Germans were forced to fall back on theGhent–Terneuzen Canal,which they held until the end of the war. By 10 November, the Belgian Army had reached the western outskirts ofGhent.

In the South, the British army advanced steadily.Valenciennes was takenon 2 November, and Mons was reached on 10 November. Here,George Edwin EllisonandGeorge Lawrence Pricewere killed. They were the last British and British Empire soldiers to be killed during the First World War.

In the Center, the 91st US Division suffered heavy losses against strong German resistance in Spitaals Bosschen nearWaregem.The French 6th Army and 37th US Division advanced with less difficulties between the Lys and Escaut, but encountered stiff resistance when they reached the Escaut on 1 November. Several attempts to cross the river in the night between 1 and 2 November failed, only the 37th US Division succeeded in gaining a bridgehead atOudenaarde. Between 3 November and 8 November, the allies were forced to rest and reorganize their forces. On 8 and 9 November the French launched a new attack, which was repulsed by the Germans, but which nevertheless resulted in a new bridgehead between Oudenaarde andMelden.[6]

Aftermath[edit]

A new offensive to cross the Escaut which aimed at reaching Brussels was planned for 10 November, but this was cancelled when it became clear an armistice was imminent.

The German retreat had not been a rout, but was relatively well organized with very mobile "Maschinen Gewehr Kompanien" attacking the advancing Allies and which inflicted many casualties. The Belgian Army, for instance, lost one-fifth of its forces between 4 October and 11 November 1918, one-third of all the losses it sustained throughout the whole war.[7]

The sudden end of the war came as a surprise to many Allied soldiers, as well as German soldiers. This contributed to theStab-in-the-back myth,which stated that the German Army was not yet defeated on the battlefield, but was instead betrayed by socialist and Jewish politicians on the home front.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^Edmonds & Maxwell-Hyslop 1947,pp. 1–2.
  2. ^Sheffield 2011,p. 318.
  3. ^Edmonds & Maxwell-Hyslop 1947,pp. 269–271.
  4. ^Sheffield 2011,p. 329.
  5. ^AFGG 1928a,p. 310.
  6. ^AFGG 1928a,pp. 311–318.
  7. ^Osprey Publishing,The Belgian Army in World War I(2009) pp. 36–37

References[edit]

  • Edmonds, J. E.;Maxwell-Hyslop, R. (1993) [1947].Military Operations France and Belgium 1918: 26th September – 11th November The Advance to Victory.History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Vol. V (Imperial War Museum & Battery Press ed.). London:HMSO.ISBN0-89839-192-X.
  • Sheffield, G.(2011).The Chief: Douglas Haig and the British Army.London: Aurum Press.ISBN978-1-84513-691-8.
  • Tome VII, La campagne offensive de 1918 et la marche au Rhin (18 juillet 1918 – 28 juin 1919), Deuxième volume. La campagne offensive de 1918 et la marche au Rhin (26 septembre 1918 – 28 juin 1919)[The Offensive Campaign of 1918 and the Advance to the Rhine (18 July 1918 – 28 June 1919): 26 September 1918 – 28 June 1919]. Les armées françaises dans la Grande guerre. Vol. II (online scan ed.). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. 1928a [1923].OCLC772837636– via Bibliothèque nationale de France.

External links[edit]

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