NIEUPORT.

The small town of Nieuport is of very ancient origin. As early as the 9th century its site was occupied by a castle built by the Counts of Flanders to defend the coast against the Normans. The burgh, first known as Santhoven, took the name of Nieuport(Neoportus)after the inhabitants of Lombaertzyde had migrated there. Situated on the Yser, the town served as a port for Ypres, and was an important business centre. It was besieged by the English in 1383 and by the French in 1489.

After a long period of stagnation, the enclosing walls were pulled down in 1860. However, with laudable respect for the past, the Municipality saw to it that the charming old-world aspect of the place was carefully preserved, by severely controlling the plans of all new constructions, and by prohibiting the use of materials not in harmony with the buildings already existent.

Nieuport, of which nothing remains but a few scattered ruins, was the scene of desperate fighting.

With Dixmude, it was one of the two main centres in the Yser defences, these two towns being, in fact, the bastions of the line of resistance.

Amongst other things, Nieuport possessed an elaborate system of lock-gates and sluices, by means of which the water in the canals throughout maritime Flanders was regulated.

It was easier to defend than Dixmude. The canals and water-courses which united in its port, separated the town from the enemy. It could, moreover, be more effectively protected by the guns of the Allied Fleet.

In October 1914, the Belgian 2nd Division held the outlying defences at Lombartzyde and Mannekensvere (east of St. Georges).

On October 19, it was attacked by the German 4th Reserve Division. Three consecutive attacks against Lombartzyde having failed, the enemy began to shell Nieuport with their heavy artillery.

Renewing their attacks, the enemy captured Lombartzyde, but were unable to debouch. Crushed by the bombardment, Nieuport fell into ruins.

From October 18 to 25, in spite of the heavy bombardment, the Belgian 7th Infantry Regiment held the banks of the Yser, to the east, in front of St. Georges, near the Union Bridge, which the Germans, debouching from Mannekensvere, tried in vain to carry. The Belgian batteries, often withoutcover, stubbornly supported the defenders. On several occasions, guns were hauled up on the river bank into the infantry lines, whence their direct hits smashed the farmhouses and German machine-guns concealed in them.

Panorama of the ruins of Nieuport, seen from King Albert's HÃ´tel.

The enemy crossed the Yser at Schoorbakke, outflanking St. Georges from the south, which had to be evacuated.

Instantly, batteries of the Belgian 5th Brigade, brought up by hand, opened a rapid fire at short range with high explosive shells upon St. Georges and the approaches to the canal, where the enemy were concentrating.

The Defences of Nieuport

Mowed down where they stood, the assailants vainly attempted to debouch from the village, where piles of their dead lay among the ruins.The 14th Line Regiment, which had meanwhile relieved the 7th, was able to withdraw in good order.

At nightfall, the batteries were gradually withdrawn behind the railway whence they helped first to hold, then to force back the German attack upon Ramscappelle.

The defenders being now exhausted, and the enemy's attack gathering strength, the Belgian General Staff gave orders to flood the area between the Yser and the railway embankment. The road to Calais, via Nieuport, was thus definitely barred to the invaders.

The Germans revenged themselves by bombarding Nieuport, attempting at the same time to slip along the dunes of Lombartzyde, towards the town, in order to seize the locks. Before the unflinching resistance of the defenders supported by the fire of the British and French monitors, the attack broke down.

Temporary Foot-bridge across the Yser at Nieuport.

Nieuport, the Grand'Place and the Markets, before the War.(Photo Nels.)

Nieuport, the Grand'Place and the Markets, before the War.

(Photo Nels.)

At the beginning of November Lombartzyde, in the northern sector, was the scene of uninterrupted fighting, with alternating advances and retreats.

In December a powerful offensive, having for its objective the capture of the German defences along the Belgian sea-coast, was begun, with General de Mitry in command of the Nieuport forces.

Ruins of the Grand'Place in 1919.(See photo above.)

On December 16, the French carried the western outskirts of Lombartzyde in a single rush, and reached the first houses of St. Georges. The enemy, however, resisted desperately, and progress was slow. By the endof the month, the Moroccan Brigade succeeded, with great difficulty, in reaching the Grande Dune. On January 7, the 4th Regiment of Zouaves scaled the Mamelon Vert. A few days later the French Marines, who had been relieved in the Steenstraate sector, by Tirailleurs and dismounted cavalry units of the 2nd Corps, attacked the Grande Dune and Lombartzyde. After extremely desperate fighting, entailing heavy losses, the Grande Dune was captured.

Nieuport. The ruined church.

The attack was stayed, and the French clung to the thin strip of land on the right bank of the Yser.

The bombardment of Nieuport increased in violence. Each morning, the huge 16Â½in. shells wrecked the houses and public buildings, and crushed in the cellars where the defenders had taken shelter. One after another, the 12th century Church, the Abbey on the Dunes, the "Halles" with their graceful belfry, and the massive Templars' Tower crashed to the ground.

Meanwhile, the battle continued to rage all around the town.

On May 9, a German attack from Lombartzyde to St. Georges was broken, and on the following day the French marines carried "W" and Union Farms, with fine dash, and destroyed the enemy's blockhouses.

Nieuport. Ruins of the HÃ´tel-de-Ville.

In 1916 (January 24), after a bombardment of more than 20,000 shells, the Germans attempted to debouch from their positions near the mouth of the Yser. Repulsed with heavy loss, they once more deluged the unhappy town with shells.

In 1917, the British prepared their great Spring and Summer offensives, extending from east of Arras to the region of Ypres, and relieved their French comrades in the sector stretching from St. Georges to the sea.

They had hardly taken up their positions, when the Germans attacked (July 10). Thrown back into their trenches before Lombartzyde, the enemy renewed their attacks with increased violence, and forced back the British in the direction of Nieuport. The latter managed, however, to keep a bridgehead at the exit from the town.

Meanwhile, in the Dunes sector, two British Battalions, in spite of their gallant resistance, were forced back upon the river. Of these, only four officers and seventy men escaped, by swimming across during the night.

The Germans on the right bank of the river occupied the Dunes.

The pressure on Nieuport increased, but the Yser remained impassable.

In 1918 (September 28), the great liberating offensive, under the command of King Albert, was launched in the plains, to the east of Dixmude, and Ypres. On October 16, the Belgian 5th Division, east of Nieuport, charged from the famous islets in front of the Yser. The enemy, badly shaken, retreated, closely followed by the Belgians, who harried their rear-guards and completely swept the coast to a point beyond Ostend.

Nieuport, terribly ravaged by four years of the fiercest fighting at its very gates, was at last delivered.

On January 25, 1920, in the presence of King Albert and the Burgomaster, President PoincarÃ© conferred theCroix de Guerrewith the following mention on the indomitable city:

"Martyred City, involved in all the vicissitudes of a desperate struggle lasting four years, Nieuport maintained intact her faith in the future, in spite of all her trials.

Her ruins bear witness to the heroism of her defenders and to the bravery of her inhabitants."

Nieuport. Furnes Canal Lock(Nov. 11, 1915)Inset:Lock-Keeper Geraert, who flooded the Plain(See p.51.)

Nieuport. Furnes Canal Lock(Nov. 11, 1915)

Inset:Lock-Keeper Geraert, who flooded the Plain(See p.51.)

The Templars' Tower.Before the War, in November 1915, and in 1919.

On reaching the wharves, take the first street on the right, then the second on the left, to the Grand'Place, in which the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame used to stand.

Consecrated in 1163, this Gothic edifice had retained portions of the original 12th century church. The northern doorway was 15th century, and the main entrance 16th century. The tower was somewhat massive. In the interior, a 15th century rood-loft, the high altar (1630), the 17th century stalls (by Desmet), a 15th century pulpit, an ancient tabernacle (by Jean Aert of Bruges-1733), and several old tombs, were noteworthy.

Nothing remains of the church but broken fragments of walls and the ruined belfry. In the surrounding graveyard, among the broken tombstones, Belgian and French soldiers lie buried. Their graves were often devastated by the shells.

In the same square stood the 14th-15th centuryCloth-Hall, whose belfry was restored in recent times. Only a portion of the faÃ§ade remains.

At the end of the Square, opposite the Markets, take Rue du MarchÃ©, then the first street on the right (Rue Longue). At the corner of these two streets istheHÃ´tel-de-Ville(in ruins) which used to contain portraits of the kings of Spain and the arch-dukes.

Continue to the end of Rue Longue, where, on the right, arethe ruins of theTemplars' Tower. The square donjon is all that remains of a commandery which formerly belonged to the Templars, and which was destroyed during the siege of 1383. Behind, are vestiges of the ancient city ramparts.

Return to the port by the first (very wide) street on the right, which leads to the Ostend Road Bridge across the Yser. To the right of the bridge aretheNieuport lockswhich served, during the War, to inundate the surrounding country, being opened at high water and closed at low water(see photo, p.50).

Lombartzyde. Avenue de la Reine, before the War(Photo Nels.)

1Â½ kms. further on, the tourist reaches the site on which Lombartzyde used to stand(2 kms.); the scarcely visible ruins are now overrun with grass and weeds. A few huts and a wooden church have recently been built.

Lombartzyde (the Lombards' Corner) owed its name and prosperity to the merchants and bankers, many of them Lombards, who settled there in the Middle-Ages. The town was, however, soon deserted in favour of Nieuport. Its large plain church, of no particular interest, contained a statue of the Virgin, much venerated by the fisher-people, who often visited it in the summer-time. Lombartzyde, formerly a sea-port, was later cut off from the sea by the Dunes, and Lombartzyde-Bainsâ€”the seaside portion of the townâ€”grew up there. The steam-trams running between Nieuport and Ostend may be taken to reach it.

Lombartzyde. Avenue de la Reine, in 1919.(See photo above.)

Lombartzyde. Graves and trenches on the site of the Church (entirely razed).

Situated about 1 km. in front of Nieuport, on the right bank, Lombartzyde was occupied on September 15, 1914, by the advanced posts of the Belgian 2nd Division.

In danger of being turned, it had to be abandoned on the 20th, at about 3 p.m., together with Groote-Bamburg Farm, likewise situated in front of Nieuport.

For a short time the town was reoccupied by the French, but finally remained in German hands. Neither the attack on the Grande-Dune in December 1914, nor the Belgian advance to the outskirts of the town a little later, could drive the enemy out.

Groote-Bamburg Farm, formerly belonging to the lay monks, lies to the east of Lombartzyde;there is no carriage road, but a foot-path, starting opposite the church, leads there in 20 minutes. Of the farm, nothing remains but a maze of trenches, wire entanglements and concrete shelters.

Opposite the church, the old Avenue de la Reine (photos, p.52) leads tothe Dunes, the importance of whose defences will become apparent(photo below).

Lombartzyde. The Mamelon Vert.

Road to Westende Bains.ARROW NO. 1:Turning to the left, tourists leave the main road from Westende to Ostend (See sketch below.)

ARROW NO. 2:Turn to the right, towards the ruins of a large hotel.

ARROW NO. 3:Take the road to the left, passing near this hotel.

Road from Westende to Westende-Bains. The arrows correspond with those on the photos above.

Keep along the road to Westende (1Â½ kms.), a small village situated on the road from Nieuport to Ostend; steam-trams run between the latter towns.

The village was entirely razed, and the site cut up with trenches.

Westende-Bains is 1 km. further along the coast.

The Germans installed themselves in both places, which accordingly became targets for the British monitors.

Beyond Westende-Village, take the rough road on the left (photo above). Before reaching the ruins of Westende-Bains (2 kms.) (photo above), turn to the right, then take the left-hand road leading to the sea dike (photo above), which follow on the right, in the direction of Ostend.

Before setting out for Ostend, visitthe ruins ofWestende-Bains, intersected with trenches.

Westende-Bains. Machine-Gun Post and Electrified Barbed Wire.

The cellars of the houses were consolidated, and turned into shelters and battery positions.

All along the dike, and along the whole coast runs a line of barbed-wire, through which the Germans caused a high-tension electric current to pass(photo above).

Follow the dike, bordered on the right with trenches, numerous observation-posts and concrete machine-gun shelters.

Westende-Bains. The sea-front.Among the ruins of the houses: 88 m/m guns in shelters.

Middelkerke-Bains.The Promenade along the dike. On the left, in the foreground: The Entrance to the Kursaal.Below: The Kursaal, used by the Germans as an observation-post.

Middelkerke-Bains.The Promenade along the dike. On the left, in the foreground: The Entrance to the Kursaal.

Below: The Kursaal, used by the Germans as an observation-post.

Middelkerke-Bains(3 kms.), formerly a small seaside resort, is next reached. All the hotels and villas are in ruins, their fronts having been either ripped open by shells or blackened by fires. The Germans organised powerful defence-works there, in view of Allied air raids and the possible landing of troops. Observation and signalling posts, as well as shelters for machine-guns and searchlights are to be seen all along the dike.

The Kursaal, an isolated building standing in front of the village, was turned into a blockhouse, facing seawards; same includes two superimposed observation-posts, a signalling post, and machine-gun shelters.

Continue along the dike, noticing the observation-posts, machine-gun and small calibre artillery emplacements,as far as the"Aachen" Batteryon the right.

This is the first of the formidable coast-defence batteries organised by the Germans. The itinerary takes the tourist to most of these batteries, all of which were fitted with heavy guns.

They were served by standard or narrow-gauge tracks, some having as many as three tracks of different gauges.

At the time of the Armistice the Germans blew up a large number of the shelters, before leaving, and destroyed most of the guns which they had been unable to evacuate.

They also removed all apparatus from the observation and telemetric posts.

Blockhouse of the Aachen Battery(north-east of Middelkerke-Bains.)

Blockhouse of the Aachen Battery

(north-east of Middelkerke-Bains.)

An enormous blockhouse, situated on the left of the "Aachen"Battery, contained an observation-post and the post-of-commandment of the officer in charge of the firing. Near by, are the four 6in. armour-protected gunson concrete platforms, with concrete personnel and ammunition shelters on either side. In front of the battery, near the beach, were anti-aircraft machine-gun posts.

General View of the Aachen Battery(north-east of Middelkerke-Bains.)

The "Aachen" Battery was connected by infantry defence-works to the next or"Antwerpen" Battery, situated on top of the dune. The latter comprised four 4in. guns in armoured turrets, with sand-covered concrete shelters behind. In front, on the dike, are machine-gun emplacements.

The"Beseler" Battery, next reached, comprises four 6in. guns on concrete platforms, with circular armour-plate protection. On each side two elevated emplacements served as telemetric and observation-posts.

Further on isa large infantry entrenchment, with a shelter on the dike for the searchlight, and an emplacement on either side for machine-guns or small calibre artillery.

One of the Beseler Battery's guns.

One of the Cecilia Battery's guns.

The Cecilia Battery,photographed from an aeroplane at 13,000 feet, in July, 1916.

Next comesthe"Cecilia" Battery, similar to the "Beseler" Battery, except that the guns are longer, and the armour-plate protection rectangular.

Having passeda series of observation-posts, including that of the"Tirpitz" Battery, with its telemetric installation and machine-gun shelters,the tourist entersMariakerke-Bains(6 kms.), a small seaside resort in the suburbs of Ostend.

Follow the tram-lines along Avenue LÃ©opold, separated from the dike by a row of houses, toOstend(2Â½ kms.) coming out opposite the entrance tothe oldWellington Fort.

Observation-Post and Telemetric Station of the Tirpitz Battery, near Mariakerke-Bains.(See pages63-64.)

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