The Blow on the Yser, November 10, 1914, the sixth in a series of six postcards on the German invasion of France and the forming of the Western Front. The snaking bodies of French commander Joffre and German Kaiser Wilhelm turned to the north after the Battle of the Marne, shaping the Race to the Sea. Joffre has struck the Kaiser a roundhouse blow, sending his helmet flying. In the Battle of the Yser, the Belgian army, determined to hold native ground, inundated the coastal lowland along the Yser River. Behind Joffre's head is the small corner of Belgium they held throughout the war.
From L'Attaque & la Riposte — Originale présentation des phases de la Guerre
Ehrmann, Édition Lorraine, a set of six postcards and envelope.
Over maps of the French theater of operations on the western front in 1914 — Luxemburg, Belgium, northern France — cartoon figures of the French and German armies struggle. General Joffre represents the forces he commands. His adversary's upward-pointing mustache indicates Kaiser Wilhelm.

No. 6. 10 Novembre [Le Coup de l'Yser]



From "L'Attaque & la Riposte — Originale présentation des phases de la Guerre" — The Attack and the Retort — Original Presentation of the Phases of the War — a set of six postcards and envelope by Ehrmann, Édition Lorraine. No. 6. Le Coup de l'Yser, the Blow on the Yser.



The titles of the cards appear only on the envelope: No. 6. Le Coup de l'Yser.



1re Série



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Edition Lorraine

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Saturday, October 17, 1914

"Reaching the Yser on the 15th of October [1914], the Belgian army was attacked the following day. On this day, indeed, the Germans endeavored to dislodge the French Marine Fusiliers, who had no artillery, from Dixmude; it was the Belgian artillery, so renowned for the skill of its gun-layers and efficiency of its fire, which supported the French. On the 17th German shells were falling on the whole line of the advanced Belgian positions between Dixmude and the sea."

Quotation Context

The Belgian Army held the left end of the Allied line on the North Sea, behind the Yser canal in Flanders. The reclaimed land was flat, and much of it was below sea level at high tide. The water table was a foot or two below the surface, making it difficult to dig trenches. Having been driven across their country since early August by the German advance, the army was demoralized. The army held the last morsel of unoccupied Belgium: the French border was barely a dozen miles behind them. Supported by French Marines, with British forces strengthening their position on their right in Ypres, the Belgians awaited French reinforcements. The Germans began an desperate assault to break through the Belgian line that would last until October 30. Excerpt from an address by Carton de Wiart in London, June, 1915.

Source

The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. II, 1914, pp. 318, 319, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920

Tags

Flanders, Lille, Calais, Ostend, Ypres, Yser, Ypren, map, Passchendaele, First Battle of Ypres, Second Battle of Ypres, Third Battle of Ypres, Battle of Passchendaele, 1914, October, 1914-10-17