On Nov. 11 at 6:3o A.M., on a dark and misty morning, the German artillery opened a terrific fire, increasing in intensity as 9 A.M. approached, at which hour the German infantry, under cover of the mist, advanced to the assault on the Lys-Polygon wood front. The British were weary with three weeks' continuous fighting without reliefs, the French nearly as tired. But, in spite of the German numerical superiority-23 divisions to 94, with cavalry in about the same proportion—the Allied line resisted the enemy's repeated assaults except at two places—just north of the Menin canal, where a detachment of Dubois's IX. Corps was driven back, and just north of the Menin road. South of and across this road, where the German 4th Division and Winckler's Guard Division attacked, a front of about 2m., stood Wing's composite division of Smith-Dorrien's II. Corps, its battalions so weak that it was about the strength of a brigade, the 2nd K. 0. Scottish Borderers on the right, then the 2nd R. Irish Rifles, 1st Gordon Highlanders, st Cheshire, 2nd Bedfordshire, 1st Lincolnshire, 1st Northum berland Fusiliers, 4th Royal Fusiliers, and 2nd Duke of Welling ton's. North of the road was Fitzclarence's brigade of the ist Division (the 1st Scots Guards, 2nd Cameron Highlanders and st Black Watch), Soo men in all, with the Ist King's of Monro's division in Polygon wood beyond them. By the mere weight of the advance of the German 2nd Guards Brigade (six battalions of the 1st and 3rd Foot Guards Regiments), the front and sup port lines of Fitzclarence's three Scots battalions were over whelmed. The attack passed over them, but fire from the 1st King's in Polygon wood, from three strong points (small defended posts with all-round defence) which formed Fitzclarence's third line of defence, and from various battalion headquarters in farms put in a state of defence, then held the Germans up and took heavy toll of them. About 400 or zoo, however, pressed on into
the Nonne Bosschen (wood), only to be met by the point-blank fire of Haig's field artillery in action beyond it; and the rifle-fire of some artillery men and engineers, including cooks and grooms, hastily collected. The final discomfiture of the German Guards was completed by a counter-attack of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire through the Nonne Bosschen.
On the next day, Nov. 12, the weather began to break and become wintry; nevertheless, on this and the following days the Germans made several further attacks against the French in the Wytschaete area and against Wing's division south of the Menin road. These did not alter the situa tion, and the fighting then died down, and both sides set about completing their defences. With the end of the First Battle of Ypres, on the 22nd, open warfare ceased, and the operations of siege warfare, so-called trench warfare, begun on the Aisne in September, prevailed along the whole western front.
Opposed to more than double its own numbers, the British Expeditionary Force had held its own by sheer good shooting and superior training, and the skilful use by Gen. Sir Douglas Haig of his very small reserve. But such heavy losses had been incurred in the five weeks' battle and in the fighting at La Bassee and Armentieres, which went on during the same period, that of the original British Expeditionary Force of fully trained officers and men very few remained, and for the future the empire was de pendent on three divisions from overseas garrisons, on Territorial and New Army divisions, and dominion troops.
BIBLiooRAPHY.—"Military Operations, France and Belgium, 1914," History of the Great War, vol. ii. (1925), where there is a bibl.; Gen. Dubois, Deux Ans de Commandement sur le front de France (1920) ; Die Schlacht an der Yser and bei Ypern (1917), issued by the German General Staff. (J. E. E.)