On October 24, 1914, the Germans advanced upon the allied extreme
left; but were successfully repulsed between Zonnebeke and Poelcapelle.
Later in the day the Germans renewed their attack and compelled
the allied troops to retire some distance.
The advance on the allied left was continued on Sunday, October
25, 1914. Repeatedly the Germans succeeded in piercing the allied
lines; but at one time, even though they had broken through, a
momentary lack of reserves compelled them to retreat to avoid capture.
A savage enveloping attack was made during the night, north of
Zandvoorde, where again the Germans broke through the allied lines,
but were unable to maintain their advantage through failure of
reenforcements to come up in time. The Leicester Brigade were shelled
out of their trenches and were obliged to fall back to the south
of the River Lys.
During the following three days--October 26, 27, 28, 1914--artillery
fire was resorted to and desultory fighting and skirmishes along
the entire line resulted in no noteworthy advantage to either
belligerent.
Thursday, October 29, 1914, opened with clear and bracing weather
which promised to continue throughout the day. The German attack
which had been preparing for the past three days now broke like
an irresistible wave upon the salient of the Gheluvelt crossroads,
where the British First Corps was stationed. The first division
was driven back from its trenches and after that the line swayed
forward and backward for hours, but by two o'clock in the afternoon
the position remained unchanged.
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