6.—The “Great Redan” at Nieuport.

From the old fortified position of Nieuport, the part situated North of the harbour solely remained after the dismantling had been decided by the Belgian State, in 1859.

Unproperly called during the war “Great Redan” that work—if one wants to be accurate—is formed of a non reveted horne work which must have belonged to the old fortification of Nieuport rebuilt in 1793, and preceded with a half moon work constructed after 1815.

The whole place, in fact, had to be reconstructed following the Vauban system, with the funds accordingly allotted by the Paris treaty of 1815.

The abandonment of those remains of fortifications since 1859 had evidently reduced them to mere ruins, when the battle of the Yser was fought in 1914. If the “Great Redan” was not utilized during the battle as firing line, at least it afforded a magnificent place of arms, to shelter the reserve troops for the defence of the “Little Bridge-head of Nieuport”.

The latter place also known as the “Bridge-head of Palingbrug” extended itself from the right bank of the channel, at the hight of the old lighthouse to the brickwork (Plasschendaele canal) passing by the kilometer 14.500 of the Nieuport Westende road.

It is from the evening of the 20^th of October 1914 onward that the defence clung to that position.

To spare his men, Lieutenant General Dossin was contrived to flood the “Groot Noord Nieuwland Polder” up, by letting in the seawater in to the creek of Nieuwendamme, the dikes of which had been previously pierced. This inundation was stretched in the evening of the 21^st of October.

After the epic fights at Lombarzyde and Groot Bamburg-Farm, in which heroism was lavishly displayed by our men, during the day and night of the 22^nd, the French troops under General Grossetti came at dawn on the 23^rd to relieve the Belgian troops in Nieuport.

They were to resume the offensive movement the Belgian troops had started, but the foe having pierced the line at Saint-Georges and Tervaete, compelled the staff to withdraw the troops from Nieuport to take position on the bridge-head of Palingbrug, in order to dispose of a maximum of reserve to be arrayed on the threatened front and also to draft the counter-attacks which were more and more urging.

On the evening of the 26^th, Colonel Claudon, commanding the French troops at Palingbrug, judging his contingent too weak to hold on that position, retired on the left bank of the Channel, in doing so he gave up the bridge-head, the Great Redan, the five bridges and the locks, in one word that retreat meant the abandonment of the key of the whole hydrographic system of the region.

Fortunately, the enemy not only worn out but much more concerned with the center of his front of attack, did not venture to keep in touch with the troops at Nieuport and failed to notice the leaving of the right bank of the river Yser, of which he might have so easely drawn advantage. The German, perhaps still believing in the existence of the fortress of Nieuport, did not attack.

Up to the 3^d of November 1914 the Palingbrug was left abandoned. Though, it is during that period of time that the inundation was stretched. A first attempt took place on the morning of the 27^th of October, but was a failure, it is only at 5 a. m. on the 28^th that we managed to open and keep it so during the incoming tide, the old lock of Furnes.

The inroad of water through that lock having been reckoned unsufficient, the Belgian G.H.Q. decided to make use of the Noordvaart lock, but the latter was since the evening of the 26^th right in “No man’s land”, position which rendered the operation most dangerous.

Under the protection of 40 cyclists carabiniers who had to cross over in walking on the Furnes lock gates (the bridge having been blown up, by order of Colonel Claudon after the retreat of the 26^th), Captain Umé, of the Royal Engineers successfully managed to open the locks of Noordvaart. The following nights the operations were renewed and gradually the sheet of water rose and rose. Awestruck by that mystery, the enemy, fortunately realised it but too late.

At last, on the 3^d of November, while the Yser battle had proved a victory, all along the Belgian line, reconnaissances were carried out in front of the advanced posts.

On November the 4^th, detachment of the 2^d Army Division occupied again the bridge-head of Palingbrug and the Redan, which we pledge our word was never tred on by German heels.

A few time afterwards an offensive movement took place and was undertaken by the Franco-Belgian troops, that operation forced the enemy to give up the channel North of the “Geleïde”. The front was then fixed on a position baptized “The Main bridge-head of Nieuport” on a line parallel to the channel and at about 600 meters East of the latter, running round the Western side of Lombartzyde and prolonging itself almost parallel to Plasschendaele canal up to the Boterdijk.

That front never knew any alterations till July 1917.

The 10th of July 1917, at about 8 o’clock p. m., after a regular bombardment of more than 10 hours duration, all along the Nieuport sector, the enemy rushed the positions held, only since a few days, by the British Infantry. The fight lasted the whole night long and after the most bloody hand to hand fights, the attackers succeeded to enter the British trenches between the beach and the Geleïde and throwing the occupants in the channel, those who swam across escaped from death or capture.

From up the 11 July onward the Nieuport front was running along the channel right up to Geleïde river, where it was hinged to the primitive front, which determined attacks had successfully brought to its original point.

Later the “Redan” and its surrounding area were subjected to almost daily bombardments, which soon gave them a bloody fame.

The powder-mill of the old work, thanks to the superimposed vaults, which were forming its ceiling, managed to resist to all kind of German shells, which made it deserve the nickname of Rubber house. It was occupied during the operations both as battle headquarters and as advanced dressing station.

In March 1918, the Belgian front had to be stretched out, in order to relieve allied divisions. To avoid the weakening of our resistance, our front having been thus considerably lengthened and the occupation having become very thin, the G. H. Q. decided to stretch a further inundation which allowed to gain up several outposts.

At Nieuport, the Redan became the front line. It was hooked North by the “huitrière” (oyster-pond), fronting the West bank of the channel, and South at “Dupuis and de Luc” trench.

Those three points d’appui formed an important point of resistance: they were covering the locks. They were garrisoned by a battalion; its duty was to hold at all costs and it did it.

At last, the Belgian offensive was launched from up the southern part of our front on the 28^th of September 1918. North of Dixmude our troops remained momentarily waiting and the position of Nieuport had still to suffer severe bombardments. But the last occupants of the Redan stood them up lightly, only anxiously waiting their turn to rush victoriously over the parapet. The kick off was given on the 17^th of October and the very same day they were able to admire with a legitimate pride the magnificent enemy artillery, which had made them suffer so much and that the Germans had left them, the guns still loaded.