During the tragic days of the battle of the Yser (from the 17th to the 31st of October 1914) the bridge-head, created round Dixmude was preserved in spite of the many furious assaults of the enemy. It was the witness each day, each hour even, of incredible and superhuman tenacity and endurance on the part of the Belgian and French troops. Those brave soldiers were commanded by energetic, resolute and iron willed chiefs, whose fame has long classed them among the most accomplished men of the war. Let us suffice to mention the celebrated and famous names of Ronarch, Meiser and Jacques.
Dixmude.—The flour-mill (La minoterie) in 1916.
Dixmude. The flour-mill (La minoterie) in 1917.
The corn-mill, in this position acted the double part of observatory and shelter for the defensive reserves. An observer connected with Colonel De Vleeschouwer, who was in command of the Belgian artillery in front of Dixmude, could, while placed on the platform of the building, direct the firing on all telling points, such as batteries of the enemy in action, troops on the march, preparations for attacks, etc....
The enemy did not allow our artillery such an advantage for long; the corn-mill was partly taken by the German batteries, which took great pleasure in directing blazing fires on that colossal building. The observer was forced to abandon his post, but nevertheless not without the satisfaction of having registered to the best advantage and conditions the first fires of our artillery.
The corn-mill, from that time, was simply utilized as the nest for the reserves of the bridge-head. A company, to which a platoon was sometimes added, composed its garrison.
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The night of the 25th to the 26th of October 1914 was marked, in the resistance of Dixmude, by a unique and singular incident.