Instantly, batteries of the Belgian 5th Brigade, brought up by hand, opened a rapid fire at short range with high explosive shells upon St. Georges and the approaches to the canal, where the enemy were concentrating.
The Defences of Nieuport
Mowed down where they stood, the assailants vainly attempted to debouch from the village, where piles of their dead lay among the ruins. The 14th Line Regiment, which had meanwhile relieved the 7th, was able to withdraw in good order.
At nightfall, the batteries were gradually withdrawn behind the railway whence they helped first to hold, then to force back the German attack upon Ramscappelle.
The defenders being now exhausted, and the enemy's attack gathering strength, the Belgian General Staff gave orders to flood the area between the Yser and the railway embankment. The road to Calais, via Nieuport, was thus definitely barred to the invaders.
The Germans revenged themselves by bombarding Nieuport, attempting at the same time to slip along the dunes of Lombartzyde, towards the town, in order to seize the locks. Before the unflinching resistance of the defenders supported by the fire of the British and French monitors, the attack broke down.
Temporary Foot-bridge across the Yser at Nieuport.