GAPAARD. END OF VILLAGE, GOING TOWARDS HOUTHEM
HOLLEBEKE CHÂTEAU, BEFORE THE WAR. IT HAS BEEN RAZED TO THE GROUND (photo, Antony, Ypres)
Go through Houthem, which was razed to the ground. Beyond an armoured shelter built against the brick wall of a house, the road turns to the left. Cross the canal by the temporary bridge.
The old bed of the canal is marked by some crumbling blocks of concrete. A few yards further on, take the level-crossing over the Ypres-Lille Railway. It was on this line that on October 22 and 23, 1914, the Germans brought up an armoured train which bombarded Ypres with incendiary shells, causing the first serious damage to the town.
A few hundred yards beyond the railway turn to the right at the village of Kortewilde, where a few wooden houses are being erected among the ruins. After crossing a number of little bridges over the Gaverbeck canal, the road, rising slightly, turns to the right. At this turning the Château (photo above) and village of Hollebeke ought to be visible on the left, but this part of the battlefield is in so chaotic a condition that neither road, canal, nor village can be distinguished.
WHERE GHELUVELT USED TO STAND, ON THE ROAD TO MENIN
During the first battle (November, 1914) the Germans launched attacks in great force between Hollebeke and Messines, and captured both these places. Hollebeke was retaken on July 13, 1917, during the first phase of the great British offensive for the clearing of the town. After being lost again in April, 1918, Hollebeke was finally recaptured by the Allies in October.