Nevertheless, all these troops, in presence of the strenuous exertions of the enemy, formed too thin a line, a line too extended to allow any breaking.
At that time and at the request of Field Marshal French the transportation of the English Army from the Aisne to the Lys region was decided upon.
The valiant Belgian Army which had left Antwerp on Oct. 9 thanks to the protection of the British and French marines was also on its way to the Yser region to reinforce the barrier which had to be created and maintained.
These moves took time. The English Army was only to come into action by Oct. 20. On the other hand, the Belgian Army, which had been fighting for three months, was momentarily lacking ammunition. Gen. Joffre ordered a new effort.
On Oct. 4 he had intrusted to Gen. Foch the mission of co-ordinating the operations of the armies in the north.
On the 18th he placed at his disposal reinforcements which, continually increasing until Nov. 12, were to form the French army of Belgium under the command of Gen. d'Urbal.
This army, in conjunction with the Belgians and an English corps, was henceforth to fight between the sea and the Lys River.
The Journal de Genève, judging this phase of the war, has written that the French General Staff, by shifting so swiftly such huge bodies of troops, gave evidence that it had the situation splendidly in hand.
The result of this effort was a total failure of the German attack in Flanders.