On 4th August 1914 the Germans invaded Belgium. As Great Britain had guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium, the first British troops came to Oostende on 8th August 1914. After the fall of Luik, the Bel-gian army retreated to Antwerp, where they were to wait for the help of the British. On 24th September 1914 Oostende was bombed by a zeppelin, which caused only small damage in a town packed with refugees. After the fall of Antwerp on 10th October 1914 the situation there looked critical for the Bel-gian army, and they retreated towards the coast. King Albert I had to regroup his army near Calais. Von Beseler and his 3rd corps were at the heels of the Belgians in an attempt to outflank the Allies on the left. They were given help by the “Marine-Division” formed in August 1914. This consisted of a Marine-Artillerie and a Marine-Infanterie brigade. On 15th October 1914 the Germans reached the line Oostende-Tielt. On demand of the French general Foch 75000 Belgian soldiers took defensive posi-tions beyond the river Ijzer on 15th October 1914, between the coast and Boezinge. The battles of the Ijzer began on 18th October 1914. The Belgians were given artillery support by British warships. This was necessary because the Belgians had no longer any heavy artillery, and the Germans used their heavy 420mm houwitzers that had played a role in the siege of Antwerp.
On 15th October 1914 units of the 4th “Ersatz-Division” entered Oostende. After these troops had taken part in the Battle of the Ijzer, they were replaced by the “Marine-Division” on 23rd October 1914 which at the same time had the task of guarding the coast between Oostende and Middelkerke. The same day British ships shelled the harbour of Oostende. On 20th Oktober 1914 Lombardsijde was taken by the Germans, the Belgians only held Diksmuide on the eastern bank of the Ijzer. The river monitors Mersey, Severn and Humber and the cruisers of admiral Hood shelled Westende on October 20th, 1914. Because of their small draught the monitors could sail close to the coast. Later the Ger-mans were to install heavy artillery in the dunes in order to be able to take up the fight with the British ships.
In the night of October 21st to 22nd several floodgates were opened at high tide, and 4 km² were flooded at Nieuwendamme. The French 42nd division of general Grosetti relieved the Belgians at Nieuwport on 23rd October 1914. As the Germans had a lack of reserves, the offensive that began on 25th October 1914 was already stopped the following day. By this the Belgians were given opportunity to retreat behind the railway dam Dijksmuide-Nieuwport. At Pervijze they received reinforcements by French colonial units. The Belgian and German troops were almost exhausted, they had lack of food and ammunition. While the Germans had no extra troops to begin new attacks, the Belgians and the French had meanwhile time to reinforce their defences and to flood the plains of the Ijzer. The Ger-mans suffered from the lack of those troops on the right flank that had recently been sent to the east-ern front. Since 29th October 1914 the floodgates at Nieuwport were opened daily. The sluices of the Noordvaart were opened, too. There was a high tide and the wind blew from the Channel. All open-ings in the railway dam Diksmuide-Nieuwport were closed in order to keep the water on the German side. During a large scale attack between Niewport and Diksmuide on 30th October 1914, the Ger-mans attacked in order to cross the railway line at Ramskapelle and Pervijze. Already on the 31st they had to retreat when the water rose and they were in danger of being cut off from their rearguard. This was the end of the Battle of the Ijzer. Now there were no Germans left on the western bank of the Ijzer, with the exception of the basin of Tervate and at the petroleum tanks near Dodengang. On 10th November 1914 the “Marinedivision” was engaged between Schoorbakke and the North Sea. Lombardsijde was taken on the 11th. On November 15th, 1914 a second “Marine-Division” was founded. The “Kaiserliche Marinekorps Flandern” was born. At the beginning of December 1914 the Belgians attacked to take possession of Palinbrug or Grand Redan on the eastern bank, this being an important position for the defence of the floodgate complex at Nieuwport. The French on their part took possession of terrain in the dunes on the eastern side of the Ijzer, and reached the outskirts of Lombardsijde and Sint Joris. The Germans had quickly to throw the new sailor regiments into the bat-tle. The fighting decreased in 1915, with the exception of small scale French attacks, which brought no results.
Since 1st June 1915 the units of the army were withdrawn. Now the “Marinekorps” moved into position on its own on the outmost right flank of the Western Front. The infantry of the sailor regi-ments were given thorough training, also field excercises on a regimental and divisional level were held. At the same times better shelters were built. Trench raids brought some diversion. The French adopted the habit of “live and let live”, this was interrupted by the arrival of the British in 1917 and the German “Strandfest”. After that the frontline remained static until the Allied final offensive in Septem-ber 1918, when the Belgians crossed the Ijzer on Oktober 16th, 1918. Certainly the coast was no safe section of the front, considering the fact that the adversaries were frequently taking each other under fire with heavy guns. Gas was used as a weapon as well. In March 1915 the Germans covered the French with gas shells filled with teargas and bromide acetone, but the French scarcely noticed that. The Germans themselves were surprised by gas clouds of chlorine phosgene, which were released by the British from 2000 flasks. In April 1917 the Germans released gas clouds with chlorine and phosgene against the French, who suffered 400 casualties in their ranks. The Germans also used mustard gas on 21st July 1917. After the beginning of the Allied final offensive in September 1918, the “Kaiserliche Marine” evacuated Flanders in October 1918. In his last corps order on 16th October 1918 von Schröder stressed the fact that the Marinekorps had held its positions on the coast for four years on end, without giving up terrain, and had to retreat without being defeated.
