...
These lines help us to realize how keen was the anxiety caused in
Germany by the new offensive coming so soon after the battles of
Champagne in April. But the lyricism of Dr. Wegener stood in the way of
his own judgment, and prevented him from seeing that the battle on the
Marne which drove the enemy back, the battle on the Yser which brought
him to a standstill, and the battle round Verdun which effectually wore
him out, were each in succession the greatest of the war. The second
battle of Flanders ought rather to be compared to the battle on the
Somme, the real consequences of which were not completely visible till
the German recoil on the Siegfried line took place in March, 1917. While
the first battle of Flanders had closed the gates of Dunkirk and Calais
against the Germans, and marked the end of their invasion, the second
one drove a wedge at Ypres into the German strength, made formidable by
three years' daily efforts, secured the Flemish heights, pushed the
enemy back into the bog land, and threatened Bruges. In the first
battle, the French under Foch had been supported by the English under
Marshal French; this time the English, who were the protagonists, under
Plumer (Second Army) and Gough (Fifth Army), were supported by the First
French Army under General Anthoine.
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