Battle of Armentières

This battle was part of Race to Sea campaign. During this battle the British successfully held the line in their sector, against repeated German assaults. To the south it merged into the battle of La Bassée, to the north into the battle of Messines.

The battle of Armentières was part of the Race to the Sea, the series of battles that decided the line of the Western Front as trench warfare took over in the autumn of 1914. Officially the battle took place between the river Douve and a line between Estaires and Foumers and was fought by III corps. To the south it merged into the battle of La Bassée, to the north into the battle of Messines.

On 12 October III corps was ordered to advance to the river Lys from St. Omer, where it had arrived on 10 October. The battle is taken to begin on 13 October, when III corps found the Germans defending the line of a small stream, the Meterenbecque, from a strong position on a ridge behind the line. A request for help from the cavalry corps was refused as they were also engaged in battle, and so III corps was forced to launch a frontal assault on the German lines. After a day long battle, which cost III corps 708 casualties, the Germans pulled back.