. Mediæval and modern history . rmanshad failed in their plans toreach Paris and put France outof the war. They now madea supreme effort to reach the seaand get control of the Channelports on the shore opposite Eng-land. With these ports in thehands of the enemy the safetyof England would, of course,have been imperiled. Strenuousefforts were made to prevent sucha calamity. British, French, andBelgian forces were quicklythrown between the Germansand the coveted prize. Theseland forces were aided by theBritish fleet, which patrolledthe coast. In the Flanders region the sluices were opened andwid
. Mediæval and modern history . rmanshad failed in their plans toreach Paris and put France outof the war. They now madea supreme effort to reach the seaand get control of the Channelports on the shore opposite Eng-land. With these ports in thehands of the enemy the safetyof England would, of course,have been imperiled. Strenuousefforts were made to prevent sucha calamity. British, French, andBelgian forces were quicklythrown between the Germansand the coveted prize. Theseland forces were aided by theBritish fleet, which patrolledthe coast. In the Flanders region the sluices were opened andwide tracts of the land flooded — an old device for defense in theselow-lying lands. The struggle was long and bitter. Some ofthe bloodiest battles of the war were fought here.^ The Britisharmy, a contemptible little army, as it was characterized by theGerman Kaiser, after deeds of valor which made of the epithet ofscorn a badge of immortal honor,- was virtually the Germans reached the sea at Ostend and gained. Fig. 112. GexkralJoffre. (From a painting by J. F. Bouchor, Official Painter to the French Armies) 1 The most important were the battle of the Vser and the first battle of Ypres. 2 The survivors of this expeditionary army proudly accept the title of TheContemptibies. § 711] THE WESTERN BATTLE FRONT 639 control of a strip of the Belgian coast, they were thwarted in reach-ing their main objective—the ports of Calais and Boulogne, atthe narrowest part of the Channel. 711. The Western Battle Front. After the battle of the Marneand at the end of the struggle for the Channel ports, the Germans,still standing in the main on French and Belgian soil, intrenchedthemselves along a line about four hundred and seventy miles inlength, running from Switzerland to the North Sea. Facing theGerman trenches were drawn the trenches of the Allies. Neverbefore in history was there such a far-flung battle line. Betweenthe opposing lines of ditches, dugouts, and wire entan
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