Meanwhile the rapid extension of the Allies' line by Raye, Armentiéres and Lens, and the impossibility of breaking it anywhere, caused fresh plans to ferment in German brains, namely, the seizure of Dunkirk and Calais, whence it was said an invasion of England would immediately be essayed. On October 6 German forces were reported massing at Lille and cavalry skirmishes began round Hazebrouck and Bail-Teul. Had the Germans made a dash for the const directly Antwerp fell on October 9, they might have succeeded. They wasted a week over a pompous entry into the fallen city, and the Alles were able to reach the st at Nieuport on October 16, abolishing themselves on a line Nieuport-Dismude-Ypres and the regions of La Bassée by the Yser and La Bassée canals.
Then began an era of incredibly ferocious fighting. The—canals were held by British, French and Belgian troops supported by British monitors on the coast, whose heavy guns successfully "nfiladed retreat.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.