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| Nieuport / Western Front / Swiss Border |
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| Western Front |
At Nieuport-Bains, trenches were dug on both sides of the mouth of the River Yser. The barbed wire defences stretched into the sea.
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| Nieuport - End of the Western Front |
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| Nieuport Bains WW1 |
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| Nieuport Bains WW1 |
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| Nieuport Bains 2020 |
The French occupied the coastal area on the Belgian Army’s left flank from October 1914 till June 1917, when the British XVth Corps took over the area. This was in preparation for the forthcoming Flanders Campaign, with the intent of pushing along the Belgian Coast towards Ostend linking up with troops landed from the sea - OPERATION HUSH.
It was however the Germans who launched an attack in what was to become the Battle of the Dunes. At 05:30 10th July 1917, the Germans commenced heavy bombardment of the British positions on the east bank of the Yser. The bombardment continued throughout the day and at 20:00, German Marines attacked.
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Nieuport German Attack
Source: IWM Q50665
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The attackers quickly enveloped the defenders from the 1st Northamptonshire Regiment and the 2nd Kings Royal Rifle Corps. Fierce fighting ensured and both battalions were virtually wiped out.
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| Battle of the Dunes Nieuport |
Floating bridges over the Yser had been destroyed and survivors from the attack had to swim to the west bank of the Yser at nightfall.
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| Battle of the Dunes Nieuport |
The sector was subsequently handed over to the French in November 1917, before they passed it over to the Belgians in February 1918.
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| French Trenches Nieuport |
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| Nieuport-Bains WW1 |
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| Nieuport-Bains |
