On October 22, 1914, the fighting was most severe all day; but later in the day the most violent assault of all was made by the Germans upon the First Brigade on the left.  There the trenches were held by the Camerons, north of Pilkem on the Langemarck—­Bixschoote road.  Here the Germans broke the line and succeeded in capturing part of the Camerons—­the famous Red Tartans.  Further south, the Royal Scots Fusiliers were obliged to give way.  The Germans pressed hard in the vicinity of Hollebeke which point opened a clear road to Ypres; but here the allied forces stood their ground.  Still farther south the Essex Regiment and the Lancashire Fusiliers fought savagely, but were driven back upon Armentierre when night fell.

[Illustration:  Battle front in Flanders]

Early Friday morning, October 23, 1914, the Allies made a desperate assault upon the trenches lost by the Camerons on the previous day.  The fighting culminated in a savage bayonet attack which resulted in the recapture of these trenches by the British composed of the King’s Royal Rifles, the Royal West Surrey Regiment and the Northamptons.

On October 24, 1914, the Germans advanced upon the allied extreme left; but were successfully repulsed between Zonnebeke and Poelcapelle.  Later in the day the Germans renewed their attack and compelled the allied troops to retire some distance.

The advance on the allied left was continued on Sunday, October 25, 1914.  Repeatedly the Germans succeeded in piercing the allied lines; but at one time, even though they had broken through, a momentary lack of reserves compelled them to retreat to avoid capture.  A savage enveloping attack was made during the night, north of Zandvoorde, where again the Germans broke through the allied lines, but were unable to maintain their advantage through failure of reenforcements to come up in time.  The Leicester Brigade were shelled out of their trenches and were obliged to fall back to the south of the River Lys.

During the following three days—­October 26, 27, 28, 1914—­artillery fire was resorted to and desultory fighting and skirmishes along the entire line resulted in no noteworthy advantage to either belligerent.

Thursday, October 29, 1914, opened with clear and bracing weather which promised to continue throughout the day.  The German attack which had been preparing for the past three days now broke like an irresistible wave upon the salient of the Gheluvelt crossroads, where the British First Corps was stationed.  The first division was driven back from its trenches and after that the line swayed forward and backward for hours, but by two o’clock in the afternoon the position remained unchanged.

With the coming of the dawn on October 30, 1914, the fighting was resumed with even more savage determination on both sides.  The hottest engagement centered about the ridge of Zandvoorde.  German artillery fire cleared the allied trenches, burying many of the British soldiers alive under mountains of earth and debris.  This forced the line to retreat a full mile to Klein Zillebeke to the north.  The kaiser witnessed this engagement and by his presence cheered the German soldiers on to the most desperate fighting.