Many civilians were rescued
from the towns and districts captured, and little processions of these
were straggling rearward out of range of the guns, and out of the way of
the fighting troops. At times liberated Belgian women could see their
sons, brothers or husbands going forward into battle. On October 17th
the German retreat in Flanders became a rout. The enemy were fleeing
rapidly on their entire front. The British entered Lille.
The Germans fled from Ostend and British naval forces were landed there.
The Belgian infantry were sweeping up the coast, and Belgian patrols
entered Bruges. In the afternoon of the day King Albert of Belgium, and
Queen Elizabeth entered Ostend. The splendid fighting of the Belgian
troops and their magnificent victory was now attracting universal
attention. It was one of the revelations of the war. They were bearing
the giant's share of the work of the Allied armies in their own country,
and had already liberated territory which more than doubled the area of
that part of Belgium which had been in their possession.
With the Belgian coast cleared of invaders it became open to British
transports which would afford relief to the whole Allied armies from the
resultant decrease in the congestion of the channel ports. On October
19th the progress continued.
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