14/10/1918 Allied gains force a German withdrawal from the Belgian coast

For the Germans the battlefield situation on the Western Front remains dire. In Flanders an British, French and Belgian troops are now pressing on from Ypres towards Courtrai and Dixmunde. The success of the Allied offensive obliges the Germans to begin a withdrawal from the Belgian coast, which means their U-boats and destroyers will no longer have direct access to Allied shipping in the Channel.

The collapse in the fighting ability of the German army is evidenced by the frequency with which German troops are surrendering rather than fighting on to the end. Some 250,000 German soldiers have been taken prisoner since the end of the summer. Seasoned German officers like Prince Rupprecht, commander of the forces facing the British, are shocked by the frequency with which entire units are capitulating, with officers themselves leading surrenders rather than trying to prevent them. Such things would once have been unthinkable…