Not till long after the battle of the Yser, when the main positions had been adequately strengthened, could attention be given to improving the road system by building new roads and constructing additional railways of narrow and standard gauge. It is, therefore, not surprising that the recollection of the labour, more particularly that done during the winter, has remained a veritable nightmare to the men engaged upon the task. Shot and shell raked them incessantly. They had to toil knee-deep in water and mud, perished with cold, whipped by wind and rain. Owing to the depleted condition of the ranks, most of the fighting forces had, one may say, to mount guard continuously along an extended and still imperfectly consolidated front. An appeal was made to the older classes, elderly garrison troops, or "old overcoats" as the soldiers picturesquely called them. Working tirelessly behind the lines, they "shovelled their fatherland into little bags," so they jokingly described it among themselves. These old fellows, assisted by a few resting (?) units, toiled day and night, preparing all the indispensable materials and carrying them to the front trenches over sodden roads swept by the enemy's fire. There, the stoical defenders of the Yser, protected by watchful guards and with their rifles always ready to hand, patiently, persistently and with marvellous pluck raised bit by bit the invincible barrier which they had sworn to hold against every new effort of the enemy. (_a_) _Mastering the Floods_ The inundation let loose at the most critical period of the battle of the Yser, when the enemy had succeeded in crossing the river at Saint Georges, Schoorbakke, Tervaete and near Oud-Stuyvekenskerke, could not at first be so regulated as to harass the enemy only. It had gradually invaded part of our own trenches, and it was therefore an urgent matter to get the waters under complete control, lest the heroic means employed should compel the Belgian Army to abandon positions held hitherto at so serious a cost of life. To effect this, important works had to be put in hand without delay; some for defence, others for offence. The first defensive measure consisted in the construction of trenches, which it was imperative to build at once, whether in water which oozed up at all points or in deep mud. Working with feverish activity, men piled sand-bags, brought up in a constant stream from the rear, on the marshy soil. In this manner parapets of a steadily increasing solidity slowly formed a continuous front which, though still of doubtful strength, sufficed to protect the occupied zone against surprise attacks.