A few days afterwards the destroyer _Badger_ did a smart piece of work in ramming and destroying a German submarine off the Dutch coast. The Admiralty wired to her commanding officer--Commander C. A. Fremantle--that they were "very pleased with your good service". But about the same time our submarine E 3 was reported to have been lost in the North Sea. The navy made rather a surprise appearance on the Belgian coast towards the end of October, enfilading the right of the German attack on Nieuport, which was being stoutly defended by the Belgians, and formed the extreme left of the "far-flung battle line" of the Allies. Three "Monitors"--novel craft in our service--which had been building for Brazil, but had been taken up by the Admiralty at the outbreak of war, played the leading part to begin with, but later on other heavier ships took a hand in the proceedings. The "Monitors" were especially well adapted for work in the shallow waters between Dunkirk and Zeebrügge. Their appearance was unexpected by the Germans, who suffered severely from their fire, and were unable to press their attack against Nieuport. The "Monitors" _Mersey_, _Severn_, and _Humber_, assisted by destroyers and a French flotilla, steamed within a couple of miles of the shore and were in action from 6 a.m. till 6 p.m. on the first day. Their fire was incessant, one vessel alone firing 1000 lyddite and shrapnel shells. The German trenches, which were about 3 miles inland, were especially aimed at, and the most terrible execution was done upon the troops in them. The German batteries among the big sand-dunes along the beach also came in for a good deal of attention. One battery of field-guns was entirely wiped out, a train collected to force the passage of the Yser was totally dispersed, an ammunition column blown up, and General von Tripp and the whole of his staff, who were near Westende, were killed. The Germans seemed unable to make an effective reply, and even an aeroplane sent up to signal the ranges by smoke-balls proved a failure. By the end of the day the Germans had lost 4000 men and had been driven from the coast, where nothing was visible but dense masses of black smoke and lurid patches of flame. The British fire was extremely rapid, some of the guns firing no less than fourteen rounds a minute at times. A few casualties were suffered by the British, but no material damage of a serious nature was sustained, although exposed both to gun-fire and, it is stated, to submarine attacks, which were warded off by the attendant destroyers.