Assault after assault was beaten off, but finally, after very heavy losses, fresh enemy masses carried Mannekensvere and Keyem, where they were held by the volley fire of the Belgian 75's. The defenders of Mannekensvere withdrew behind the Yser, while those of Keyem (units of the 1st Division) held their ground on the right bank of the river. The same night a spirited counter-attack gave them back their lost positions. On the 19th, the attacks doubled in fury, the enemy's main effort being made against the two wings. Nieuport and the advanced lines of Lombartzyde were violently bombarded. The Belgian 2nd Division stood firm, and beat off three German assaults. On the right wing, the Germans, driven out of Keyem on the previous day, attacked this village again and also Beerst, further south. Under a terrific artillery fire, the defenders gave way. However, the Belgian 5th Division and the French Marines debouching from Dixmude, captured Vladsloo and Beerst, in spite of considerable losses. With their left threatened, the enemy's efforts before Keyem weakened. This brilliant counter-offensive was held by a new menace. Strong enemy columns were signalled to the south-east, debouching from Roulers and marching on Dixmude. The 5th Division and the Marines fell back upon their original positions before Dixmude, their retreat bringing about the fall of Beerst and Keyem, whose defenders withdrew beyond the Yser. On the 20th the Germans threw themselves against the advanced positions of Lombartzyde. The defenders were supported by the artillery of the British monitors, whose guns swept the coastline. To the south-east of Lombartzyde, Groote-Bamburg Farm was first lost, then reoccupied after a spirited counter-attack. The Germans redoubled their costly efforts, and succeeded in getting a footing in Lombartzyde in the evening, but were unable to debouch. Only after five days of sanguinary fighting, were the enemy able to reach the Allies' main line of defences, formed by the Yser and the two bridgeheads of Nieuport and Dixmude. The Battle on the Main Line of Defence. The situation was none the less critical, and the battle waxed more and more furious. The Yser front was continuously deluged with shells. The Belgian batteries of 75's were unable to engage the German heavy guns. None of the villages could be held; Nieuport and Dixmude were in flames. Supported by the Brigade of French Marines, the remains of the six Belgian Divisions still defended, single-handed, the twelve-mile front between St. Jacques-Cappelle and the sea. They were reinforced by the 6th Division near Lampernisse and Pervyse, thus strengthening the centre. Against these depleted, exhausted and ill-revictualled troops, crushed beneath a continuous bombardment, the Germans brought up heavy reinforcements from Roulers. The Attack on Dixmude and Nieuport. [Illustration]