Nieuport and Dixmude formed the bastions of the Allied defences, and their capture meant the falling of the Yser and the railway lines into the enemy's hands. The brunt of the German attack was directed against Dixmude. The French Marine Brigade and the mixed brigade of the Belgian 3rd I. D. under the command of Admiral Ronarc'h, were deployed in a semi-circle, about 500 yards from the outskirts of Dixmude, resting on the Yser. A second line was established along the canalised river. On October 20, after an artillery preparation which lasted all the morning, the enemy made an unsuccessful attack on Dixmude. A fresh attack the same night was likewise repulsed. Meanwhile the town continued to burn. On the 21st, at dawn, the bombardment redoubled in violence. The Germans attacked again, only to be mown down and repulsed. In the afternoon, new enemy reinforcements delivered converging attacks of great violence, combining them with a furious thrust against the Schoorbakke Pass, situated half-way between Dixmude and Nieuport. At both points the German rush was broken. In exasperation, the enemy threw fresh battalions into the battle. This time the blow was aimed directly at the town itself and the canal to the south, but the defence remained unshaken. Simultaneously, the Germans were threatening the entire front, and in particular, the bridgehead of Nieuport. This town suffered the same fate as Dixmude. Still the Yser remained impassable. Both Dixmude and Nieuport held out, and the end of the day registered a fresh enemy check. The Breach in the Centre of the Line. After their failure before Nieuport and Dixmude, the enemy made a surprise attack against the centre, on the night of the 21st. Between Nieuport and Dixmude, the easterly loop in the Yser at Tervaete facilitated flank, enfilade and rear firing, and was consequently a weak point in the defences. Under cover of darkness, the enemy threw a bridge over the river, near Tervaete, and effected a crossing. The situation was critical, as if the front were pierced, the two centres of resistance, Nieuport and Dixmude, which until then had proved impregnable, would be taken in the rear. [Illustration] In a supreme effort, units of the Belgian 1st Division counter-attacked furiously, and in spite of terrible losses, held the enemy. Reinforcements of Grenadiers and Carabiniers succeeded, in a further attack, in driving back the Germans across the river, and in reoccupying their positions. However, on the night of the 22nd, the enemy recaptured Tervaete, but the Belgians remained masters of the line between the two ends of the loop. On the 23rd, the situation was still very critical. To fill the gaps in the fighting line and to "hold out to the last, in spite of all", in accordance with the orders of the Belgian General Headquarters, the last reserves were thrown into the battle.