[Illustration: +Nieuport. Ruins of the Hôtel-de-Ville.+] In 1916 (January 24), after a bombardment of more than 20,000 shells, the Germans attempted to debouch from their positions near the mouth of the Yser. Repulsed with heavy loss, they once more deluged the unhappy town with shells. In 1917, the British prepared their great Spring and Summer offensives, extending from east of Arras to the region of Ypres, and relieved their French comrades in the sector stretching from St. Georges to the sea. They had hardly taken up their positions, when the Germans attacked (July 10). Thrown back into their trenches before Lombartzyde, the enemy renewed their attacks with increased violence, and forced back the British in the direction of Nieuport. The latter managed, however, to keep a bridgehead at the exit from the town. Meanwhile, in the Dunes sector, two British Battalions, in spite of their gallant resistance, were forced back upon the river. Of these, only four officers and seventy men escaped, by swimming across during the night. The Germans on the right bank of the river occupied the Dunes. The pressure on Nieuport increased, but the Yser remained impassable. In 1918 (September 28), the great liberating offensive, under the command of King Albert, was launched in the plains, to the east of Dixmude, and Ypres. On October 16, the Belgian 5th Division, east of Nieuport, charged from the famous islets in front of the Yser. The enemy, badly shaken, retreated, closely followed by the Belgians, who harried their rear-guards and completely swept the coast to a point beyond Ostend. Nieuport, terribly ravaged by four years of the fiercest fighting at its very gates, was at last delivered. On January 25, 1920, in the presence of King Albert and the Burgomaster, President Poincaré conferred the _Croix de Guerre_ with the following mention on the indomitable city: _"Martyred City, involved in all the vicissitudes of a desperate struggle lasting four years, Nieuport maintained intact her faith in the future, in spite of all her trials._ _Her ruins bear witness to the heroism of her defenders and to the bravery of her inhabitants."_ [Illustration: +Nieuport. Furnes Canal Lock+ _(Nov. 11, 1915)_ _Inset:_ +Lock-Keeper Geraert, who flooded the Plain+ _(See p. 51.)_] [Illustration: +The Templars' Tower.+ _Before the War, in November 1915, and in 1919._] _On reaching the wharves, take the first street on the right, then the second on the left, to the Grand'Place, in which the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame used to stand._ Consecrated in 1163, this Gothic edifice had retained portions of the original 12th century church. The northern doorway was 15th century, and the main entrance 16th century. The tower was somewhat massive. In the interior, a 15th century rood-loft, the high altar (1630), the 17th century stalls (by Desmet), a 15th century pulpit, an ancient tabernacle (by Jean Aert of Bruges-1733), and several old tombs, were noteworthy.