When night fell, the bridges and flour-mill--a powerful blockhouse in reinforced concrete--were blown up, the whole of the Franco-Belgian troops having meanwhile been withdrawn behind the embankment of the Yser Canal, which they held under gunfire. The Germans sought to organise the ruins of the unfortunate town, whose destruction was now being completed by the Allies' artillery. The inundations reached Dixmude, forming an impassable barrier for the enemy. On November 26, 1914, the French Naval Brigade, which later further distinguished itself on other fields of battle, and whose flag was eventually decorated with the _Légion d'honneur_ _(fourragère)_, was mentioned in the Army Orders, in the following terms: _Gave proofs of the greatest energy and devotion in the defence of a most important strategic position._ [Illustration: +Admiral Ronarc'h saluting the Flag of the French Marines.+] Until October 1918, the enemy's front lines followed the banks of the canal and the Death Trench, dominated by the ruins of the flour-mill situated upstream from the destroyed bridge-road. For four years, violent raids and bombardments kept this sector, successively held by French Marines, Territorials, Zouaves, and Belgian Infantry, in a perpetual state of activity. Finally, in September 1918, during the great Liberty Offensive, the Belgian 4th Division attacked the banks of the Yser Canal, turned Dixmude from the east, and in a single rush reached the banks of the Handzaeme Canal. On September 29, Dixmude, reduced to a chaotic waste covered with shapeless masses of débris and tangled barbed wire, and cut up entirely with trenches, was retaken by the Belgians. [Illustration: +Watching a Review of the French Marines.+] [Illustration: +Eessen Church.+] On January 25, 1920, in the presence of King Albert, President Poincaré conferred the French _Croix de Guerre_ on Dixmude, with the following mention. "Won undying fame in the first days of the War by heroic, never-to-be-forgotten combats. Proved herself worthy of this glory by the fortitude with which she daily supported bombardments and fires, confident that her sacrifices were helping to save the Country and the Common Cause." _From the canal, return to the Grand'Place and take the Roulers Road, turning into the first by-road on the left; 3 kms. beyond the level-crossing, leave the Clercken Road leading to Houthulst Wood, on the right, and keep straight on to =Eessen= (3½ kms.)_ The belfry of the ruined church was long used by the Germans as an observation-post _(Photo above)_. [Illustration] _In front of the church, turn left and cross the railway. The road leads to =Vladsloo=_ (large German cemeteries). _Behind the church, turn left. On reaching the high road, turn left and enter the village of =Beerst= (5 kms.)_