In the meantime, on the extreme right wing of the Army, the troops of General von Beseler had opened the battle on the Yser. During its advance northwards to cross the Yser at the appointed places the III Reserve Corps had encountered strong opposition east of the river-barrier. The men knew they were on the decisive wing of the attack, and they pushed ahead everywhere regardless of loss. In a rapid assault the 4th _Ersatz_ Division captured WESTENDE from the Belgians, although a gallant defence was put up, and in spite of the fact that British torpedo-boats and cruisers took part in the action from the sea with their heavy artillery[21] both during the advance and the fight for the town. Further south the 5th Reserve Division deployed to attack a strongly entrenched hostile position. The 3rd Reserve _Jäger_ Battalion captured the obstinately defended village of ST. PIERRE CAPPELLE after severe hand-to-hand fighting, whilst the main body of the division succeeded in pushing forward to the neighbourhood of SCHOORE. The 6th Reserve Division, commanded by General von Neudorff, also closed with the enemy. It captured LEKE, and KEYEM, defended by the 4th Belgian Division; but even this Brandenburg Division, for all its war experience, found the task of forcing the crossings over the YSER too much for it. The fighting on 18th October resulted in bringing us a thousand or two thousand yards nearer the YSER, but it had shown that the fight for the river line was to be a severe one. The Belgians seemed determined to sell the last acres of their kingdom only at the highest possible price. Four lines of trenches had been dug, and it could be seen that every modern scientific resource had been employed in putting the villages on the eastern bank of the river into a state of defence. A great number of guns, very skilfully placed and concealed, shelled the ground for a considerable distance east of the river, and in addition to this our right flank was enfiladed by the heavy naval guns from the sea. Battleships, cruisers and torpedo-boats worried the rear and flank of the 4th _Ersatz_ Division with their fire, and the British had even brought heavy artillery on flat-bottomed boats close inshore.[22] They used a great quantity of ammunition, but the effect of it all was only slight, for the fire of the naval guns was much dispersed and indicated bad observation. It became still more erratic when our long-range guns were brought into action against the British Fleet. Detachments of the 4th _Ersatz_ Division had to be echeloned back as far as Ostend, in order to defend the coast against hostile landings. During the day the General Commanding the III Reserve Corps decided not to allow the 4th _Ersatz_ Division to cross the YSER at NIEUPORT, on account of the heavy fire from the British naval guns, but to make it pass with the main body of the Corps behind the 5th Reserve Division in whose area the fight appeared to be progressing favourably. The _Ersatz_