On 11 November 1918 the guns of the First World War finally ceased firing (and the anniversary of this date has been observed by many of the combatant nations ever since). Four years earlier, 11 November was significant for a different reason. On this day in 1914 the Germans launched their last great attempt to achieve a breakthrough in the west and bring their initial war plan to its successful culmination. Attacking in huge numbers and with ferocious determination, the Germans sought to breakthrough between Polygon Wood and Messines on the Ypres front. Forced into a desperate defence, the British and French fought with immense bravery to hold the line.
By the end of the day both sides had suffered dreadful casualties, and those who survived were exhausted. The second, and final, great crisis in the First Battle of Ypres had come and gone.
In her 1927 Battle Book of Ypres Beatrix Brice summarised in stirring prose the fighting of 11 November 1914:
