At the Yser, 52,000 Belgian and 6,000 French troops received support from three British monitors, an artillery ship, and auxiliaries. Their rapid-firing naval guns could punish German infantry and artillery while shallow draft, mobility, and armor complicated counterfire from shore. Belgium suffered about 3,500 killed and 15,000 wounded, but German losses were higher and the line held where the Race to the Sea reached the coast. The outcome preserved Belgian-controlled territory and strengthened King Albert I's standing as a national figure during postwar reconstruction. HMS Mersey's protected six-inch and 4.7-inch armament shows how a small 12-knot monitor could deliver disproportionate battlefield effect close inshore.
Chapter · 48:34-52:29
Naval gunfire at the Yser helps preserve Belgian territory
British monitors brought rapid, protected gunfire against German troops at the Yser, helping Belgium hold a remnant of national territory at terrible cost.