Foresight protects the monitors at the Yser

At the Battle of the Yser, monitors had to approach the Belgian coast to bombard German positions and support Belgian forces ashore. Foresight signalled that they could close the beach while she guarded against enemy torpedo boats. Newspapers reported that her commanding officer promised to ram any craft that slipped past once his shells were exhausted, though no firm operational record confirms the remark. By then the cruiser carried nine 4-inch guns, giving the threat more weight than her original battery could have done. Her protection established enough local sea control for the monitors to use their guns where the land battle needed them.