Battle of Messines (1914)

The Battle of Messines was fought in October 1914 between the armies of the German empire and British empire and France as part of what came to be called the Race to the Sea, reciprocal attempts by the German and Entente armies to attack beyond the northern flank of their opponent. The attempts to turn the opponent's northern flank led to several meeting engagements until the North Sea left neither side with a flank to aim at. The battle was fought between the river Douve and the Comines–Ypres canal.