The surrounding countryside was turned into a firing field as the crops were mown down, and the grass was scattered.

But north of Antwerp, the Germans advanced steadily, taking a heavy toll on their French counterparts.

After the allied forces in Flanders and Northern France have been encircled, the situation in Belgium was going from bad to worse.

The line had been breached as the 17th Infantry Division was ordered to retreat back to a new defense of the Leie Diversion Canal.

The canal defense of Leie was reorganized, with the 17th Infantry Division receiving the II and III battalions of the 39th Line Regiment.