[1] Mud and a collapse of the supply-system had stopped the advance in early October but by the middle of the month the GAF launched the second phase of the offensive, the Battle of Courtrai.

[4] The advance exhausted the Allied troops and the 37th and 91st divisions of the US Army were sent to Belgium to support the third phase of the offensive, which had as its goal driving the Germans east of the Escaut (Scheldt) River.

The following forces were assigned to the Allied army:[5] 69 In the North, the Germans had taken up positions behind the Deinze-Bruges Canal and put up fierce resistance against Belgian attacks between 20 and 31 October.

The German retreat had not been a rout, but was relatively well organized with very mobile "Maschinen Gewehr Kompanien" attacking the advancing Allies and which inflicted many casualties.

This contributed to the Stab-in-the-back myth, which stated that the German Army was not yet defeated on the battlefield, but was instead betrayed by socialist and Jewish politicians on the home front.