The city had been attacked, first by bombardments from the German super-heavy siege guns, and secondly by the infantry. The Germans had convinced the Belgians that they would lose and would have to retreat again. However, the Allied forces had told the Belgians to defend Antwerp for a few more days before they would send some reinforcements. However, hardly any troops arrived, causing the Belgians to lose control of Antwerp. .
Since the northern part of the front lines were not in trench warfare yet, both sides saw that it would be an excellent chance to attack the enemy's flank. The Allies and Germans saw a grand opportunity to attack each other. To do this, they would have to come behind the rapidly growing trench lines in the south. Commander Foch of the French northern army believed that the Germans would not have been able to stretch their defense out to the coast. He thought that there would be a hole in the German forces between the town of Lilles and Antwerp. He believed that the Allies would be unstoppable, however, the French had hardly any units to fight. The Field Army of Belgium, which was reassembled behind Yser, was also in poor condition; they had low morale and poor equipment. The Belgian's lost several of their best leaders, and Foch didn't understand how badly the Belgium suffered against the German armies. .
The British had moved their troops towards Ypres, and they occupied the surrounding areas. The troops entered the low-lying areas, which mainly consisted of fields, ditches, farms and small villages. It was near the end of fall, and rain tormented the soldiers. It gave them hardship and converted the ground to mud. The soldiers were exhausted because many have been fighting since August. Sir John French had been disappointed on the slow movement of General Smith-Dorrien and General Pulteney's corps; however, he was very pleased with the cavalry under the leader ship of Allenby.
