The Battle of the Yser (, ) was a battle which took place in October 1914 between the towns on Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide along a long stretch of the Yser river and Yperlee canal in Belgium. The front line was held by a large Belgian force which succeeded in halting the German advance, though only after heavy losses. After two months of defeats and retreats, the battle of Yser finally halted the invasion that gave Germans control of over 95% of Belgian territory. Victory in the battle allowed Belgium to retain control of a sliver of its territory while making King Albert a Belgian national hero and sustaining national pride and provided a venue for commemorations of heroic sacrifice for the next century.