First Battle of Ypres

9.3

A major 1914 World War I battle near Ypres, Belgium with heavy fighting and no clear winner

noun

: Primera Batalla de Ypres

Historians often debate the strategic impact of the First Battle of Ypres on the overall war.

Examples

Many soldiers lost their lives in the First Battle of Ypres during the autumn of 1914.
Many soldiers were lost during the First Battle of Ypres.
The First Battle of Ypres marked a grim turning point in World War I.
The First Battle of Ypres was fought in 1914.
The Corps began to arrive at the front during October 1914 and was immediately committed to the intense fighting at the First Battle of Ypres.
It took place outside the York Place secondary school, which had been converted into a hospital for wounded Indians, newly arrived from the First Battle of Ypres.
The memories of the heavy losses during the First Battle of Ypres still haunt many veterans.

Surface Forms

First Battle of Ypres singular

Morphology

first + battle + of + Ypres

The phrase is a straightforward composition: 'first' (ordinal) + 'battle' (armed conflict) + 'of Ypres' (location), so its basic meaning — the initial battle that took place at Ypres — is directly derivable from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows the words would understand it refers to a specific battle at Ypres even if they do not know the historical details or date.

Etymology

First Battle of Ypres is named after the town Ypres in Belgium and the fact it was the first large battle there in autumn 1914 during World War I. So the name means 'the first big battle near Ypres' and refers to the heavy fighting between Allied and German forces that year.