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The failure of either side to achieve a breakthrough around Ypres effectively marked the end of any real chance for the Allies or the Germans to outflank each other before running out of room to maneuver. The remaining strip of territory was a narrow coastal belt along the North Sea in westernmost Belgium, prone to flooding and thus not very passable. By October 19, the Belgian army, completing its westward withdrawal from Antwerp, had reached this ground and began to entrench, its flanks resting on the North Sea to its left and the BEF line to its right. This brought the "Race to the Sea" to an end.
The failure of either side to achieve a breakthrough around Ypres effectively marked the end of any real chance for the Allies or the Germans to outflank each other before running out of room to maneuver. The remaining strip of territory was a narrow coastal belt along the North Sea in westernmost Belgium, prone to flooding and thus not very passable. By October 19, the Belgian army, completing its westward withdrawal from Antwerp, had reached this ground and began to entrench, its flanks resting on the North Sea to its left and the BEF line to its right. This brought the "Race to the Sea" to an end.
==Outcome==
In a narrow tactical sense, the Race to the Sea proved something of a failure for both sides, as neither was able to achieve its original aim: a successful breakthrough into open country that would flank its opponent out of its defensive lines and force a decisive battle. Though neither the Allies nor the Germans would completely accept the prospect of a long-term stalemate on the Western Front until after the First Battle of Ypres that directly followed the end of the Race, it was already clear that stalemate could only be broken by costly frontal attacks.
Strategically, though, the outcome of the Race could be judged a victory for the Allies. By maintaining control of the rail network of northern France (as opposed to the Germans, who were forced to rely on the damaged Belgian facilities), they had been able to prevent any very serious breakthroughs. Though some important industrial facilities had been lost, such as at Lille, most of the productive capacity of France remained behind the Allied lines, and in the later stages of the Race, by managing to extend the line almost due northwards, the Allies had denied the Germans access to the ports along the [[English Channel]] (such as Calais and Dunkirk), rendering them unable to directly threaten Britain.
Most visibly, the conclusion of the Race marked the onset of the trench warfare that would characterize the Western Front from that point until 1918. By November 1914, there was a continuous front line, extending from the North Sea southeast to the Swiss border, with no further room for maneuver; in response, the armies developed increasingly elaborate systems of trenches and other fortifications that were excellent against defense, making offensives by either side (though they nonetheless continued to take place) unlikely to succeed and ensuring a high rate of casualties regardless of the outcome. This grim and grisly stalemate has become the most common image of World War I.
==References==
==References==