Menin Gate exit simply cut through the remains of the ramparts and crossed a moat. The gateway was by this time known as the Menenpoort, or Menin Gate in English, because the road leading through the gateway led to the small town of Menen. Ypres occupied a strategic position during the First World War because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium, as had been called for in the Schlieffen Plan. By October 1914, the much battered Belgian Army broke the dykes on the Yser River to the north of the City to keep the
Menin Road South Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery graves were lost in later fighting or could not be found after the war. As these are known casualties (not "missing"), they are included in the total figure for burials in the cemetery and are not recorded on the Menin Gate. The cemetery holds the grave of acting-Captain Thomas Riversdale Colyer-Fergusson, of the Northamptonshire Regiment who was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour "in the face of the enemy" in the Commonwealth. Menin Road South Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Menin Road South Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead