Hendrik Geeraert

Hendrik Geeraert (15 July 1863, Nieuwpoort, Belgium – 17 January 1925, Bruges) was a Belgian folk hero who, during the interwar period, came to symbolize the Belgian resistance movement against the German forces in World War I. He became famous among Belgian soldiers in 1914 after the Battle of the Yser where he, serving as a Nieuwpoort skipper, opened the sluices of the Yser River, flooding the polders and bringing the German advance to a halt.

Hendrik Geeraert

Hendrik Geeraert (15 July 1863, Nieuwpoort, Belgium – 17 January 1925, Bruges) was a Belgian folk hero who, during the interwar period, came to symbolize the Belgian resistance movement against the German forces in World War I. He became famous among Belgian soldiers in 1914 after the Battle of the Yser where he, serving as a Nieuwpoort skipper, opened the sluices of the Yser River, flooding the polders and bringing the German advance to a halt.