 The French on the extreme right, in front of Draaibank, formed a flank guard facing east, near the troops in Papegoed Wood, which also protected the troops moving up from Steenstraate through Langewaede to Dixmude.The fortified villages of Verbrandesmis and Kippe blocked the road further on and north-east of Verbrandesmis near Houthulst Forest, Jesiutengoed Farm near the hamlet of Kloostermolen and the village of Aschhoop to the north, also obstructed an advance.From Verbrandesmis a road runs north-west, parallel with the lower Steenbeek through Merckem to Luyghem, slightly above the level of the surrounding marshes.