Overshadowed by the attention paid to geopolitical, military, socio-economic or cultural aspects, the impact the First World War had on the demographics of communities that lived in the front zone, has seldom been considered. The war uprooted millions of people, be they civilians or soldiers. A difficult return home awaited many after the war. Against this backdrop, Ypres was a special case. Thousands of refugees had flocked to the town in the early stages of the war, but, by October 1914, the city found itself on the frontline of the assault that so many had hoped to flee.