[Illustration]
The Daily Telegraph
WAR BOOKS
THE CAMPAIGN ROUND LIÈGE
The Daily Telegraph
WAR BOOKS
CLOTH 1/- NET.
VOL. I. (_3rd Enormous Edition._)
_HOW THE WAR BEGAN_
_By W.L. COURTNEY, LL.D., and J.M. KENNEDY_
Is Britain's justification before the Bar of History.
VOL. II.
_THE FLEETS AT WAR_
_By ARCHIBALD HURD_,
The key book to the understanding of the NAVAL situation
VOL. III.
_THE CAMPAIGN OF SEDAN_
_By GEORGE HOOPER_
The key book to the MILITARY situation.
VOL. IV.
_THE CAMPAIGN ROUND
LIEGE_
¶ Describes in wonderful detail the heroic defence of Liege, and shows
how the gallant army of Belgium has upset and altered the whole plan
of advance as devised by the Kaiser and his War Council.
THE CAMPAIGN
ROUND LIÈGE
BY
J.M. KENNEDY
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY
W.L. COURTNEY, LL.D.
HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
MCMXIV
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION 7
I. OUTBREAK OF WAR--INVASION OF BELGIUM
AND LUXEMBURG--THE FIRST
FIGHTING AT LIÈGE 29
II. FRENCH JOIN BELGIANS--DETAILS OF
THE BATTLES--GERMAN SPY SYSTEM--RAIDS
BY UHLANS 51
III. PRELIMINARY ATROCITIES--BRAVERY OF
THE BELGIANS--BATTLE OF HAELEN-DIEST 75
IV. LIFE AT BRUSSELS--FRENCH ADVANCE--CAPITAL
REMOVED TO ANTWERP 94
V. PREPARATIONS AT NAMUR--SCENES AT
LIÈGE--GERMANS PRESSING FORWARD--OCCUPATION
OF BRUSSELS 111
VI. BRITISH TROOPS IN ACTION--THEIR
"CUSTOMARY COOLNESS"--ZEPPELIN
AT ANTWERP--GERMAN ATROCITIES--LORD
KITCHENER'S SPEECH 134
INTRODUCTION
"To attack always, to attack everywhere, and to overlap in the attack"
is the essential principle of German military training. This is the
principle which is acted upon when hostilities definitely open and the
diplomatist retires into the background. There is only one means by
which it can be carried into effect, and that is to have overwhelming
numbers of men ready to pour into the field and bear down opposing
forces by sheer weight. At Liège, at Namur, at Charleroi, or in the
Vosges, the mowing down of the invading hosts by rifle or cannon must
have seemed to the defensive troops as wearying and useless a task as
cutting off the heads of a hydra; for two German soldiers appeared to
rise out of the ground for every single one that fell.
This was one great advantage with which the German army entered upon
the war. For years past strategic railways have been under construction
on the Belgian border--railways designed, not for the conveyance of
goods or passenger traffic (for there was none), but for the conveyance
of German troops from Cologne and other places to north-east France
through Belgium and Luxemburg. The plans of the German General Staff
were admirably conceived. One observer compared the advance of the
invading army to a human tidal wave spreading through the valley of
the Meuse. True, there were one or two small hitches. It was clear
from the stories told by the prisoners taken by the Belgians at Liège
that the German commissariat was unexpectedly defective. Again,
insufficient preparations had been made for besieging Liège itself, and
it was not for some days that it was found possible to bring up the
great siege guns which should have been there from the very beginning.
These faults, however, were not the result of negligence so much as
of conceit and of too great a belief in the invulnerability of the
German arms. According to a message quoted in the present volume, the
Kaiser waved his hand through the air and said: "I will go through
Belgium like that." He did not; and the delay consequent upon the
stubborn defence of Liège interfered with the German plans at the
outset and gave the French time to complete their mobilisation. The
effects of this delay are, indeed, incalculable, especially in view
of the unexpected rapidity of the Russian mobilisation, and General
Rennenkaempf's advance through East Prussia. Still, once the Germans
realised that they had to meet resistance in Belgium it must be
acknowledged that they took immediate steps to break it down. Large
siege guns were hurried to the front, with the result, so far as can be
ascertained from the meagre news which is allowed to pass the Censors
on both sides of the Channel, that four of the strongest forts at Namur
fell after a three days' siege. Nothing, at first, seemed to be able
to stop, or even to check, the advance of 2,000,000 Teutons.
Although only a few details have been allowed to leak out, the
admitted facts all go to show that the German onslaught on France
through Belgium has been successful, but delayed. It is said that the
invaders expected to be in Paris within two weeks of crossing the
frontier, after which they expected to be able to turn the bulk of
their mighty army towards Russia before the Tsar's forces could be
properly mobilised--before, at any rate, they could take the field
and begin their advance into East Prussia. To this extent the plan
has miscarried, thanks to the gallant resistance of Liège. Unless the
Germans were in full possession of the railways at Liège and Namur an
entry into France would have been dangerous, since the free passage of
reinforcements could not be guaranteed. As it was, the Russians were
in possession of Eydkuhnen before the Germans were in possession of
Liège; and the German advance on Namur coincided in point of time with
the Russian advance on Insterburg.
While the German plans have miscarried to this extent, it would be
foolish not to realise that they have succeeded in other respects. A
glance at the map will show this; for if the official communiqués tell
us little else they tell us, at least, what the approximate position of
the armies was at given dates. On August 15th and 16th, for instance,
and even, we may assume, on the 17th, the German army stretched in an
irregular line from Maastricht to Alt Breisach, through Huy, Arlon,
Longwy, and Metz. The southern portion of it, composed chiefly of
Bavarians, lay from Château Salins to Strassburg, and thence to the end
of the long line in the neighbourhood of Alt Breisach. The French army
lay opposite in a nearly parallel line. French regiments had reached
and reinforced the Belgian lines at Malines and Louvain, and the main
body of the French army was spread out along a front of nearly three
hundred miles from Tirlemont to Mülhausen, via Namur, Mézières, Verdun,
Sarreburg, Cirey, and Colmar.
As the Germans had opened their southern campaign by invading French
territory at Cirey and Longwy, the position of the French army at this
time makes it clear that General Joffre had taken the offensive. The
Germans had been driven back over their original lines; Alsace had been
invaded by the French; Altkirch and Mülhausen had been captured, and
even Strassburg was menaced. This right wing of the French forces--the
wing which had been thrust forward into Alsace--was based, of course,
on the impregnable fortresses of Belfort and Epinal. As the subsequent
developments showed, this invasion of Alsace was a strategic error, and
this was acknowledged almost in so many words before a week had passed.
Why, at this early stage, a forward move was made in this direction
was never explained. There were critics who not unreasonably called
it "fancy work." Certainly, it was to be expected that the Germans
would advance from their southern base of Strassburg, and their
central base of Metz; but the really serious work of the campaign,
as everybody expected, was to be in the north-east. The advance into
Alsace gave General Joffre an opportunity of issuing a proclamation to
the Alsatians which, in view of their treatment by the Germans for more
than a generation, naturally rejoiced them. But it was an advance which
had to be paid for in another direction, when the main body of the
German army began to make its way across the Upper Meuse.
If the position of the German troops has been traced as indicated,
the line will be almost straight, except towards the south, where the
Germans have had to give way before the French in Alsace. A day or
two later, however, the line will be anything but straight. By the
20th, although there is still fighting at Liège, and Brussels has not
yet been occupied, there is a distinct German advance towards the
north-west. The invaders have pushed on to Malines and Louvain, and, in
the centre, they menace Namur. They have also brought up large forces
to Givet, Dinant, and Sedan. They are cut down by the thousand; their
dead fill the trenches; the defenders wonder how the officers can
possibly induce their men to advance in such close formation, since
they are certain to be annihilated. There is a reason, nevertheless,
and a good one; for the time being there is no limit to the number of
men who can be brought forward to take the places of those that fall.
The result is a slow German advance, and everywhere the Allies, though
stubbornly contesting every inch of the ground, slowly retire.
By the 22nd there is a further decided change. Brussels has been
occupied, and the German forces are converging on Charleroi in, so far
as we know, six or seven parallel columns. From Enghien, from Hal, from
Nivelles, from La Hulpe, from Wavre, and from Jodoigne, the Kaiser's
troops make their way into the country lying between Namur and Mons. We
do not know, at this time, precisely where the British troops are, nor
are we at liberty to guess the strength of the French in this district.
We are soon to know, however. A battle rages for three or four days at
Charleroi; the French retire in good order; and two thousand British
casualties are reported. Our troops and the French troops have behaved
with the utmost gallantry; but, so far as we can ascertain, they have
been outnumbered by two to one--perhaps in an even greater proportion.
Set the minute hand of a clock at eleven, and the hour hand at five.
That will, roughly, indicate the position of the German army (with the
Belgian, British, and French troops in an almost parallel line) about
August 17th to 19th. Then bend the minute hand of the clock to nine.
That will convey a correct impression of the broad sweep made by the
northern wing of the German army within four or five days; and it must
be acknowledged, unfortunately, that it swept the Allies in front of it.
The result of the first stages of the Charleroi fighting made one
or two things evident. In the first place, it was then known that
the strength of the opposing German armies had been considerably
under-estimated; they had succeeded in bringing up very strong
reinforcements, with field guns and adequate munitions, through Liège.
Secondly, it was seen that the French had not advanced northwards
in sufficiently strong force. General Joffre had concentrated on
Alsace and the Ardennes, rather than on the Namur front. The official
statement published in Paris shows the French position at the
commencement of the battle:
An army starting from Northern Woevre and proceeding towards
Neufchateau is attacking the German forces which have marched through
the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg on the right bank of the Semois, and are
going in a westerly direction.
Another army, which had started from the region of Sedan, is crossing
the Ardennes, and is attacking the German forces which are marching
between the Lesse and the Meuse.
A third army, from the region of Chimay, has begun an attack on the
German right between the Sambre and the Meuse. This army is supported
by the English army, proceeding from the Mons region.
In this statement, as Mr. Ashmead-Bartlett remarked at the time,
several very important facts stood forth clearly:
(1) The French armies had never held the line of the Meuse and of the
Sambre in any strength.
(2) The German armies, before the commencement of the fighting at
Charleroi, were in possession of the country contained within the
triangle, of which Namur is the apex, between the Sambre and the
Meuse.
(3) Before some of its forts fell, Namur must have been entirely
isolated, and attacked not only from the north but also from the
south; and the French armies were not in a position to reinforce the
garrison unless they sent forward some detachments before the Germans
crossed the Sambre.
(4) In the fighting between August 18th and 22nd or 23rd it was
the French armies who attacked and not the German--except in the
neighbourhood of Mons.
Reference has been made to the triangle of which Namur is the apex.
This, it was generally believed by the military critics, was the angle
which the French were ready to occupy, if they had not, indeed, already
occupied it, before the fighting at Charleroi began. The discovery that
this triangle was really in possession of the Germans came as a shock.
Exaggerated hopes gave way to exaggerated fears; and it was even held
that the Germans had a reasonable chance of breaking through the French
lines in the north and advancing on Paris before the Russians could
advance much further into Germany.
It is to be presumed that these fears are exaggerated, and that General
Joffre can shift his men from Alsace to the north. One gathered that
eighteen German army corps had advanced through Belgium, and that only
three or four had been left to watch over Alsace-Lorraine. It would
be unwise to hazard any conjecture as to the strength of the French;
but if it were said that the proportions were just the reverse the
statement might not be far out. At any rate, the fact remains that
at the time of writing the French advance has been entirely checked;
and the Allies are now on the defensive. If General Joffre had chosen
to remain on the defensive from the first instead of advancing into
Alsace; or, on the other hand, if he had considerably strengthened his
force in the north and advanced in that direction with the object of
establishing himself at Namur, the position would have been totally
different. The numbers of the opposing forces would, at least, have
been better proportioned, and the "human tidal wave" could have been
held back.
There is, of course, another side to the story. Although the Allies
had to retire, the retirement was carried out in good order. German
prisoners bore flattering testimony to the accuracy of the British
firing, and it was admitted that the invaders had lost very heavily--so
heavily, in fact, that they could not proceed with their advance for a
day or two. Furthermore, there was no particular reason why, at this
stage, the Allies should have wished to assume the offensive at all.
They were not driven out of their original defensive positions; they
merely failed, by their forward movement, to dislodge the Germans,
who were greatly superior to them in numbers. The net result of the
fighting was that the Allies had simply to abandon their offensive--an
offensive which does not appear to have been included in their original
plans. In the official statement already quoted there was a passage
saying: "On the orders of General Joffre our troops and the British
troops took up positions on the covering line, which they would not
have left had not the admirable Belgian effort enabled them to enter
Belgium." Commenting on this, Mr. Ashmead-Bartlett said:
The only deduction one can draw from this is that these operations
were never included in the pre-arranged plan of campaign, and that
they were only undertaken on the supposition that Namur, isolated and
surrounded by the enemy, would be able to offer the same prolonged
resistance as Liège, which would give the Allies time to advance in
strength and occupy the triangle formed by the junction of the Sambre
and the Meuse. The unexpected fall of this fortress at the very apex
has now forced General Joffre to fall back on his original line of
defence along the French frontier.
As will be seen from telegrams quoted in the course of the following
pages, German cavalrymen made a series of raids through northern
Belgium, and took possession of Ghent and Bruges, even penetrating as
far as Ostend. These raids, similar to many others in the central and
southern parts of the country, were carried out--the Germans admitted
it officially--with the aim of terrorising the civilian population. It
appears to be a German belief--quite erroneous!--that when the civilian
population is terrified by raids of this nature it brings pressure to
bear on the Government to "stop the war." On August 26th, in order to
check further German advances of this kind along the coast, a large
force of British marines took possession of Ostend.
As moral effects count for as much in war as the effects of accurate
marksmanship or the "pounding" of siege guns, it should be stated
that the Belgian resistance did more than delay the German advance.
It had an effect which, in this war, was of even greater importance.
For forty years all Europe had been brought up to believe in the
invulnerability of the German army. The mere threat of German
intervention was enough to turn the scales in favour of any proposals
which were being urged by German diplomats. It almost became an
accepted axiom of diplomacy and war that the Germans would always win
and that their opponents would always lose. Certainly the Germans,
and above all the Prussians, lost no opportunity of impressing this
fact upon the world at large. To a supreme belief in themselves they
added a disdainful arrogance of the rest of mankind which was, for an
extraordinarily long period, found effective and impressive.
* * * * *
The atmosphere which this attitude brought about, the atmosphere of
terror which had enveloped Europe for so many years, was swept away,
once and for all, by the Belgian army at Liège. Such was the awesome
feeling inspired by the mere name of Germany that we should have hardly
been surprised to see the Belgians turn tail and throw down their arms
without firing a shot. What did happen we all know. The forts, which
the Germans expected to capture in a few hours, were still holding out
after twelve days. In the field, small forces of Belgians time and
again cut up forces of Germans out-numbering them by three or four to
one. In some outpost engagements, on a scale which would have entitled
them to be called battles a century or so ago, the invaders were beaten
back time after time--cavalry, infantry, and artillery were equally
ineffective against the Belgian arms. It was only by sheer weight of
numbers that the Belgians were forced back into Antwerp, and even then
they preserved their ranks intact and were ready, after a few days'
rest, for a further onslaught.
The importance of this great moral change should be emphasised.
The German army will never again represent invulnerability; it will
stand rather for pure savagery. Reference has already been made to
the raids undertaken by German cavalry for the purpose of terrorising
the civilian population. As the telegrams in this volume will show,
intimidation did not stop at mere raids, fuss, and noise. Inoffensive
civilians were shot on the slightest provocation; houses were looted;
villages burned; women and even young girls outraged; boys battered
to death with the butts of rifles--and all this was done, not because
the men got out of hand and "saw red"; but systematically, because the
invaders wished to terrorise the civil population. When this statement
was first made it seemed incredible--the methods of the Huns or the
Tartars in the twentieth century. Some refutation, some attempt at
refutation, from the German side was awaited. It did not come. Instead
there came an admission of the truth of the allegations which had been
accumulating for several days.
After the outbreak of war it was customary for the German "wireless"
stations to send out war "news" at Nauen or Norddeich. This was picked
up by the Marconi Company and given out to the English Press. The
"news" was usually exaggerated and in many cases utterly mendacious.
But hidden away at the end of a batch of these messages which reached
London on August 27th was to be found an appalling paragraph, which, in
the course of a very few lines, admitted publicly and officially the
terrible charges of barbaric savagery that during the preceding days
had compelled the Belgian Government to appeal to the judgment of the
civilised world.
Special stress must be laid on the official character of this
confession, because it is notorious that nothing can be transmitted
from the German wireless stations under war conditions without the
express sanction and approval of the Berlin Government.
The statement in question is as follows:
The distribution of arms and ammunition among the civil population of
Belgium had been carried out on systematic lines, and the authorities
enraged the public against Germany by assiduously circulating false
reports. They were under the impression that, with the aid of the
French, they would be able to drive the Germans out of Belgium in two
days. The only means of preventing surprise attacks from the civil
population has been to interfere with unrelenting severity and to
create examples, which by their "frightfulness" would be a warning
to the whole country. The increased war contribution levied on the
Province of Liège has also had an excellent effect.
Could a confession be more frank or candid? Could any statement nerve
us, as we have never been nerved before, to resist the menace of
Prussian militarism to the uttermost?
CHAPTER I
Outbreak of War--Invasion of Belgium and Luxemburg--The First Fighting
at Liège
In the first volume of this series, "How the War Began," the causes
leading up to the great conflict were dealt with in detail. It may be
briefly recalled that on Thursday, July 23rd, the Austro-Hungarian
ultimatum was sent to Servia, the Belgrade authorities being allowed
only forty-eight hours in which to reply. The next day saw the holding
of a Cabinet Council in Russia. On July 25th the Austrian Minister left
Belgrade because the reply handed to him by the Servian Cabinet was
deemed unsatisfactory. Sir Edward Grey, on Monday, July 27th, announced
his plan for a "Four-Power Conference"--Germany, France, Italy, and
ourselves--a plan which had to be abandoned owing to the hostility
of Germany. On July 28th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Servia;
a partial Russian mobilisation was ordered on the 30th; Germany
mobilised on the 31st.
It became evident at once that it was the aim of the German General
Staff to cripple the French army immediately, so that the German
soldiers, who were concentrated on the French and Belgium frontiers,
could be hurried back to East Prussia to meet the Russian forces
later on. Before any definite declaration of war had been made,
indeed, either against France or Russia, German patrols invaded French
territory on the night of July 31st, seized several locomotives, and
cut the telegraph and telephone wires. This may be regarded as the
first act of war, though the French outposts were withdrawn in order
that they might not come into actual conflict with the invaders just
then.
So serious had the international situation become, that the smaller
countries began to make preparations lest their territory should be
violated. On Friday, July 31st, the Belgian Government ordered a
partial, and the Dutch Government, a complete mobilisation; and before
the week-end had passed practically all Belgium was in arms. The
Stavelot-Malmedy route near the German frontier was strengthened by
advance cavalry outposts; dirigibles were got in readiness; the Meuse
strongholds were fully garrisoned, and barbed wire fences were erected
everywhere. On August 2nd, without having yet declared war, Germany
invaded the independent state of Luxemburg, the neutrality of which
had been guaranteed by the Treaty of London of 1867, by Great Britain,
Austria-Hungary, France, Prussia, Russia, Italy, Holland, and Belgium.
The German soldiers arrived at the station of Luxemburg during the
night, seized the station and the Government offices, and held the
bridges on the Trèves and Trois Vierges lines, so as to ensure the
passage of military trains across the Grand Duchy. The Grand Duchess
was rudely treated by the German officers, and imprisoned in her
palace; and the invaders positively refused to withdraw. It was
admitted a day or two afterwards by the Imperial Chancellor, speaking
in the Reichstag, that the violation of neutral territory was wrong,
but that the Germans were determined, in his now famous phrase, to
"hack their way through."
At the same time the German army penetrated French territory at two
points, namely, Longwy and Cirey-les-Forges.
It was stated on August 2nd that the number of Germans who had crossed
the Grand Duchy was about 100,000, and that they were concentrating
in Belgian territory in the neighbourhood of Liège. Strong guards
were posted round the railway lines. On Sunday, too, a despatch from
Luxemburg announced that the Luxemburg Minister of State had received,
through the German Minister there, a telegram from the Imperial
Chancellor stating that the military measures taken by the Germans in
Luxemburg did not constitute a hostile act against the Grand Duchy.
They were simply measures taken to protect the working of the railways
connected with the German system against a possible attack by French
troops. Luxemburg would be completely indemnified for any damage that
might be done to the lines.
[Illustration]
Although Germany formally declared war on Russia on July 31st, no
great military efforts were made in the east. On the other hand, the
movements already made against France were followed up with energy,
in spite of the fact that diplomatic relations had not actually been
severed. What the next German step was may be seen from the following
brief statement, which was made by Sir Edward Grey in the House of
Commons on the evening of August 3rd:
Germany sent yesterday evening at seven o'clock a Note proposing to
Belgium friendly neutrality covering a free passage through Belgian
territory, and promising the maintenance of the independence of the
kingdom and possessions at the conclusion of peace, and threatening in
the case of refusal to treat Belgium as an enemy.
A time limit of twelve hours was fixed for reply.
Belgium answered that an attack on their neutrality would be a
flagrant violation of the rights of nations and that to accept the
German proposal would sacrifice the honour of a nation conscious
of its duty. Belgium is firmly resolved to repel aggression by all
possible means.
King George at once signed the Proclamation ordering the mobilisation
of the entire British army and embodying the Territorials. This cynical
disregard of a Treaty to which Germany had affixed her signature could
be redressed in only one way. While the British Expeditionary Force was
being prepared, however, the Germans were making haste to secure their
positions in Belgium and on the French frontier, and their movements
were reported from the outset by the special correspondents of _The
Daily Telegraph_. On August 4th, by order of the Belgian General
Staff, the railway bridges at Lavaux and Bastogne were destroyed, so as
to delay the Germans if they advanced through Luxemburg: everywhere the
conditions in Belgium were those of war. Civilians in all directions
took refuge in the towns, and the roads were blocked by wagons and
ploughs. On the Luxemburg frontier many German patrols and posts were
seen. The Germans occupied the whole of the province, with the object
of facilitating the concentration of their army.
A correspondent, returning from Longwy, the great natural fortress
which forms the advance guard of the French covering troops, found it
necessary, owing to military obstacles, to perform some part of the
journey on foot. The roads were barred by sentries and posts at all
points. The officers of the garrison asked him to assure the English
that the morale of the army was superb. Certainly, the correspondent
added, he had never seen French soldiers so calm, cool, and confident.
On the same day the Germans entered Belgium at three points--Dolhain,
Francorchamps, and Stavelot; and other forces advanced from Luxemburg
in the direction of Longwy, Villerupt, and Thionville. In the evening
Belgium was declared to be in a state of war with Germany. The German
raids, following upon the insolent demand that German troops should be
allowed to march through the country, had caused an intense feeling of
indignation throughout Belgium.
At the Brussels recruiting station men of all ages literally fought to
enlist and get rifles. There was wild patriotic enthusiasm and no sign
of fear.
At an extraordinary sitting of Parliament many members appeared in
military uniform, ready to start for the front.
The King delivered the following speech to the deputies:
Never since 1830 has a graver hour sounded for Belgium. The strength
of our right and the need of Europe for our autonomous existence
make us still hope that the dreaded events will not occur. If it is
necessary for us to resist an invasion of our soil, however, that duty
will find us armed and ready to make the greatest sacrifices. Our
young men have already come forward to defend the Fatherland in danger.
One duty alone is imposed upon us, namely, the maintenance of a
stubborn resistance, courage, and union. Our bravery is proved by our
faultless mobilisation and by the multitude of voluntary engagements.
This is the moment for action. I have called you together to-day
in order to allow the Chambers to participate in the enthusiasm of
the country. You will know how to adopt with urgency all necessary
measures. Are you decided to maintain inviolate the sacred patrimony
of our ancestors?
No one will fail in his duty, and the army is capable of performing
its task. The Government and I are fully confident. The Government is
aware of its responsibilities, and will carry them out to the end to
guard the supreme welfare of the country. If a stranger should violate
our territory he will find all the Belgians gathered round their
Sovereign, who will never betray his constitutional oath. I have faith
in our destinies. A country which defends itself wins the respect of
everyone, and cannot perish.
God will be with us.
Deafening cheers welcomed the announcement that M. Vandervelde, the
leader of the Socialists, had been nominated as Minister of State, to
show that men of all parties were now united for the defence of the
flag. The King's speech, appealing to the devotion of the whole nation,
and expressing confidence in the fate of a neutral and peaceful
country which had been so unlawfully attacked, caused an indescribable
outburst of loyal and brave assent. All bills regulating a moratorium
and the recall of more army drafts were voted without a minute's
discussion.
While the King and Queen left the Palace amid wonderful ovations,
emotion increased when the Premier, M. de Broqueville, announced that
Belgian territory had already been invaded by Germans, and when he read
the recent Germano-Belgian diplomatic notes, threatening Belgium with
Germany's dire vengeance for defending her neutrality.
The King started for the front at once.
On August 5th, Dr. E.J. Dillon, one of _The Daily Telegraph's_ special
correspondents, wired:
I received information this morning that British troops had landed and
were on their way to the frontier to defend Belgian neutrality. I at
once drove out to Laeken, through which suburb they must pass. There
I learned that the news was premature. French regiments are alleged
to have arrived at Namur. Others are marching into Belgium. It is
reported here that the German troops, when entering Belgian territory,
were fired upon from houses in Visé, whereupon they decimated the
population, sparing neither age nor sex.
All these reports must be received with circumspection. I myself,
however, have witnessed scenes of poignant grief, the actors in which
were relatives of the people in Visé, who had heard the narrative and
believed it. The authorities naturally keep such things dark in order
not to frighten the population, which is incensed against the Germans.
Belgium is beset with German spies, who even now continue their
work, with marvellous deliberation and courage. Wireless telegraphic
apparatus is alleged by the authorities to be still employed by the
German agents, some of whom have been arrested. The population of both
Brussels and Antwerp are excited against the Germans. The authorities
are now effectually protecting the shops. Twenty-five thousand
Germans, many occupying influential positions, reside in Antwerp,
and the public desires their expulsion in the interests of defence.
Belgians have been expelled from Germany and forbidden during the
railway journey to look out of the windows or speak any language but
German.
This morning a German eagle-shaped aeroplane was hovering over Liège
city. A Belgian aviator rose higher, and descended heavily upon
the German craft, cutting it in two. The Belgian is said to be but
slightly wounded. As his name is not given the narrative is open to
doubt.
An eye-witness of the combat at Visé affirms that a squadron of
Prussian cavalry moved towards Visé Bridge, in which the Belgians had
made a breach sixty mètres wide. The Belgians, hidden among the broken
piers, opened a cross-fire, almost annihilating them. At the same time
shots were fired from the houses on the right bank of Visé, which was
already occupied by the Germans. It was then that the indiscriminate
massacre of the inhabitants by the German soldiers began. They also
fired upon the Red Cross ambulance.
The latest news received from the front on the same day stated that
under the protection of the long range guns of the fortress of Liège
the Belgian troops were putting up a fine defence against the German
invaders. They inflicted great losses on the enemy, whose attempts to
cross the River Meuse by means of a pontoon bridge had failed. This,
it was stated, would compel the Germans to cross the Meuse on foot at
the Dutch frontier. The attitude of the Dutch towards them was not yet
known.
Official news received at Brussels stated that a fierce fight had
occurred at Liège. The present situation was understood to be very
favourable for the Belgians, who had victoriously repulsed all the
German attacks. The Germans, who endeavoured to pass through the spaces
between the forts, were driven back by a mixed brigade.
It was said that not a single one who passed the intervals returned.
The German shells were unable to pierce the defences. German aeroplanes
showed themselves much inferior to the Belgian. None of the Belgian
aeroplanes sustained any accident, but several of the German did so.
It was confirmed that the Germans behaved disgracefully at Visé. They
shot many civilians, expelling the remainder of the inhabitants and
giving the town to the flames.
* * * * *
The _Rotterdamsche Courant_ in a leading article said that Holland
had read with satisfaction Sir Edward Grey's statement that it
was obligatory on the Great Powers to maintain the neutrality of
the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark. Holland also observed with
satisfaction that Germany was avoiding the Dutch frontier.
The engagement referred to above was generally known as the first
battle of Liège. Subsequent particulars of it showed that the Belgian
forces captured seven guns, and that 8,000 of the invaders were killed
and wounded. On Wednesday, August 5th, in an encounter between the
Vesdre and the Meuse Rivers a single Belgian squadron annihilated six
German squadrons. The Seventh German Corps suffered enormous loss, 800
prisoners being brought into Brussels. The encounter began in the early
morning, and lasted till five in the afternoon.
Germans, with the Seventh Army Corps supported by a large mass of
cavalry, began a violent attack against the south-eastern section of
the Liège stronghold, not engaging the forts with their artillery, but
trying to reach the interior of the stronghold through the intervals.
The ground was mined in several places, and all the battalions were
destroyed. The German loss was enormous. That of the Belgians was very
much less.
Early on Wednesday morning, by force of numbers, the German advance
guard succeeded in entering Liège. Fighting went on in the street for a
time.
In view of the strength of the fortifications at Liège, the strategic
position of the town, and the fact that the main body of the Belgian
army was concentrated there, it became evident that the invaders could
not advance without either "containing" Liège--_i.e._, surrounding
the place with a large body of troops, and, as it were, imprisoning
the garrison without making any attempt at capture--or reducing
the fortresses to such an extent as to drive the main body of the
Belgian army before it. The latter plan was adopted and was eventually
successful; but not before the heroic garrison, though greatly
outnumbered, had succeeded in delaying the German advance for nine or
ten days. As time was an essential factor in the German programme, it
is difficult for us to over-estimate the advantage which thus accrued
to the defenders of Western Europe.
The town of Liège stands on the Meuse, close to the point where the
hills on its left bank come to an end, and near the spot where the
valleys of the Vesdre and Ourthe on the other side afford routes
for roads and railways, east to Verviers and southwards towards the
Ardennes. The main stream divides the far-extending city into an older
town, wherein is situated the citadel and most of the public buildings,
and a newer suburb containing the manufacturing establishments and
dwellings of the artisans. The most noteworthy buildings are the
magnificent church of St. Jacques, dating from the eleventh century,
the handsome Académie des Beaux Arts, the Theatre Royal, built upon
the model of the Odéon at Paris, the Palais de Justice, and Town Hall.
Liège owes much of its prosperity to the fact that it is the centre of
a rich coal district, some of the mines actually extending under the
houses and streets.
Iron industries and coal increased its population from 113,000 in
1873 to 169,000 in 1910. The iron manufacturers are chiefly concerned
with the production of cannon and those implements of war for which
the adjoining township of Seraing is especially famous. The textile
industry also employs thousands of workers, while paper, oil, tobacco,
leather, gold and silver ware, bicycles, watches, and light machinery
of all kinds are manufactured in the busy quarters. Known to the
Germans as Lüttich, the city is the capital of the Walloons, a race
who have been described as "marked by an indefatigable industry and
a fierce and implacable spirit of hostility towards those who have
attempted to infringe their privileges." Since its foundation the town
has been the scene of endless fighting. Charles of Burgundy sacked it
in 1468, and put thousands of its brave inhabitants to death. It was
stormed by Maximillian I. in 1649; three times by the French between
1675 and 1691; and was captured by Marlborough in 1702. In the wars of
1792-94 French and Austrians fought repeatedly for its possession,
the height of Robermont outside the defences being the spot where the
Prince of Coburg was defeated by Marshal Jourdan on September 19th,
1794, in the last battle fought by the Austrians on Belgian soil. The
citadel, 500 feet above the sea level, whence the approach of the
Germans was anxiously watched, commands a view over the whole of the
city and the populous and industrious valleys of the Meuse, while
in the South can be seen from its summit the peaks of the Ardennes
and northward the Petersburg near Maastricht and the broad plains of
Limburg.
Hardly had the siege begun in earnest when a small body of Uhlans, who
had been directed by spies to the headquarters of General Leman, the
Belgian commander, made a determined attempt to assassinate him by
forcing their way into his office and shooting at him with revolvers.
One of the General's brother officers lifted him up bodily, carried him
to the yard at the back of the house, and dropped him over the wall
into the yard alongside. This promptness, in the momentary confusion,
was believed to have saved General Leman's life. Two Belgian gendarmes
and an officer were killed; but the other Belgians present shot dead
the Uhlans who had made the daring raid. There were eight of them in
all--two officers and six men.
In a despatch sent off in the evening of August 6th Dr. E.J. Dillon
briefly summed up the early fighting. The invading army, he stated, at
first expected a mere nominal resistance. Disappointed, they despatched
forces to the north and south-east of Liège, where are the forts of
Barchon, north of Evegnée, of Fléron and Chaud-fontaine to the east,
and of Embourg and Boncelles to the south. The attacks proceeded at
various points along this front.
The position at Liège was defended by forts and also by field works,
trenches, barbed-wire entanglement, and mines, with artillery served by
mobile troops, under improvised cover, who occupied the spaces between
the forts, but hidden behind them so that the Germans who endeavoured
to pass through these spaces in order to surround the forts were unable
to determine the position of the field works and direct their artillery
fire against them. This piece of strategy proved fatal to the enemy's
troops, who were exposed to artillery fire from the forts, and cut
down piecemeal by the defenders within the spaces. The country was
favourable to the invaders, owing to the ravines, woods, and winding
roads, which enabled them to advance under natural cover. Despite this
advantage, the Belgians, who displayed genuine heroism, drove them back
with slaughter, but not without themselves making heavy sacrifices,
which they did with a degree of valour that commanded universal
admiration. The Russian Tsar sent his hearty congratulations.
During the night of Wednesday--Thursday, a tremendous assault was
undertaken by the Germans, in which the entire Seventh Army Corps took
part. The Belgians manfully held their positions, while the whole
country around, illumined by dazzling searchlights, quaked as if shaken
by a seismic convulsion. The grey light of morning revealed hundreds of
German corpses and also the advance of the German forces against Fort
Barchon. The Belgians having formed a mixed brigade of two regiments,
proceeded to effect a daring counter-attack from the heights of Wandre.
Their advance was as irresistible as an oceanic tide. The Germans stood
a few minutes awaiting the onset, and then fled panic-stricken. The
Seventh Corps was broken, and a few hours later 5,000 fugitives passed
by Maastricht, where they were received, fed, and, curiously enough,
sent to Aix-la-Chapelle.
On the south the spaces between the forts of Embourg were the objective
of a resolute attack. The invaders advancing within three hundred yards
of the Garde Civique were first deprived of their colonel, whom a
soldier shot dead, and were then literally mown down like grass by the
scythe.
Meanwhile the German artillery fire was concentrated upon the Château
of Langres, opposite Fort Embourg. Under cover of a heavy artillery
fire a body of German troops surrounded the Château when suddenly a
grey cloud with flame arose, followed by a terrific explosion. The
Belgians having mined the Château had blown it up, and many Germans
with it.
The upshot of this brilliant stand made by the Belgians was the
maintenance of all the forts, the capture of numerous prisoners and
seven guns, the death of 800 and the disablement of thousands of the
enemy, and the defeat of the two crack corps of Brandenburg.
After this defeat the Germans sent a parlementaire to demand the
surrender of Liège, threatening an attack by a Zeppelin airship as
the alternative. General Leman's refusal was speedily followed by an
advance executed by the Tenth Army Corps. It was repulsed.
[Illustration]
The Belgian War Office stated that the German invaders, having
already lost about 25,000 men, killed, wounded, or taken prisoners,
requested the Belgian authorities to grant a twenty-four hours'
armistice. This was refused.