Describing the fight at Louvain and Aerschot, where a handful of troops
kept the Germans at bay while the main Belgian army reformed, the
correspondent of the London _Daily News_ writes:
“Dawn on Wednesday morning saw the Germans hotly attacking the trenches
that had been filled up during the night with fresh men. Part of them
were of the famous Liége field force that had decimated the Germans who
approached the trenches before the Liége forts. They had begged to be
sent back to Liége to meet the enemy there. This could not be done, but
they had their opportunity now--a desperate one, it was true, for each
of these men knew that he was marked down to be sacrificed if necessary
in the interest of the general plan of defense.
“Two German aeroplanes flying audaciously low swept over the trenches to
see how they were held. Then almost immediately afterward the German
artillery got the range of the trenches and commenced bursting shrapnel
over them. The infantry machine guns were quickly at work, and the
little band of defenders settled down to keep the enemy’s masses of
troops at bay as long as possible.
“By 6 o’clock the attack was general along the whole line, but
particularly violent in front of Aerschot, a pitiless, determined
onslaught in which the German commanders showed the same disregard for
the loss of their men as elsewhere.
“Two of the heroic regiments from Liége bore the brunt of the attack in
positions north and east of the town. They were outnumbered ten to one,
but stuck to their positions with the courage of desperation and
inflicted tremendous losses on the Germans. Their own losses were
terrible. These trenches were bought and held with blood.”