In the general plan of Belgian defense Liege was only an advanced post. Mobilization had been completed on the 6th, and the main Bel gian anny under the king had taken position along the small river Geete on a line that had Namur on the right and Diest on the left. It thus covered Brussels and Antvrerp, and the Icing hoped to hold it unfil help came from Great Britain or France. If enough troops could be assembled here to hold bacic the in vaders for a time, not only would Belgium be protected in its nchest parts but northeastern France would be saved. The French, however, refused to move a corps until mobilization was complete, that is until the 15th of the month; and the British did not arrive in sufficient num bers to save their gallant allies. Looking bac.k ward, we have to admit that no allied. forces could have been thrown into Belgium in dine to repel the vast numbers that were thrown against it While King Albert stood before his two chief cities the advance guard of German troops continued to enter his country. They threw out before them a screen of cavalry that ran up to the front of the Geete line and con cealed the arrival of troops in eastern Belgium. This situation lasted until the middle of the month, and the Belgians began to fancy that they could retain their position until the French and British arrived. During this period the French were establishing a line along the bor der, the scene of their mobilization. It ran northward and reached the Belgian boundary south of Namur. Connected with the Belgian line at that place, would it be carried on in increased strength to Antwerp? That was a question that dominated the situation in the north until the middle of October. If this line as first established could have been held the richest part of Belgium would have been saved from German fury. But to hold it the French and British must come in strength and come quickly. The thin Belgian line could ant withstand the forces the Germans were assem bling near Liege and along the Meuse.
On 18 August King Albert saw ggns of a strong attack on him and decided to wait no longer for the sorely needed help. He aban doned his Gtete line and drew off to the north ward, where he tried to make a stand before Brussels. It was high time that he looked to his safety; for the armies of Generals von Kluck and von Billow, about 500,000 men in all, were moving against his force of 100,000. As he fell back he broke his line near the southern end, leaving Namur to its fate. The Germans poured through the breach and von Biilow quickly invested the fortress, bringing up the fatal great guns which had eaten away the defenses of Liege. Von Kluck, who marched north of von Billow, drove the Bel gians out of Louvain and pressing on entered Brussels, King Albert withdrawing to the de fenses of Antwerp. The king may have ex pected his opponent to follow him and besiege the place or occupy the coast towns; but von Kluck was after other game. Leaving other troops to hold back the Belgians in front of Antwerp, he swung through the central part of the Belgian plain to the Sambre River and took his place on the right of von Bfilow, who was already making sad havoc with the outlying forts at Namur. The remainder of his story belongs to the history of the campaign in France.
It only remains to tell the fate of Namur.
Von Billow brought up his great howitzers with tractors and great teams of horses and opened lire. One after another the forts fell in a bom bardment that lasted little more than 24 hours. The garrison, consisting of 12,000 Belgian in fantrysnen and two French battalions who ar rived at the last moment, held out until the 23d and barely escaped as the Germans moved into the city. They fell back to the protection of the French lines and later took their places by the eide of the king when he had moved his Ant werp army to the line of the Yser in the vicinity of Nieuport Thus ended the attesnpt to block the German advance through Belgium. The fall of Antwerp was delayed for nearly two months, because the Germans preferred to give their efforts to their futile march into France.
It was during this early period that most of the heartless incidents occurred which shocked the world under the general description of ((Bel gian Outrages.") In the story there was, prob ably, a certain amount of exaggeration, but at bottom there was undoubtedly a great deal of truth. The German is a hard master. His phrase, wThis is war,* sums up much relentless cruelty. He anived in Belgium with the con viction that the population was truculent and ready to wage guerrilla warfare, when oppor tunity offered. He decided to employ such a course of repression as would strike terror to the people. It is also true that the Belgians were bitterly incensed at their wrongs and hated their conquerors fervently. There seems to have been enough sniping. by the inhabitants to de mand some kind of notice by the military au thorities; but good administrators would have found a more humane way of dealing with it than to seize hostages and shoot innocent men as warnings. When the Belgians found that their labor went to the support of their op pressors they ceased to work. This led to at tempts to make them work and finally to forced drafts of laborers, men and women, to be sent away to Gertnan towns. Worse things .than these occurred in a country where the native women were frequently left to the mercy of u.nrestrained soldiers.
Two incidents in this series of black horrors stood out then and shocked the world. One happened at Aerschot. The story that is often est told has it that the German officer com manding in the town was being entertained by the burgomaster. As the evening advanced the guests were excited and called for more wine. The daughter of the host brought it into the room, and one of the officers offered her the kind of insult that drunken soldiers too frequently offer to woman. The riling brother of the girl resented this action, words followed, and the officer was killed. This was constmed as an attack on the Germans by the inhabitants, and next morn ing the burgomaster and other prominent citizens were shot by the Germans. Then the town was delivered to the torch. Two thirds of the houses were destroyed after they had been looted. Visitors to the place found the streets deserted, and the ruined houses littered with furniture and clothing that had been broken or scattered about in sheer wan tonness. The sidewalks were slippery with spilled wine and bristled with broken bottles. Ruin and blood bathed the town testifying to the energy of the Gemtan fury.