Belgium -- History -- German occupation, 1914-1918
All the letters show how little the resistance of Liége was expected.
Many say: "Of all our company, of our battalion, of our regiment,
there are left only so many or so many men." One relates how in a
few minutes his colonel, his major, the captains, and nearly all the
lieutenants were mown down by the balls. "We are all mightily deluded,"
admits another; "we were too confident; we thought the Belgians were
disheartened"! "The Belgians fight like lions," says another.
_German Lies respecting the Occupation of Liége._
It is the truth, although the news is partly from a German source, that
the Germans entered Belgium on the night of the 3rd of August; they
crossed the frontier near Gemmenich at two o'clock in the morning, and
the following night (of the 4th of August) they were already attempting
an attack upon Liége. But the official telegrams from Berlin have never
mentioned this date. To make it believed that the capture of Liége
was extremely rapid and that the German army had met with no serious
resistance, the staff pruned the siege of Liége at both ends; it made
the operation commence on the 5th August instead of the 4th, and
declared that it was already completed by the 7th August.
We could not give a more precise idea of the manner in which the
Government and its "reptile Press" deceives public opinion than by
reproducing two telegrams relating to the fall of Liége. On the 7th of
August, having reported the entrance of the troops into Belgium on the
previous day, the telegrams announced the capture of the fortress of
Liége.[13] Note this: the capture of the _fortress_ (Festung). Now the
Germans had merely occupied the town of Liége, a town absolutely open,
without ramparts or defences of any kind. They themselves were forced
to own, on the 10th, that the forts had not been captured; but they
added that the guns were no longer firing, which was false (p. 50).
BERLIN, _7th August_.--Our advance guard entered Belgium the day
before yesterday, along the whole frontier. A small division
attempted, with great valour, a surprise attack upon Liége. A few
cavalrymen pushed on into the city, and attempted to seize the
commandant, who was only able to escape by flight. The surprise
attack against the fortress, constructed according to modern
principles, did not succeed. Our troops are before the fortress,
in contact with the enemy. Naturally the whole enemy Press will
describe this enterprise as a defeat; but it has no influence on
the great operations; for us it is only an isolated fact in the
history of the war, and a proof of the aggressive courage of our
troops.
(_Kr. D. des K. Z._, p. 9.)
BERLIN, _7th August_. Official. (_Wolff Agency._)--The fortress of
Liége is taken. After the divisions, which had attempted a surprise
attack upon Liége, had been reinforced, the attack was pushed to a
successful termination. This morning at 8 o'clock the fortress was
in the power of Germany.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account