The other road is that by Dun-Stenay, north of Verdun, passing through the defiles of Côtes-de-Meuse and the forest of Argonne to the open country round Valmy. But this country is extremely difficult for military operations on a large scale. It was used by the Duke of Brunswick in 1792. The Germans confidently expected to overrun the whole of Belgium and to gain the French frontier before a single French corps could be concentrated to offer any serious resistance. They reckoned on two factors which have turned out the reverse of what they hoped. They relied on a partial break-down in the French mobilisation, especially on the railway lines. In this supposition they have been completely mistaken. Nothing so far has been so remarkable as the smooth working of the railway service, and, consequently, the rapid concentration of the French armies. The second factor on which the Germans relied was the readiness of the Belgians to see their country overrun by a swarm of invaders or else their inability to resist such an invasion. The quickest route into Belgium is to cross the Meuse at Liège, and from there to march south by the left bank along the Mons-Charleroi road, and to gain the French frontier between Maubeuge and Valenciennes. Of recent years the Germans have made every preparation for such a move. They have organised depôts for troops and collected large masses of stores, and have quadrupled lines at Aix-la-Chapelle, Malmedy, St. Vith, Bitburg, and Trèves. They can thus rapidly concentrate immense numbers of troops from Dusseldorf, Cologne, and Coblenz in front of Liège. But the stubborn and unexpected defence of Liège has thrown all their plans for a direct advance into Belgium via the Liège-Namur line out of gear, and, to judge from the meagre reports which are coming through slowly, they have entrenched that line strongly, and are holding it on the left bank of the Meuse with the two corps which were so roughly handled while the bulk of their forces are preparing to cross the Belgian frontier further north on the line Maestricht-Roermonde, and to march on Brussels through the Duchy of Limburg. We read of constant cavalry engagements in this district and of partial defeats of the German troops, but these stories must not be taken too seriously, as the German cavalry is merely being used as a screen to cover the concentration of immense masses of infantry who will soon be making their presence felt. CHAPTER IV Life at Brussels--French Advance--Capital removed to Antwerp A striking description of life in and around Brussels at this time is given by Dr. Dillon: