The Antwerp Forts After the Battle
From the Official German Reichsarchiv Publications on the Great War
After the war, the official war history was published during the 1920s in Germany. The siege of Antwerp merited a seperate book, just as did other important campaigns. Interestingly all photographs in the book, with the exception of a portrait of the commanding general, are of the devastated fortifications. Clearly the Germans were quite impressed with the firepower of their siege artillery. Here is a collection of photos taken from the official German war history along with several others.
Not only are the forts themselves in ruins in 1914, but the surrounding landscape is just as bleak and lifeless. After the war, many of the forts were repaired as best as possible and some remained in military use till the 1990s. Many others were converterd into residential or recreational zones, community centers, business parks, municipal adminstrative centers, and even schools and universtity buildings.