the Fall of the Fortresses of Liége, Namur and Dinant
On the eve of battle : Belgian troops take up positions around the citadel of Liége.
As the French armies hurled themselves at the German frontiers in eastern France, the main German advance began through neutral Belgium. Hardly a warlike nation, it was not expected that the Belgian army would put up more than a token resistance to the invading armies. Much to everyone's surprise and to the German's annoyance, the little nation of shopkeepers and farmers proved to be a tougher nut to crack than was expected. There was little doubt as to the ultimate outcome, but even so the forts of Liége held up the German advance for 2 weeks and provided the Allies and the Belgians with great newpaper headlines.
In the early days of August there were few reporters on hand. Later newspaper correspondents from all over the world flocked to Belgium but by then Liége had fallen and Namur and Dinant soon followed. There are however some accounts of eyewitness reporting that still make for interesting reading. In the links section below, you will find several excerpts regarding these events.
Links to Contemporary Texts
English Texts
- 'At the Front with Three Armies' : Liége - by Granville Fortescu
- 'At the Front with Three Armies' : Namur - by Granville Fortescu
- 'At the Front with Three Armies' : DInant - by Granville Fortescu
- An American Reporter Visits Fort Loncin - by Irvin S. Cobb
French Texts
- Combat de Sart-Tilman
- La Retraite des 800
- Le Fort de Chaudfontaine - Aout 1914
- Le Fort de Loncin
- Quelques Épisodes de la Retraite de Namur
- La Prise de Namur - 23 Aout 1914
- l'Héroique Défense de Liège
- Bataille de Charleroi - Notes et Impressions
- Six Jours de Mobilisation
Liége and Surrounding Forts