Liége and its Forts.
Note that the forts are not shown in their proper positions, but only indicate their direction with reference to the city.
(By permission of the Illustrated London News.)
The city of Liége was now in the hands of the Germans. The cannonade had done but little harm to the buildings of the city; the inhabitants had taken to their cellars, and but few of them had been killed. When the German infantry marched in, the Burgomaster and the Bishop arranged terms with them. They behaved themselves well, and paid for all supplies. The people of Liége were surprised to see how young the German troops were, and how spick and span they looked in their new greenish-gray uniforms. They were housed in barracks, schools, convents, and other public buildings, and good order was kept.
Now that Liége was in their hands, vast quantities of stores were poured into the city, and brigade after brigade came flocking in from North Germany. The hill roads of the Ardennes were choked with troops and convoys; the railways which the Belgians had destroyed were repaired, and over these, and over the undamaged lines from Luxemburg, came an almost endless stream of men, guns, and supplies.
Meanwhile the Germans were able to attack all the forts on the right bank of the river from the rear. These soon fell; but those on the west of the city still held out. The most powerful of them was Fort Loncin, situated on the great main road to Brussels. On 11th August the bombardment of this fort began. A German officer with signal flags advanced up to about two hundred yards from it, and directed the fire of the big guns. During the whole night, at intervals of ten minutes, the Germans threw their shells into the fort, causing great damage. The outer works were destroyed, and the armour plating of the windows was crushed. All the outer works were so filled with the fumes from the shells that the men were driven into the fort. Soon the suffocating smoke found its way inside, and almost choked the men working the guns.
