"By midday Sunday the blaze had assumed gigantic proportions and by Sunday evening not a house stood upright. This was verified at Zele, where there were thousands of refugees from Termonde. The Germans also pillaged Zele. The suburb of St. Giles also suffered from bombardment and fire."
A courier who knew Termonde as a flourishing town with fine shops, an ancient town hall of singular beauty and a number of churches of historic interest, found the place on September 11 a smoldering ruin, except for the town hall and one church, on a stone of which he saw the inscription "1311." These two structures were left intact, without so much as a broken window.
Termonde was burned for much the same reason as Louvain. On September 4 a German force came back from the field after having been severely handled by the Belgians, and the German commander, it is said, exclaimed:
"It is our duty to burn them down!"
The inhabitants were given two hours' grace, and German soldiers filed through the town, breaking windows with their rifles. They were followed by other files of troops, who sprayed kerosene into the houses, others applied lighted fuses and the town was systematically destroyed.
BOMBARDMENT OF MALINES
On Thursday night, August 27, the German artillery bombarded the ancient Belgian town of Malines. During the bombardment many of the monuments in the town were hit by shells and destroyed. When the artillery had ceased firing the inhabitants of Malines were advised to leave the town.
CHAPTER VIII BRITAIN RAISES AN ARMY
Earl Kitchener Appointed Secretary for War—A New Volunteer Army—Expeditionary Force Landed in France—Marshal Sir John French in Command—Colonies Rally to Britain's Aid—The Canadian Contingent—Indian Troops Called For—Native Princes Offer Aid.