ay, while the guns of Marchovelette swept the space between it and
the left bank of the Meuse. In the southwest angle formed by the Meuse,
forts Maizeret, Andoy and Dave continued the ring. Again in the angle of
the Sambre and Meuse forts St. Heribert and Malonne protected the city.
North of the Sambre, forts Suarlee and Emines completed the circle.

In the emergency Namur possessed one advantage over Liege. The
resistance of Liege gave Namur due warning of the German invasion, and
some days to prepare for attack. General Michel was in command of the
garrison of Namur, which comprised from 25,000 to 30,000 men. Doubtless
reports had come to him of the situation at Liege. He immediately set to
work to overcome the cause of the failure of Brialmont's plan at Liege,
by constructing trenches between the forts, protected by barbed wire
entanglements, and mines in advance of the German approach. As his
circumference of defense was less than that of Liege, his force promised
to be capable of a more prolonged resistance.

Besides the Allies were close at hand. Only eighteen miles separated
him from strong detachments of French infantry and artillery at Dinant.
As we have seen French cavalry had been thrown forward as far as
Gembloux on the road to Brussels, but ten miles to the northeast of
Namur. Somewhere between that place and Charleroi French Chasseurs
d'Afrique had advanced to occupy outpost positions. His position
appeared by no means hopeless--considerably better than the unsupported
field army at Liege. The armor of his forts was calculated to withstand
the 36-lb. shells of the heaviest German fieldpieces, but comparatively
slight damage was anticipated from the known heavier howitzers. If the
Germans purposed to assault Namur in mass formation, as they had done at
Liege, General Michel had every reason to feel confident he could
repulse them with tremendous losses.

But the Germans had learned a severely taught lesson at Liege. They had
no intention of repeating those tactics. Behind a remarkable screen of
secrecy, they managed to conceal from General Michel--as they did from
the Allies--the existence of their enormous siege guns. Whether they
brought into action at Namur their famous 42-centimeters, capable of
throwing a shell of high explosive power weighing 2,500 lbs., is
uncertain. In fact, it is still doubtful where they were first fired at
the allied enemy. Two are said to have assisted in the final destruction