y must
save what they held most dear. And even among these unhappy
people there were some more unfortunate than the
others--men and women who had no bundle, children who
had no doll. All the way to Louvain there flowed this human
stream of misery. Back along the Tirlemont road rifle firing
could be heard and entrenchments were to be seen in the town
itself."

These scenes between Tirlemont and Louvain were typical of those on
every road leading to the larger cities of Belgium as the inhabitants
fled before the approach of the dreaded Uhlans.

FALL OF NAMUR

On the afternoon of Sunday, August 23, the fortress of Namur was
evacuated by the Belgians, and the town was later occupied by the
Germans.

The fortress was said to be as strong as Liege and it owed its
importance in the present war to the fact that it was the apex of the
two French flanks. One ran from Namur to Charleroi and the other by
Givet to Mezieres.

Warned by their experiences at Liege, the Germans made most determined
efforts against Namur. From the north, south and east they were able to
bring up their big guns unhindered, and by assaults at Charleroi and
Dinant they endeavored to break the sides of the French triangle. Namur
finally collapsed but clever strategy enabled the French to fall back
upon their main lines.

The fall of Namur, nevertheless, was a decided blow to the allies. This
was admitted by the French minister of war, who said at midnight Monday,
August 24, of the failure of the "Namur triangle":

"It is, of course, regrettable that owing to difficulties of execution
which could not have been foreseen our plan of attack has not achieved
its object. Had it done so it would have shortened the war, but in any
case our defense remains intact in the face of an already weakened
enemy. Our losses are severe. It will be premature to estimate them or
to estimate those of the German army, which, however, has suffered so
severely as to be compelled to halt in its counterattack and establish
itself in new positions."

The object of the French triangle, having its apex at Namur, was to
break the German army in two. The British troops, as related in another
chapter, were cooperating with the French at Mons. When the Belgians
evacuated Namur the Germans had knocked to pieces three of the forts to
the northeast of the town with howitzer fire. Between these forts they
advanced and bombarded the town, which was defended by the Belg