y Heavy Siege Guns_--_Final Surrender of the City_--_Belgian
and British Defenders Escape_--_Exodus of Inhabitants_--_Germans Reach
the Sea._

When the battle of the Marne ended in favor of the Allies and the
Germans retired to take up a defensive position along the Aisne, the
Belgian army renewed its activities against the invader. With the
fortified city of Antwerp as their base, the Belgians began (on
September 10) an active campaign, having for its object the reoccupation
of their cities and towns which had been taken and garrisoned by German
troops. In some cases they were successful in regaining possession of
points which they had been forced to abandon during the German advance
in August, and there were many hot encounters with the Germans who were
left to hold open the German lines of communication through Belgium, But
the forces of the Kaiser were too numerous and too mobile for successful
opposition, and soon the Belgian army, despite the most gallant efforts,
was compelled once more to retire behind the outer forts of Antwerp and
there await the coming of an enemy who was approaching in force.

Great credit must be given to the Belgian army for the patriotic
manner in which it met the sudden invasion by the Germans, and for its
continued resistance against tremendous odds. Inspired by the example of
King Albert and his devoted Queen, who spent most of their time with the
Belgian forces in the field, and shared with them the vicissitudes of
war, the defenders of Belgium fought with the utmost pertinacity. The
resistance of the Belgians when invaded, and the success of the Allies
in halting the advance upon Paris and turning it into a retreat at the
Marne, appear to have inflamed the German generals with a desire to
crush Belgium completely under an iron heel. An object lesson of the
power and possibilities of the great fighting machine must be given
somewhere. Halted in France by the Franco-British armies and meeting
with varying fortunes against the Russian hosts in the eastern campaign,
Germany chose to make Belgium once more the international cockpit and
hurled an army against Antwerp. This move, if successful (as it proved
to be) would serve two purposes--first, the further punishment of
Belgium for her unexpected resistance, and second, the striking of
a direct blow at Great Britain, the possession of Antwerp being
strategically regarded as "a pistol leveled at the head of London."

THE SIEGE OF ANTWERP