re a message which I received from the Secretary of State on
October 2nd came as a most disagreeable surprise.

I was informed that a serious situation had been created at Antwerp,
which was in grave danger of falling in a short time.

Further information reached me at 3 a.m. on the 3rd from London that
the Belgian Government, acting on the advice unanimously given by the
Superior Council of War in the presence of the King, had decided to
leave at once for Ostend. It was further stated that the King, with
the Field Army, would withdraw from Antwerp in the direction of Ghent
to protect the coast-line and in the hope of being able to co-operate
with the Allied Armies. The message added that the town could hold out
for five or six days, and that the decision to evacuate was taken very
seriously as a result of the increasingly critical situation.

It is needless to say that I was perturbed on receipt of this news, It
was difficult to understand why the Belgians, who had fought
so well at Liege, were unable to do more in defence of a fortress
which was much stronger, and situated, moreover, in a position where
it could be supported by the British Fleet.

I fully realised the consequence of the capture and occupation of
Antwerp by the Germans. It was impossible to say how much of the
coast-line the captured _terrain_ would include, but there could be no
doubt that the Channel ports would be gravely imperilled.

Operating from such a base, there would appear to be no insuperable
obstacle to an immediate German advance on Dunkirk, Calais, and
Boulogne. The Belgian Army was in no condition to resist such an
advance. The occupation of these places and the formation of a
defensive line which would include the whole of the Pas-de-Calais,
might become a _fait accompli_ before the troops could arrive from the
main theatres to prevent it.

But here, again, we have an example of the over-confidence which for
ever possessed that army which set out for "world conquest." As on the
Marne, so at Antwerp, they were not prepared to seize the
psychological moment and to play boldly for the great stake.

It is seldom that fortune offers another chance to a military leader
who has once failed to gather the rich harvest which she has put into
his grasp. Yet the German Emperor presents, together with his great
General Staff, one of the few instances in history of a
Commander-in-Chief so soon being given a splendid opportunity to
retrieve s