Chapter 178 Attack and Defense of Liege Fortress

On August 4, the German army crossed the border and marched towards the fortress of Liege. In order to take this important fortress, the German army formed the Meuse River Army, which consisted of the 11th Infantry Brigade, the 14th Infantry Brigade, the 27th Infantry Brigade, the 34th Infantry Brigade, the 38th Infantry Brigade and the 43rd Infantry Brigade. It has a force of more than 59,800 people and more than 100 artillery pieces, commanded by General Otto von Enmich.

However, the Belgian army stationed at the Liege Fortress that the Germans had to deal with had more than 36,000 people and 252 cannons. In addition, there are hundreds of cannons on the Liege Fortress. In terms of artillery, the Germans were completely at a disadvantage.

Liege is located at the confluence of the Meuse and Ult rivers, between the Ardennes Forest in the south, Maastricht in the Netherlands, and the Plains of Flanders in the northwest. The Maas River flows through Liege along a deep valley, forming an important barrier for it. Germany's main railway to Brussels passes through Liege, which eventually leads to Paris. Schlieffen and Moltke wanted to use this railway to transport troops into France.

However, if you want to win the next day, you must first take the next day fortress.

Liege Fortress consists of 12 fortresses, generally 6-8 kilometers away from Liege City, and the distance between the fortresses is 3-5 kilometers. The 6 towers on the east bank all face Germany, and the 6 towers on the west bank are arranged around and behind Liege. These fortresses seem to be medieval castles built underground. Only a triangular top is exposed on the ground, and some arched covers protrude from the top to hide all the turrets. The basement, and communicates the connection between the turret and the ammunition depot and the fire control room. The 6 large forts and the 6 small forts distributed among them have a total of 400 cannons, the largest of which is a 210mm howitzer. There are small turrets at the corners of the top of the triangle, rapid-fire guns in the towers and ramps in front of the machine gun controller bastions. Each fortress is surrounded by a 9-meter-deep moat and has a steel watchtower that, like its cannon, can be lowered below the ground and is equipped with a searchlight. Each large fort was garrisoned by two companies of artillery and one company of infantry, totaling 400 soldiers.

Before the war, in order to strictly maintain neutrality, Belgium's 6 infantry divisions and 1 cavalry division were deployed in various directions to deal with all incoming enemies: the 1st Division faced Ghent in the UK, the 2nd Division was in Antwerp, and the 1st Division was in Antwerp. The 3rd Division faced Liege in Germany, the 4th and 5th Divisions faced Namur, Charleroi and Mons in France, and the 6th and Cavalry Divisions were in Brussels in the center.

On August 3, King Albert officially took office as Commander-in-Chief of the Belgian Army. He personally nominated the 63-year-old General Lehman as the commander of the 3rd Division and the military commander of Liege. The king asked him to "hold the ground entrusted to you and fight to the death.

The Belgians relied too heavily on these fortifications, which Brialmont had carefully designed, and the defenders were undernumbered and all reservists, with only one officer per company, and did not start digging trenches and erecting barbed wire barricades until 2 August , to defend the gaps between the forts, and to clear houses and trees that would interfere with artillery fire. These measures were just beginning when the Germans attacked.

After the German army arrived at the fortress of Liege, it immediately launched an offensive. Although, the combat effectiveness of the Belgian defenders stationed at the Liege Fortress was not at all an opponent of the German army. But they have strong fortresses as their backing. This made it difficult for the German army to defeat the Belgian army outside the fortress.

Going through the fort without taking it down is no different from courting death. The artillery deployed on the fortress will cause the German army trying to pass through the fortress to pay extremely heavy losses.

On August 5, the German army launched an attack on the fortresses of the Liege Fortress. But it was at this time that the disadvantage of the attacking German army's lack of artillery was fully exposed. Although the German soldiers are very brave, they are flesh and blood after all, and they will also be torn to pieces during the shelling.

"Boom! Boom!" On the artillery positions of the German army, the cannons fired desperately, trying to provide artillery support to the infantry attacking the Liege Fortress. However, these small-caliber howitzers pose no threat to the strong fortress at all. In addition, the disadvantage in the number of artillery also makes it impossible for them to provide sufficient fire support for infantry.

"Fire and blow up those damn Germans!" A Belgian officer ordered loudly.

The cannons of the Belgian army deployed in the fortress were firing crazily, and shells fell like raindrops, exploding in the ranks of the attacking German troops.

Although, the German offensive queue was very wide and sparse. But there are still many soldiers who were torn to pieces in the artillery fire.

"Boom!" A large-caliber fortress shell fell, and a violent explosion sounded. A deep pit with a diameter of four or five meters appeared on the ground, and the nearby German soldiers were all killed.

"Da da da!"

The heavy machine guns of the Belgian army deployed on the fortress were also firing. They fired condescendingly, and the dense bullets shot over like a storm. Many German soldiers fell in a pool of blood.

"Damn! The Belgians' combat effectiveness is not very good, but their fortifications are too strong. If we don't destroy their fortifications, we will not be able to take the next day fortress!" Von Wecht, commander of the German 11th Infantry Brigade Major General Er watched his troops continue to fall in a pool of blood with a look of anger. In order to avoid greater losses, he had to order the troops to temporarily stop attacking.

General Otto von Enmich, the commander of the Meuse Army, also had a very ugly face. The battle to attack the fortress of Liege was the first large-scale battle of the German army in this great war. If it is blocked here, it will have a great impact on the morale of the German army. Once the blame comes down from above, it is definitely not something he can afford.

Subsequently, General Otto von Enmich launched several attacks, but they were still resisted by the Belgian army.

Even during the battle, the German army invested a lot of new weapons, including Zeppelin airships and tanks produced by the German Arms Company.

However, these weapons were not of much help in taking down the fortress of the Belgian army. The strong fortress became a hindrance to the advance of the German army.

In desperation, General Otto von Enmich had no choice but to report the situation to the General Staff. They can't delay too much time in the Liege Fortress, they must break through as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will give the enemy more reaction time. At that time, it will be even more unfavorable to them.